ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Experimental law variations

Experimental law variations are like when you play pretend games and you make up different rules to make the game more exciting and fun. But instead of pretend games, experimental law variations are made by grown-ups called rugby officials to make rugby games more exciting and safe.

In rugby, there are rules that everyone has to follow to have a fair game. These rules are called the laws of the game. But sometimes, rugby officials want to make changes to these rules to see if it will make the game better. They do this by making experimental law variations.

For example, they might try to make the game safer by making a new rule that says players cannot tackle each other above the shoulders. Or they might try to make the game more exciting by making a new rule where a player can kick and catch the ball in the same play.

Experimental law variations are only used for a short time to see if they work or not. After they try it out, they decide if they want to keep the new rule or go back to the old ones. It's just like when you try out a new game and decide if you want to play it again or go back to your favorite game.