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Advantage Over podcast for rugby referees · July 23 · 39 min

July 2026 laws and guidelines update

Today, it's a solo episode with Keith talking through the law changes that came into force on 1 July 2026, following World Rugby's Council meeting in June. While there's a lot to cover, the bottom line is that there isn't much that changes for us as referees. Only two pretty-rare ingoal restarts change from 22DOs to TLDOs for consistency reasons - but as you'll hear, there's a lot of other bits and pieces to be aware of: Move of four older GLobal Law Trials into full law Introduction of a lower legal tackle height for the community game as law for all (choice for Unions of sternum or waist) Minor law wording tweaks for consistency, clarity or to remove confusion or conflicting clauses Law application guideline covering the Maul World Rugby say this isn't about removing/changing laws - it's just a tidy up process and to make the laws easier for people to read and understand. Let us know what you think! Many of you will have had your own lists of 'law problems' - have these all been fixed now? Let us know if you have any others! Links: World Rugby 'What's new' article on the changes World Rugby presentation being circuilated to Unions for cascading Tackle height law wordings June 2026 Maul Law Application Guideline If you have any comments about this episode, or suggestions for future shows, then drop me a line at ref@rugbyreferee.net! You can follow us here: Instagram: RugbyRefereenet Facebook: Page: RugbyReferee.net Facebook Group: RugbyReferee.net Community Or you can connect with Keith personally on Twitter or LinkedIn

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Today, it's a solo episode with Keith talking through the law changes that came into force on 1 July 2026, following World Rugby's Council meeting in June.

While there's a lot to cover, the bottom line is that there isn't much that changes for us as referees. Only two pretty-rare ingoal restarts change from 22DOs to TLDOs for consistency reasons - but as you'll hear, there's a lot of other bits and pieces to be aware of:

Move of four older GLobal Law Trials into full law
Introduction of a lower legal tackle height for the community game as law for all (choice for Unions of sternum or waist)
Minor law wording tweaks for consistency, clarity or to remove confusion or conflicting clauses
Law application guideline covering the Maul

World Rugby say this isn't about removing/changing laws - it's just a tidy up process and to make the laws easier for people to read and understand. Let us know what you think! Many of you will have had your own lists of 'law problems' - have these all been fixed now? Let us know if you have any others!

Links: