Tell Stephen Jones what you think of the new ELVs as he debates the biggest issues in his free weekly e-mail

Dean Ryan fears for the future of the sport because of the raft of new laws being introduced this season that he claims are killing the game as a spectacle. The Gloucester head coach believes that the drop in attendances is a by-product of the poor quality of matches in the Guinness Premiership, which enjoyed a boom last year.

“The whole package has dragged the game down to the lowest common denominator,” Ryan said yesterday. “Decisions are being taken by people operating in a black hole. Games this season have been a mess.”

Ryan is not a lone voice in questioning why change has been so fundamental and he does not believe that New Zealand and South Africa support the IRB initiatives, which critics say are driven by Australia and its need for a “product” that appeals to television.

While he accepts there is a bedding-down period, Ryan’s beliefs echo concerns across the rugby world and the belief that the experimental law variations (ELVs) are being enforced unnecessarily, without proper consultation and with no apparent opportunity for direct feedback from those on the front line.

Having been introduced in their entirety in the southern hemisphere to a mixed reaction at best, several new laws are being trialled in the north this season. Ryan is certain that, now the laws are in place, they will not be overturned, and that other more controversial initiatives are in the pipeline.

“I don’t think many people are comfortable with the amount of change in what was a productive game,” Ryan said. “Any of the bits and pieces taken in isolation could have a positive effect. The whole package, though, has brought a negative effect.

“The ruck interpretation on its own may have been a positive in keeping people on their feet, with a more dynamic game. But as a whole, sides are struggling for set-piece possession, struggling with scrums, no proper rucks. You can see why the game is so ugly because you are playing off something that is not as solid and efficient as last year.”

Ryan believes that the laws have had the opposite effect from what was intended and that the dynamics of the game have changed, with structure lost and a greater and “exaggerated” emphasis on kicking. This militated against sides such as Gloucester and London Wasps, who played through the phases, and may explain the champions’ poor start to the season. Allied to the stricter policing of the breakdown, the game had become more stop-start and messy.

“Crowds are down as a result, although the credit crunch could also be a factor,” Ryan said. “You start to question motives when you don’t understand why something has come in. I don’t understand why the lineout law has come in. It has been wrapped up as making things easier for the referee. It hasn’t. It has made it a non-contest.”

Ryan believes that the whole package of new laws in the southern hemisphere has left the sport there looking “horrendous”. He said: “The Tri-Nations and the Super 14 don’t resemble the game that I know. From a coaching and playing side, I don’t believe South Africa and New Zealand really support this.”

This view was backed up in part by the revelation yesterday that the South African Rugby Union wants the 2009 Tri-Nations and Super 14 competitions to be played under the same laws as next summer’s Test series against the Lions. That means ditching the sanctions regulation, in which most penalties are replaced by free kicks. This regulation was used in this year’s Sanzar tournaments, but does not feature in the global ELV trial.

Ryan called “dangerous” the lack of opportunity for feedback on the laws from people at the elite end of the game. “It makes a body [the IRB] that is fairly disconnected from the day-to-day running of the sport making some rather major decisions,” he said.

Shane Williams and Ryan Jones, of Wales, and Mike Blair, of Scotland, have been nominated for the IRB Player of the Year award. Other nominees are Dan Carter, of New Zealand, and Sergio Parisse, of Italy.