Recommended measures, which are aimed at increasing rugby union's appeal, include the 20-minute red card, introducing a shot clock for scrums and lineouts, outlawing the 'crocodile roll' clearout at rucks and lowering the tackle height in the elite game to the base of the sternum.

Baxter, though, has been left unimpressed, and told the Guardian: "We need to stop changing the laws.

"We are trying to grow the game, and there is no sport in the world that tries to grow by confusing new supporters every 12 months.

"The game was fine three or four years ago - and we didn't need to change it then. Ninety per cent of the law changes are to redo things that have been created by other law changes. It's madness.

"I kind of hope that we just leave things. They are reinforcing two or three things to let the game keep flowing - we don't need to do any more than that.

"We seem infatuated with thinking that de-powering the scrum and maul will create this game everyone wants to come and watch.

"The more you de-power the scrum and maul, the more you are going to create a game that people are not going to want to watch because there will be no space."

RITO-HLUNGWANI

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