"Bane of many fans" - Brian Moore would make a number of huge law changes

After a contentious 2023 season marked by increased scrutiny on match officials and regulations, there is a growing demand from fans for substantial adjustments.

Renowned as a tough and skilled hooker, Moore represented England from 1987 to 1995, earning 64 caps.

Post-retirement, he became a respected rugby pundit, contributing to the sport's analysis and commentary.

Explore the changes he suggests in the list below.

Get your tickets to the 2024 Six Nations matches at viagogo, the world’s leading ticket marketplace

Join our Breaking News and Top Stories WhatsApp community for all the latest news direct to your phone.

Going against Warren Gatland, who suggested removing the mark completely from the game, Moore is looking to limit the number of box kicks we see in modern rugby.

The former England hooker commented: "If you supplemented this with a law that the marking player had to tap the ball and pass or run, you would speed up the restart and not allow time to be taken by kicking to touch.

"All this would go some way to removing the bane of many fans’ match-day experience: the box kick. This type of kick has now become almost ubiquitous, not only as an exit from a team’s 22, but as an attacking option between the 22 and the opponent’s 10-metre line."

The former England hooker is the latest big name pundit to call for the controversial tactic, which is used by many teams to slow the game down, to be outlawed.

Moore added: "Once the ball is available at the back of a ruck the referee should call for it to be played and no player should thereafter be allowed to join the ruck.

"Yes, this would make the box kick more difficult – that is the point, and it would be the same for both sides."

He wrote on line-outs: "Referees should look at lineout formation. They seem to have stopped the papal conclave that used to happen before every lineout, but they are still allowing the throw-in to wait until the last second before entering the lineout.

"They already have the throw; they should not be given the further advantage of late entry which just wastes more time."

On the scrums, he added: "They are again starting to take an age to ready, form and complete. I understand referees not wanting to hasten the engage sequence, but they would be aided by a law stating that if the put-in team is not ready to engage by a stipulated time they lose the feed. If the other pack is not ready, a free kick is given.

The former England hooker believes teams, such as world champions South Africa, loading their bench with forwards should be a watershed moment for how replacements are dealt with in rugby.

Moore said: "If we cannot agree to go back to only injury-related substitutions, at least drastically reduce the number of substitutions.

"The trend towards picking benches dominated by forwards is only going to grow, limiting fatigue from which attacking space becomes available.

"This is without considering the fact that it would make club squads smaller and possibly solvent. Wouldn’t that be a good thing after 2023?"