|align=center|<ref>{{cite news |last1=Nasokia |first1=Waisea |title=Eremasi Radrodro leads Fijian Drua to the National Rugby Championship |url=https://fijisun.com.fj/2019/08/22/eremasi-radrodro-leads-fijian-drua-to-the-national-rugby-championship/ |work=The Fiji Sun |date=22 August 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826061908/https://fijisun.com.fj/2019/08/22/eremasi-radrodro-leads-fijian-drua-to-the-national-rugby-championship/ |archivedate=26 August 2019}}</ref>
The 2019 National Rugby Championship was the sixth season of the top flight of Australian domestic rugby union. The competition began on 31 August and concluded on 26 October. The match of the round was broadcast live each week on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports,[1] with all matches streamed on rugby.com.au live.[2] The championship featured eight professional teams, seven from Australia and one from Fiji.[2]
One NRC match per round is broadcast live via Fox Sports and streamed on Kayo Sports.[1] All matches are also shown live on the Rugby.com.au streaming platform.[2]
Experimental Law Variations
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (August 2019)
NRC Law Variations 2019
Existing Law of the Game
Variation
Television Match Official / Global law trial: Law 5
A match organiser may appoint a television match official (TMO), who uses
technological devices to clarify situations relating to:
The grounding of the ball in in-goal.
Touch or touch-in-goal in the act of grounding the ball or the ball being made dead.
Where there is doubt as to whether a kick at goal has been successful.
Where match officials believe an infringement may have occurred in the playing area leading to a try or preventing a try.
Foul play, including sanctions.
Any of the match officials, including the TMO, may recommend a review by the TMO. The reviews will take place in accordance with the TMO protocol.[10]
Television match official to only be consulted about tries and in-goal plays.
Conversion: Law 8
(d) [The kicker] takes the kick within 90 seconds (playing time) from the time the try was awarded, even if the ball rolls over and has to be placed again.
Sanction: Kick is disallowed.
Time limit reduced to 60 seconds for conversion kicks.
Penalty goal: Law 8
The kick must be taken within 60 seconds (playing time) from the time the team indicated their intention to do so, even if the ball rolls over and has to be placed again.
Sanction: Kick is disallowed and a scrum is awarded.
Time limit reduced to 45 seconds for penalty kicks.
During a maul: Law 16
The ball-carrier in a maul may go to ground provided that player makes the ball available immediately. Sanction: Scrum.
All other players in a maul must endeavour to stay on their feet.
All players in a maul must be caught in or bound to it and not just alongside it.
Players must not:
Intentionally collapse a maul or jump on top of it.
Attempt to drag an opponent out of a maul.
Sanction: Penalty.
Greater policing of this law, in order to discourage "hold up tackles", by ensuring that the tackler, who holds up a ball carrier in an effort to form a maul, does not collapse the maul as soon as it has formed.
Quick throw: Law 18
A quick throw is disallowed and a lineout is awarded to the same team if:
A lineout had already been formed; or
The ball had been touched after it went into touch by anyone other than the player throwing in or the player who carried the ball into touch; or
A different ball is used from the one that originally went into touch.
Players will be allowed to take quick throw-ins regardless of whether someone else has touched the ball
Location of a penalty or free kick: Law 20
A penalty or free-kick is taken from where it is awarded or anywhere behind it on a line through the mark and parallel to the touchlines. When a penalty or free-kick is taken at the wrong place, it must be re-taken.
Increased latitude will be given to where penalty and free kicks are to be taken
Competition rule - Bonus point awarded for scoring 4 tries
Bonus point awarded if a winning team scores at least 3 more tries than its opponent.
The eight teams competed in a round-robin tournament for the regular season.[2] During this section of the competition, teams also played for the Horan-Little Shield, a challenge trophy put on the line when a challenge is accepted by the holders or mandated by the terms of the competition.
The regular season standings were determined via a slightly modified version of the standard competition points system— the same system as was used for The Rugby Championship and Super Rugby[13]—with a bonus point awarded to a winning team scoring at least 3 more tries than their opponent; and a bonus point awarded to a losing team defeated by a margin of 7 points or under. Four points were awarded for a win and none for a loss; two points were awarded to each team for a draw.
Each team's placement was based on its cumulative points total, including any bonus points earned. For teams level on table points, tiebreakers apply in the following order:[14]
Difference between points for and against during the season.
Head-to-head match result(s) between the tied teams.
Total number tries scored during the season.
The top four teams at the end of the regular season qualified for the title play-offs in the form of semi-finals followed by a final to determine the champion team.[2]
The table above shows a team's progression throughout the season. For each round, their cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position in brackets.
^"Article 330, Section 3.2. Points "terrain""(PDF). Règlements de la Ligue Nationale de Rugby 2008/2009 (in French). LNR. Chapitre 2 : Règlement sportif du Championnat de France Professionnel. Archived from the original(PDF) on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small}