Mears has come off the bench in Bath's last two matches following injury

Bath and England hooker Lee Mears says some of the current laws are affecting the way his club side play their rugby.

Rules surrounding the breakdown, in particular, have seen teams resort to a kicking game rather than running the ball, with the try count suffering.

"We tried running it from our own half but it's tough with the new rules so we're trying to play in the opposition half," Mears told BBC Radio Bristol.

"We've also brought a few things in that mean we still can play."

Bath fought out a try-less 12-12 draw with Worcester in their last match and are second from bottom of the Premiership but Mears believes they can still turn their season around.

"We missed a couple of try-scoring opportunities at the weekend but if we get it right it'll be good," he insisted.

The International Rugby Board is due to meet next Tuesday to discuss, amongst other things, a sharp rise in injuries and some of the new laws, which many teams have struggled to adapt to.

Bath are one of eight teams in the Premiership who are yet to earn a try-scoring bonus point this season.

They have touched down just 11 times in eight games this season, at an average of 1.375 tries per game, which is down almost 50% on last season's average.

Bath were the Premiership's top try-scorers last season, crossing the line 58 times in 22 games.

Mears added: "With boys today who can kick from anywhere in their own half, and the new rule being a bit of a lottery, you're not going to give penalties away.

"It just shows that everyone is resorting to kicking it rather than running it."

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