Canterbury Crusaders coach Robbie Deans has launched a vibrant defence of rugby’s experimental new laws, insisting “It is a better game potentially under these rules.”

On Thursdaythe IRB approved a global trial of the the majority of the proposed changes, starting on August 1 this year. The news will come as a a blow to the majority of Northern Hemisphere coaches who have spoken out against the changes at every opportunity.

London Wasps Director of Rugby Ian McGeechan has been one of the most vociferous of Premiership coaches against  the ELVs, and told the Daily Mail today: “If all the changes are brought in, my biggest worry is that it will change rugby union fundamentally.

“Every director of rugby in the Premiership and every head coach agrees we are losing the essence of the game.

“The game has prided itself on being one for all shapes and sizes but not for much longer unless we’re careful.”

But Deans, whose team have been the best side in the Super 14 by a country mile this year and have adapted very quickly to the new laws, believes that they had been largely misunderstood.

“I think there is a lot of misunderstanding around them and possibly the way they were named didn’t help,” he said. “Because the fact is, essentially the game hasn’t changed. The laws have not altered and as soon as people realise that, the better.

“Sure, there is now an extra five metres back at scrum time and there are some nuances around quick throw-ins. But potentially the only difference between the laws is the five extra metres at the scrums and as we have got 10 metres back at line-outs already, it is not a big deal.”

Deans said that the key issue was that referees retained their ability to officiate the game fully and properly. “People are getting hung up on the free kick but the referee has lost nothing in terms of his ability to police the game,” he said. “He can go straight to a penalty if a player is doing something wrong that is either intentional, deliberate, blatant, cynical or repetitive. Some people are suggesting the referee has lost something but he hasn’t.

“What the referee has been offered is an option that he can use. In fact, he can possibly be even more punitive at the outset to establish where the line is and get the tackler out of the way at the breakdown. Because the fact is, the tackler is generally the problem.”

Deans, arguably the best and certainly the most perceptive coach anywhere in world rugby at this time, is in his last spell with the Crusaders. He will take charge of the Australian national side in June. But he re-iterated his belief that if the game perseveres with the new laws, it will reap the benefits, not least in the area of individual decision-making.

He said: “If we end up with the ball in play longer, that will involve more decision-making on the part of players. There is greater scope for the team in possession to take the initiative through a quick tap. That will create a bit of pressure in the area of thinking on your feet.”