The Heineken and United Challenge Cups have the same rulings for extra time. I don't think the organisers thought it would ever be used and after tonight's game they need to rethink this.
This evening Munster played their quarter final match against the Natal Sharks in Durban. The game ended in a draw and there was no more scoring in extra time which resulted in penalty kicks. This as far as I know is the first time this has happened and even though it was the same for both teams there has to be a better way of deciding a match.
How it works is each team selects 3 kickers and they have two shots each before sudden death if the kicks are level after all 6 have been taken. The kicks are taken in 3 different parts of the pitch starting from the 22 meter mark and are then moved back to the 10 yard mark which is an extra 15 meters for the second kick. After that if the kicks are level I have no idea and would guess the half way line which is 50 meters. This match ended with 6 kicks to 5 in favor of the Sharks and you have to think there are far better ways to decide a match of this importance.
As a sports fan you want the match decided on the field and surely a golden point in extra time would be far more exciting for the players and fans. You play until there is a winner which would increase the pressure on the players not to make a mistake. This format of taking penalty kicks after 100 minutes of running rugby is boring especially when teams have specialist kickers.
You would hate to see this format decide a World Cup final and there must be concern that this has now been used it may be adopted. Draws in rugby are very rare and even more rare after extra time. The only sporting bet I have ever placed was on a draw and a draw after extra time with miserly odds of 20 x 1 and it should have been 1000 x 1. Considering less than 4% of all rugby games end in a draw it is far less of a percentage for extra time.
The current rules for a Rugby World Cup final for a draw and extra time is there will be a 5 minute break before another 10 minutes is played in sudden death with a golden point or first to score winning the match. Other than the teams sharing the trophy a sudden death with a golden point is the only solution. They say a draw is like kissing your sister so finding an ultimate winner is what is what every player wants to see happen.