Eddie's right, cut the subs to open up the game again

IT is great to get the input of coaches like Eddie Jones, but also those at all levels of the game, on the debate about numbers of substitutes.

It’s not so much an all or nothing argument, as about finding the right balance so that the game becomes more exciting to watch, and to play.

Player welfare is crucial, so having three front-row replacements available is important – but that does not mean that all of them have to play, or any of them unless there is an injury.

I’m still of the mind that you can have eight subs on the bench if you want to, although I’d prefer only three, with two covering the front row, and one utility. The main change would be that none of them can come on unless a starting player is injured, and if teams are tempted to cheat they should be aware of the consequences. Those are that a player feigning injury in a pro sport is fraudulent – and that it will damage reputations if they are discovered.

This means that Rugby Union will require a system of recording and substantiating all injuries, and regulations will be put in place enabling audits, spot-checks, and testing aimed at detecting fake injuries.

Making the game more entertaining is a challenge to each player in terms of conditioning, but it is worth remembering that Simon Shaw, the 6ft 7ins, 20 stone Wasps, England and Lions lock, consistently played 80 minute matches when he was in his early years at Bristol.

One of the commercial values of rugby has to be its entertainment, and at the moment, with the game encouraging multi-phase possession and suffocating defense, it has become too predictable, and frankly quite boring.

Private equity investors in Rugby Union like CVC will recognize that more entertainment equals more value, and that makes it a no-brainer for them to push for the game to throw off the straitjacket it is wearing.