Last season's Guinness Premiership was widely considered to be the most entertaining on record, adventure and daring replacing the caution and attrition that had previously blighted the tournament. But after three rounds this season, clubs are concerned that spectators will turn their backs on the game as a refereeing crackdown on the tackle area leads to a surfeit of penalties and kick-and-chase rugby.

If a few months ago coaches were concerned at the impact the Experimental Law Variations would have on the game, their preoccupation now is the International Rugby Board directive to referees to police the tackle area and rucks in accordance with written laws. Transgressions, however minor, are being blown up and the effect is like a blitz on motorway speeding, treating those travelling at 71mph the same as ton-up merchants.

The aim of the directive is to ensure a contest for possession at the breakdown. IRB figures showed a continuity rate of 96% before the start of this season; that has already come down to 85%, but sides have become so concerned about being blown up after a tackle, or turned over, that they have resorted to kicking out of hand more, especially in their own territory.

Coaches believe that one of the six guidelines issued by the IRB, which stresses that the tackler must be the referee's first priority and that he/she must immediately release the tackled player and get up or move away, is not being observed. "Defences have become very cute," said Bristol's head coach, Richard Hill. "They are forcing attackers to seal off because the tackled player is not being penalised for not rolling away and you face losing your ball. Referees have to look at the tackler closely.

"Another concern of mine is that players are being penalised for peripheral indiscretions. Mariano Sambucetti was penalised for us against Sale last week - he went over a ruck, kept his head and knees up and put his hands on the floor. He did not seal the ball off but was in a bridge position. That was harsh, and lesser offences are being picked up. I thought things would settle down after four or five rounds of the Premiership but it is going to take longer and, in the meantime, other offences such as encroaching behind are not being detected."

The IRB is convening a meeting of referees on the international panel in London before the start of the November internationals. It remains unrepentant about the directive but has also warned assistant referees, as touch judges are now called, that they should be more vigilant in spotting offences away from the breakdown and informing match referees.

"I believe that the referees are looking so hard at the Experimental Law Variations that they are finding it difficult to see the other laws," said Saracens' director of rugby, Eddie Jones. "The lineout has become a difficult area and there is great indecision about what is allowed at the tackle area."

Wasps, the champions, have yet to win a game this season and their director of rugby, Ian McGeechan, believes the directive and the law variations are a disincentive to play attacking rugby. "It seems to me that a strong kicking game and a decent chase are now enough to win you a match, while anything more imaginative stands every chance of losing you one," he said. "It might boil down to coaches trying to stop good players playing. I watched a couple of Tri Nations Tests during the summer and all I saw was good players not playing rugby. I'm not sure this is what we really want for the sport."

Players are equally vexed. "The new laws were designed to speed up the game but they have merely led to more kicking," said the Leicester captain, Martin Corry. "You can penalise either side at any breakdown."

Northampton's captain, Bruce Reihana, concurred. "There is a lot of frustration at the moment because of the penalties being given away at the breakdown, which seem to vary from week to week. We like to play with speed but we are going to have to adapt."

The Rugby Football Union's head of elite referee development, Ed Morrison, said that players had to adapt to the directive. "The breakdown is a complex area and that is why we made around 30 visits to Premiership clubs in the summer to get some uniformity and understanding by everyone. I am a big supporter of the tackle area being a fair and reasonable contest. To enable that to take place we have to have people on their feet and one of the weaknesses of the game over the last few years is that more and more players have been going to ground. Players, coaches and referees have a responsibility to operate within the framework of the law. Providing that we all buy into that process to ensure people stay on their feet then we will have a better game."