Law Discussion - End of June

We discuss some examples of the laws in action from the Test in Sydney and from three Currie Cup matches at the end of June.

We have already spoken at length about the forward pass, a discussion which arose from incidents in the matches between the Cheetahs and the Golden Lions and between Western Province and the Blue Bulls.

We also gave statistics from the match between Australia and France.

For some reason or other we gave not yet produced any clips this week on www.sareferees.co.za. Because we have had no clips, we shall be a bit more expansive in the Law Discussion and include topics which would have been clips.

One of the clips would have shown something that happened often in Currie Cup matches - where the team not throwing in at a line-out has more players in the line-out than the team throwing in. This was not the case in the Super 14 but will be the case in the Tri-Nations. A team at line-outs will not need to conform to the numbers of the team throwing in. Each team must just have two or more players in a formed line-out.

1. The forward pass incidents

This just puts the two incidents in context.

a. The Blue Bulls were leading 17-12 with six minutes to go but with Western Province more and more dominant. Suddenly Western Province started running from near their own line on their right. They went left and right and left again. The right wing, Tonderai Chavhanga who had started the counterattack, was on the left. He raced ahead and on about the half-way line he passed to Wylie Human who passed back inside to Gio Aplon who raced away to score the try. This team-mated thanked him, he thanked God and the referee asked the TMO about the pass from Chavhanga to Human. The TMO examined it and reported: "There is no clear evidence that the pass was forward. So you may award the try." The referee awarded the try. That took the score to 17-all and the conversion put Western Province ahead 19-17.

This happened after 74 minutes.

b. The Cheetahs were leading the Golden Lions 13-12 when the Cheetahs attacked down the right. Eddie Fredericks passed to Bevan Fortuin, the Cheetahs fullback who was wearing 15. Fortuin passed to Jongi Nokwe across from the left wing and Nokwe went over for a try. The referee referred to the TMO who reported: "The pass went forward from 15 to the wing." The referee awarded a scrum to the Golden Lions.

This happened after 34 minutes.

Read the article on the forward pass. In both cases the passer was running as fast as he could when he passed. From that it would seem that the TMO was right in the case of the Chavhanga pass and wrong in the case of the Fortuin pass.

2. That is rubbish

Australia is fortunate. It has two of the most infallible commentators in the world of rugby - far more infallible than the Pope has ever claimed to be.

Play goes on at the end of the first half and from a tackle/ruck Dimitri Yachvili passes inside to Louis Picamoles who makes head way, trying to pass to his left as he goes down in the tackle. François Trinh-Duc foots the ball ahead and then foots again. The ball strikes the Australian fullback Cameron Shepherd and bounces forward off him. Falling back James Horwill grabs at the ball and apparently plays it.

The referee thought he played it and so penalised him for being off-side - the oldest form of off-side in rugby football, being in front of a player of your side who last played the ball and penalisable if you play the ball.

Commentator: "That is rubbish. It's not an off-side penalty. Marius Jonker is missing a lot of off-side and then he picks one up that is not."

Unfortunately there is no explanation of why there was no off-side though the referee had explained why there was an off-side. The generalisation of "a lot of off-side" is not helpful as it seems odd that three top officials should have missed "a lot of off-side".

Law 11 DEFINITIONS
In general play a player is offside if the player is in front of a team-mate who is carrying the ball, or in front of a team mate who last played the ball.

Shepherd played the ball. Horwill was in front of him.

This happened at the end of the first half, after 41 minutes.

3. Injured and in harm's way

France have the ball and are doing pick-'n-drive. In all this bashing, prop Lionel Faure hurts a knee. He gets up and hobbles into the next tackle/ruck but then falls over as play goes left. A medicine man arrives with his bag to attend to the fallen prop. Play comes back right and right next to Faure Louis Picamoles is tackled and another tackle/ruck forms. It moves away to the right as a second ,medicine man arrives to attend to fallen Faure. To the right of Faure, Fulgence Ouedraogo is penalised at a tackle ruck. The Australians tap and run. This time Sharpe is next to Faure and his two helpers and passes beyond them to his right and Australia attack till Berrick Barnes is held up over the line.

