World Rugby are set to trial their own version of cricket's Super Over that would see matches settled by a one-on-one match up between an attacker and defender.
After the drama of England's Cricket World Cup win over New Zealand this summer, which was decided by an epic one-over shootout, a new tiebreaker system is to be rolled out next month.
According to the Daily Mail , it will be used in the Rugby X, the new five-a-side competition that will take place at London's O2 Arena next month.
World Rugby have reportedly given the go-ahead to the trial, with the view to possibly seeing it replace penalty kicks at goal. That is still the method of deciding drawn knockout matches in the Champion Cup and World Cup.
Welsh rugby fans will of course remember the dreaded penalty kicks, with Cardiff Blues falling heartbreakingly short in the 2009 Heineken Cup semi-final after Martyn Williams missed against Leicester Tigers.
The way the new format would work will involve one attacking player from the first team receiving the ball 30 metres out from the opposition's tryline, with one defender from the second team stood on their 5-metre line.
If the attacker scores within the 10 seconds permitted, then the second team would have to match that or they'd lose the match.
If both teams match each other - either by both scoring or both failing to score - then another player from each would step up for another one-v-one.
If both score or neither score again the match goes to sudden death. This is a solitary one-v-one where the attacker has to score or his side lose. It all guarantees an outcome within a few minutes.
Rugby X organisers proposed the one-v-one concept to World Rugby on the grounds that it is a fairer and more exciting way of settling draws, particularly in a format that has been specifically designed to appeal to a new audience in the manner of Twenty20 cricket.
