Rugby Union confirms the introduction of Super League rule to speed the game up

In the eyes of many, the advantage rugby league has over rugby union is the speed of the game.

However, as rugby league minds like Wigan Warriors legends Andy Farrell and Shaun Edwards and Leeds Rhinos legend Kevin Sinfield have an impact upon the sport, union is edging closer to the speed of league and that is set to become even more the case if the sport copies one of the rules in Super League.

In recent years, Super League has sped up considerably with the introduction of rules like the six again and the end of ruck penalties.

Another new rule in the sport designed to speed things up is the shot clock.

This was introduced to ensure clubs couldn’t waste time at scrums and at goal line drop outs.

Teams have 35 seconds to ensure the scrum is fed or the drop out is taken otherwise a penalty will ensue.

This has led to some controversial moments in the past but has put an end to any potential time wasting.

It was reported by BBC Sport that rugby union was set to emulate this rule according to BBC Sport.

The rule will come into force at scrums, line-outs and shots at goal and will come into force ahead of their world cup.

Now it has been confirmed that the rule change take effect from January 1st with the ‘shot clock’ meaning players will have 90 seconds to take a conversion and a minute for penalties, or the kick will be disallowed.

New rules also state scrums have to be started within 30 seconds and line-outs formed without delay, with penalty kicks to be given for timewasting.