AS I am writing this article, the steelwork for our new West Stand has started to arrive and be put in place.
Already you can get a feel for the size of the structure and when it is finished it will be really impressive.
Last week's National Division One board meeting went as I expected but, unfortunately, I am not allowed to reveal the outcome other than to say that discussions went along the lines already trailed in Rugby Times, such as a 12 team championship, a mid-season tournament involving the Premiership and Welsh Provincial and Premiership sides and an end of season play-off system involving the top and bottom sides in two different groups.
The ball is now back with our league's negotiating team to discuss the matters covered at our meeting with the RFU before the proposals are returned to our whole Board later in the summer, hopefully for a final decision.
The RFU have decided that Coventry had done enough financially to retain their Division One status so we will have a 16 team league for this coming season after all.
After the outstanding success of last week's junior School's Festival, the staff in DIRECT (the club's charity arm) are now turning their attention to this year's summer camps, which will run throughout most of the holiday period.
The camps will be held at the Dome on Mondays and Fridays and at Castle Park midweek. These multi-sports weeks are very popular. To book a place or make further enquiries, please ring the club on 01302 831388.
Watching last weekend's Tri-Nations clash between the All Blacks and the Springboks but several things became obvious.
Even though the new experimental law variations have been in play in both countries for a season prior to these games, the players seemed at odds with them. Eventually the two captains realised that there was more space to attack from set scrums rather than take quick taps so the match became more structured.
The ELV we dealt with last week regarding numbers in line-outs has now attracted criticism from Steve Hansen, the All Blacks' forwards' coach, as heavily favouring the defending side. I cannot understand why it has taken Steve a whole season to figure this out when Lynn Howells, our director of rugby, had come to that conclusion in a few days.
This week's ELV I would like to deal with this week is an extension of last week's one involving the lineout.
The new laws state that the player who is in opposition to the player throwing in the ball must stand in the area between the 5-metre line and the touch line but must be two metres away from the 5-metre line.
So, if a team chooses to have a receiver (a player in position to catch the ball when lineout players pass or knock the ball back from the lineout) that player must be two metres away from the lineout itself.
Similarly, the defending team must have a player in immediate opposition to the player throwing in and that player must stay two metres away from the 5 metre line.
This is designed to assist the referee in providing a clear two-metre zone around the lineout.
The referee will be able to clearly identify which player is the receiver and will be able to clearly see that the player immediately opposing the thrower is not a lineout player. No more need for a trip to SpecSavers then ref!
What do you think? Post your comments below. READ MORE Football headlinesMore BladesMore OwlsMore SpireitesMore RoversMore RedsMore MillersMore Ice HockeyMore rugby leagueMore rugby unionMore boxingSports columnistsAll sport categoriesThe full article contains 639 words and appears in Doncaster Star newspaper.
