THE Six Again rule is perhaps one of the most divisive rules in rugby league.
Brought in in order to speed up the game during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Six Again has been berated and lauded by fans, officials and players/coaches alike.
The idea – to grant another set of six if an indiscretion has been made by a defending side rather than a penalty – is to prevent teams exploiting the time it takes to award and then take a penalty.
For St Helens head coach Paul Wellens, it’s a rule that he ‘doesn’t mind’.
“I don’t mind the six again rule,” Wellens said.
“I do look at the way they do it in the NRL, when a team is coming out of yardage you can get a penalty and that’s something we need to look at.
“What a lot of people quickly forget is what used to happen before the six again rule, teams were lying on and were willing to give penalties away which then stopped the game.
“Particularly if you are chasing a game you aren’t going to take the two points – that was how it used to look before then.
“If people within the game are looking at changing it then they have got to have a long hard look at how it used to look and why it was introduced in the first place.”
Of course, there are others in the opposite camp such as Salford Red Devils boss Paul Rowley, who openly admits he ‘hates’ the Six Again.
“It is the bane of my life, I hate it the six again rule,” Rowley previously said.
