THE SIX NATIONS has seen two rounds of action come and go, with a host of new rules introduced for fans to get used to.
World Rugby introduced a new limit on timings during games, with the conversion, scrum setting and lineout setting timings being reduced for the tournament.
The rule has already seen some action during the 2025 Six Nations during England’s 26-25 victory over France at Twickenham.
With less than 10 seconds to go, Fin Smith was standing over a conversion, but the shot clock was also counting, and Smith couldn’t afford to let the clock tick over to 80 with the shot clock almost up.
The Saints fly-half subsequently kicked the extra two points with less than five seconds on the clock, giving France enough time to start again.
However, France could not gather the restart, and less than 30 seconds later Fin Smith kicked the ball into touch to end the game.
What are the new time limit rules?
There are time limits introduced in three areas of the game:
- Setting the scrum
- Setting a lineout
- Conversions / penalty kicks
While referees can stop the clock at any point, the new rules are an initiative for players to stop time wasting.
Players will now only have 30 seconds to set a scrum, or a lineout, otherwise the referee will penalise the team with the ball.
This can be with a scrum or a penalty to the opposition team.
Kickers will also only be given a minute to take a conversion, rather than the 90 seconds they had before.
The 30 second reduction is to allow for the same ammount of time for a penalty kick and conversion to be taken. If a player takes too long, a scrum is awarded to the opposition.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”England name Curry twins in starting Rugby Six Nations line-up for first time ” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6367938575112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]Are there any other new rules to know?
The 20-minute red card rule is arguably the biggest change ahead of this tournament.
This new rule allows for players to be sent off, but the team will only be punished for 20 minutes, as they can replace the player sent off after 20 minutes has passed.
Also, if a lineout is not straight, but is uncontested, play on is called to allow for the game to flow better.
Finally, new laws to protect 9’s at the scrum and a ruck means the 9 will not be allowed to be played the ball if the ball is in a tackle, ruck or maul.
It also means that the opposition 9 at a scrum has an offside line set at the middle of the tunnel, limiting their ability to defend from a scrum.
Who is playing this weekend in the Six Nations?
Both the BBC and ITV will be showing the Six Nations, here is a full list of which of the remaining games is on which channel:
Round 3:
- Wales vs Ireland – Feb 22, 2:15pm GMT – BBC
- England vs Scotland – Feb 22, 4:45pm GMT– ITV
- Italy vs France – Feb 23, 3pm GMT – ITV
Round 4:
- Ireland vs France – Mar 8, 2:15pm GMT – ITV
- Scotland vs Wales – Mar 8, 4:45pm GMT – BBC
- England vs Italy – Mar 9, 3pm GMT – ITV
Round 5:
- Italy vs Ireland – Mar 15, 2:15pm GMT – ITV
- Wales vs England – Mar 15, 4:45pm GMT – BBC
- France vs Scotland – Mar 15, 8pm GMT – ITV