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Talk of the ‘Dupont law’ is never too far away.

It divides opinions and dominates far more time than it should. Referee Nigel Owens has however been thinking about it.

In his recent column for Wales Online, the ref has served up his latest take.

Owens writes: ‘There is a loophole in the law, which has been used fairly frequently in recent months.

‘If you are more than 10 metres away from where the ball lands, you don’t have to retreat – you can stand still, until you’re put onside. As long as they don’t move forward, they can just stay still.

‘As that viral clip from the Bath v Gloucester game earlier this year showed, it can create a farcical situation that is not at all entertaining to watch.

‘Can we close the loophole? Potentially.

‘A solution may be to say, whether you’re within 10 metres of where the ball lands or not, you still have to move back towards your own goal line until you’re put onside.

This of course will be more work for the referee and his team, as they would now have to make sure that players retreat and not just advance.

It wouldn’t be that hard to follow though, I think, and maybe that will allow the catching side more space to counter attack and lead to less kicking. I might be wrong, but I can’t really see any negative effect this could have anywhere else.’