World Rugby has confirmed it will not ban the 7-1 bench split despite it facing criticism, citing a lack of medical evidence linking it to increased injuries.
The tactic was made famous by the Springboks' infamous 'Bomb Squad' and again utilised by France to power them to the Six Nations title this year, but despite its successes for Rassie Erasmus and Fabien Galthie, it has drawn heavy criticism from some pundits and coaches.
Newly elected World Rugby chairman Brett Robinson agreed that the 7-1 split does 'raise questions' over the 'spirit of the game'; however, the governing body has outlined that there is no scientific evidence to ban it completely from the sport.
Commenting on the issue, World Rugby's chief executive Alan Gilpin said: "We looked at it from a science, medicine perspective. Was there a distinctive view that a bunch of fresh players coming on with 20-30 minutes to go is going to create a more injurious position, and the science said that's not the case."
He added: "So there was no reason from that perspective to look at how we might do replacements differently. Ultimately, there are a lot of different ways to win a rugby match."
As alluded to earlier, the 7-1 split has received its fair share of criticism from all manner of voices throughout the game, but more notably from Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend, who raised the issue at the recent 'Shape of the Game' conference and later after his side's victory over Wales in round five of the Six Nations.
"The bench was not set up to suddenly have a new forward pack coming on," Townsend said.
"That's for World Rugby to decide, but just now, you can put eight forwards on the bench if you want. Where might the game end up?
"Is it going to be more of a game where we need forwards in a 6-2 or 7-1? Or is it a game where we need backs because it's going to be so open that we've got to make sure we're bringing backs off the bench?"
Elsewhere, World Rugby will vote next month on the future of the 20-minute red card.
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