18/02/2008 09:40

Sydney - Western Force fullback Cameron Shepherd kicked as much as an AFL defender from the goal square. Players all over Australia, South Africa and New Zealand were on the turf, with legs propped, trying to stretch out the cramps.

During the first round of Super 14 matches, there was a lot of huffing and puffing. The experimental laws had the desired effect of speeding up the game, with more open-field play, which tested the conditioning of many competitors.

But there were downsides.

Several matches turned into relentless kick-fests, with teams making it clear that they were not keen to get into a contact situation. And sides which had been regimented for so long had obviously lost the knack of counter-attacking. These teams did not take the initiative provided by extra space, or the restrictions now imposed on those who toss the ball back into their own quarter and kick for the sideline.

Some teams appeared confused by the new laws. Others used them to their advantage, and opted for scrums rather than free-kicks. Several succeeded in dropping the pace. There was a lot of scrambling play, and not surprisingly Waratahs wing Lote Tuqiri compared it to a touch football match, involving plenty of turnovers.

Bulls captain and Springbok scrumhalf Fourie du Preez was unimpressed. "It's a different game," Du Preez said after the Bulls' win over the Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday. "It's less enjoyable. It's not the sort of rugby I enjoy, it's too much like Sevens. There's too much kicking and counter-attacking and not enough set-pieces."

Waratahs captain Phil Waugh was more positive. "I think they're pretty good. It is pretty clear it's new for everyone, including the referee," Waugh said. "We all had a good go at it, but there's still a little bit of interpretation that all of us need to work on."

Hurricanes coach Colin Cooper wasn't sure that the game had suddenly become a speedway. He was more concerned that the Waratahs were able to slow the game down. And Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie believed it would take time for the new laws to have their full impact. McKenzie said yesterday that the laws were "not a mystery, but still a bit of benchmarking was going on".

"That will level out over the next couple of weeks," he said. "We have had three trials under Australian referees, now we are moving to South African referees. So inevitably there is going to be a bit of transition."

But what was clear was that Australian teams, who have often been caught short in the midfield kicking department, could be exposed if the relentless booting upfield continues. Kicking has been a neglected skill in Australia for some time. Shepherd was the best Australian kicker in round one. And his team lost.