SCRUMS will remain out of the game when the 2021 rugby league season kicks off.

However, the RFL say they will keep the law under review with the hope scrums could be reinstated later in the year prior to the Rugby League World Cup as the game’s international laws still permit them.

The emergency law introduced for the restart of the 2020 season in July, in response to the situation regarding Covid-19 - removing scrums and replacing them with a handover of possession - will be retained (with the shot clock application removed).

In addition, six law changes will be introduced at all levels of the game for this year after being ratified by the RFL board.

These changes include flexibility for the attacking team on the lateral positioning of scrums, a reward for 20/40 Kicks and a handover of possession for an incorrect play-the-ball.

However, two further law changes – extending the “six again” rule introduced for ruck offence to include offside infringements and awarding two points for drop goals kicked from outside the 40-metre line – were rejected after consideration.

> Full details of the law changes can be found here

The Laws Committee held a virtual meeting on January 20 and received presentations regarding the Covid pandemic and head contact and concussion.

The committee also heard from NRL Head of Elite Competitions, Graham Annesley, about the new laws to be introduced in the NRL competition for 2021.

“Thanks are due to the members of the RFL’s Laws Committee, which comprises a range of experts from all sections of the game, and also to Graham Annesley, who attended the meeting and explained the background to the law changes introduced by the NRL in 2020 and 2021,” RFL chief on-field officer Dave Rotherham said.

“The RFL have been keen to achieve as much consistency as possible between the laws applied in both hemispheres, both in domestic competitions and through the International Laws.

“A greater degree of harmonisation was achieved through the law changes introduced for the resumption of the 2020 season – notably the adoption of “six again” – and that process will continue with the law changes introduced for 2021.

“However we remain unconvinced by the arguments for introducing a two-point drop goal, believing this to be a fundamental change in the laws of the game which could have unintended consequences in discouraging teams from seeking to score tries, especially late in each half.

“The Laws Committee were also not persuaded of the merits of extending six again to cover 10-metre offside infringements.

“Regarding scrums, medical and scientific evidence was the key, as when the initial decision was made to suspend them for the restart of the 2020 season.

“With Covid-19 remaining prevalent in society, their reintroduction could present additional risk to the health of the players, and would significantly increase the number of close contacts in a match which could lead to more postponements.

“Therefore the decision was made to maintain the position as at the end of 2020 for the start of the 2021 season.

“However the Laws Committee agreed that the public health situation should be kept under constant review, and that scrums should be reintroduced as soon as possible – with the expectation that scrums will remain in the International Laws and therefore feature in the Rugby League World Cup in the autumn.

“The Committee agreed that scrums could be reintroduced to certain parts of the game and not others, again depending on the public health situation.”

Robert Elstone, Executive Chairman of Super League Europe and a member of the Laws Committee, said: “Super League always welcomes changes that add excitement for our fans and showcase the unique qualities of our players.

“Also, we welcome alignment of rules across the two leading Rugby League competitions - so it was especially helpful to hear directly from Graham Annesley to understand the reasons for this season’s changes in the NRL, and to get closer to them on future potential changes.”