Barnes was part of a team of elite referees that met in the French commune of Marcoussis to discuss the changes earlier this year, along with members of the International Rugby Board (IRB) Scrum Steering Group.

Today he led a session in which he explained the new scrum protocol, which is being trialled globally and will come in to use at the Aviva Premiership this Friday (September 6) when Newcastle take on Bath in the season-opener.

"We got together as a group of referees and we were told by the IRB, 'here you go, this is the new protocol, here are the reasons why', and then we decided how we were going to referee it," Barnes said.

The new protocol has already been used at the Rugby Championship, which gets back underway this Saturday (September 7), as well as the Currie Cup in South Africa, New Zealand's ITM Cup and France's Top 14 since it became active on August 1.

"We are seeing fewer collapses, fewer scrums on the floor which has been great for player safety and welfare," said Barnes on the early showings of the new protocol.

"We have also seen a change in player behaviour, they are looking to be balanced, looking to wait and pushing when the ball comes in, the ball is going in straight and being won against the head."

The new scrum protocol trial came into effect on August 1 and is being adhered to in the ongoing Rugby Championship


About 40 club visits have been made to teams in the top two English domestic divisions to ensure a smooth transition - although Barnes did admit that it may take some time for the new laws to fit into the game seamlessly.

"We're getting the coaches expert views, their own coaches views, and we're speaking to the players and saying 'how do we make sure this works?', 'how do we make this better for the game?'" he said.

"It's going to engage when we ask, so it's not set as everyone is moving, it's bind, get the balance, and then we are going to set the scrum.

"So it's not who guesses Wayne Barnes saying set, they engage when they're asked.

"We're only going to put the ball in when that scrum is stationery - we want this as a fair competition.

"There are going to be teething problems but this is something that we all bought into in Marcoussis.

"Spectators, the media, players are crying out saying you need this, and there is pressure on referees to deliver it."

The IRB Council will review the trial next summer, and will make a decision on whether or not to adapt the trial protocol as a permanent global law.

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