IRB Launches Laws Resource Website
The International Rugby Board has today launched www.irblaws.com, an interactive website which teaches and tests the Laws of the game and one which is hoped will revolutionise Rugby Law education.
The new resource is available in seven languages – English, French, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, Japanese and Russian – and is compliant with the 2009 Laws that were approved by IRB Council on May 13.
There are hundreds of video clips to illustrate the Laws and all referee and assistant referee signals, along with animations to support learning with a test which can be taken over multiple visits to site.
On completion of this test, users can download an awareness certificate.
The www.irblaws.com website is free to access with registration required only when users want to undertake the tests.
IRB Training Manager Mark Harrington said: “The worldwide rugby landscape is changing and there are an increasingly diverse range of stakeholders with ranging language and learning needs.
“As the game grows it is important that the IRB develops resources to support these web-driven and multilingual needs. One of the most commonly requested resources from Member Unions is a Laws test.
“www.irblaws.com has been seven months in the making. It has been launched to tie in with the new 2009 Law book which features all Law amendments as ratified by the IRB Council on May 13.
“As well as managing the array of potential changes to the Law book, the major challenge has been in sourcing technically accurate clips to support different Laws and we must thank ERC, Six Nations and Sky Sports for their support.
“I sincerely hope that www.irblaws.com becomes the ‘go to’ place for people to learn about the Laws of the game.
“The Laws test should be invaluable in supporting Unions who regularly need to test the understanding of their match officials’ Law knowledge.
“We are hugely committed to supporting our Member Unions in training and development,” he added.