The peculiar Vannes vs Narbonne "no maul" stand off

Last weekend's ProD2 clash between Vannes and Narbonne will hardly be remembered as being a classic.

Soggy conditions made fast-flowing open rugby virtually impossible in a game which saw Vannes run out 24-16 winners.


But what will invariably stand out is a bizarre moment of play, in which both sides tried to exploit the laws of the game to their advantage.


Having employed their own version of the "tackle only" ruling inspired by the Southern Hemisphere, Italy aren't the only team in 2017 to try something different.


Vannes attempted to form a maul from a line-out and would ha…