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The amendments, which deal in aspects of law including front-row replacements, advantage, touch, penalty tries and time-keeping, were first proposed by member unions and then considered by the Law Review Group (LRG) and Rugby Committee before being trialled on a closed basis in various competitions around the world. Having achieved positive results from those trials, the LRG and Rugby Committee recommended to Council that the trials be expanded globally.In line with the law review timelines, the trial is effective from 1 January, 2017 in the southern hemisphere and 1 July, 2017 in the north and will last for an initial period of one year. The 2017 British and Irish Lions tour and June internationals will be played under the global law trials.Five changes to law are being trialled globally in 2017 after they were approved by World Rugby Council in London in November 2016.LAWS CHANGES SET FOR GLOBAL TRIALPICTUREDLaws involving front-row replacements will be trialled in international matchesIn addition, a package of law changes, specific to rugby sevens, will also be trialled, commencing at the start of the men’s and women’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2016-17 in December.World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont said: “World Rugby continually reviews the laws to ensure that the game is as enjoyable, simple and safe as possible at all levels. I would like to thank our unions for their full support throughout the process, the experts who evaluated the closed trial data and look forward to seeing the results of the global trial.”Rugby Committee Chairman John Jeffrey added: “These law amendments, which will go to global trial next year, are designed to improve the experience of those playing and watching the game at all levels and to avoid negative play where possible. We will gather all the data from the trial and then present it to the LRG and Rugby Committee for further consideration.”The law changes set to be trialled globally can be found at worldrugby.org. Every four years, rugby’s governing body undertakes a complete health-check of the game’s playing trends across the Rugby World Cup cycle to ensure that the sport continues to develop at all levels around the world. This extensive process is undertaken with full union consultation and has player welfare, game simplification and fan experience at its core.14 WORLD RUGBY YEAR IN REVIEW 2016INFORM | NEWS