Are the medicine men allowed on the filed while play is in progress?

Yes.

Law 6.C.3 LIMITS TO ENTERING THE PLAYING AREA
In the case of injury, these persons may enter the playing area while play continues, provided they have permission from the referee. Otherwise, they enter only when the ball is dead.

Is the referee allowed to stop the game if he fears for the safety of an injured player?

Yes.

Law 6.A.9 THE REFEREE AND INJURY

(a) If a player is injured and continuation of play would be dangerous, the referee must blow the whistle immediately.

(b) If the referee stops play because a player has been injured, and there has been no infringement and the ball has not been made dead, play restarts with a scrum. The team last in possession throws in the ball. If neither team was in possession, the attacking team throws in the ball.

(c) The referee must blow the whistle if continuation of play would be dangerous for any reason.

The referee obviously had the confidence that the player was not in danger and that the others on the field were not in danger and let play go on.

This happened after 44 minutes.

4. When is out out?

Damien Traille of France runs on an arc towards the right-hand touch-line. Cameron Shepherd of Australia pushes him. Traille's left foot is just inside the line, his right foot swinging in the air well over the touch-line. He gets the pass inside to Alexis Palisson and then crashes to ground.

Was he out?

Law 19  DEFINITIONS
The ball is in touch when a player is carrying it and the ball carrier (or the ball) touches the touchline or the ground beyond the touchline.

Traille carried the ball. His foot on the ground was infield. His "out" foot did not touch the touch-line or the ground beyond it.

Traille was not out.

This happened after 67 minutes.

6. Ball's out

You will often hear pleas in mitigation when a player is penalised.

"But  he was on his feet", though a ruck had been formed and he was using his hands.
"But there was no ruck", though he was off his feet and playing the ball.

"The ball was out."

Willem Alberts of the Golden Lions charges and just inside the Cheetahs half is tackled. A tackle/ruck forms. In fact it may well be a ruck as there are players of either side in physical contact. Whether the ball is on the ground is not obvious.

The ball suddenly squirts out along the ground, slightly towards the Golden Lions side. Standing there is Neil Powell of the Cheetahs, more to the Golden Lions side than his own side. He picks up and the Cheetahs attack down the left, the phase ending in a penalty against the Golden lions some ten metres from their line.

The ball was out.

If it was out of a ruck, Powell was off-side.
If it was just a tackle, because the ball was up off the ground, Powell was allowed to play on because the ball came moire than a metre from the tackle and in the ELVs applicable to the Currie Cup there is no off-side line at a tackle.

It certainly had all the appearance of a ruck.

This happened after 9 minutes.

In the Tri-Nations there will be an off-side line at the tackle.

7. Whose ball?

Justin Peach of Boland kicks a grubber kick towards the touch-line on his right. Stefan Terblanche of the Sharks waits for the bouncing ball. It bounces up and he grabs it. When he grabs it his right foot is on the touch-line.

Whose ball?

Law 19 DEFINITIONS

The ball is in touch if a player catches the ball and that player has a foot on the touch-line or the ground beyond the touch-line.

Terblanche was in touch when he caught the ball - and the law does not specify whether bouncing or through the air.

When Terblanche caught the ball, he was out and so the ball was out. A Boland player had kicked it and so the Sharks should have had the throw-in.

The touch judge gave the throw-in to Boland and from the line-out Lionel Cornelius of Boland's scored under the posts.

Being a touch judge is not always easy!

This happened after 19 minutes.

8. Playing the ball on the ground

Akona Ndungane of the Blue Bulls kicks the ball a long way down the field. Hooker Schalk Brits of Western Province goes back and collects the ball as Ndungane chases. Brits does some dancing on the spot which does not fool Ndungane who tackles him. Both go to ground. Brits lifts his torso up and passes the ball back to Gio Aplon and with difficulty Western Province survive.

Law 15.5 THE TACKLED PLAYER
(a) A tackled player must not lie on, over, or near the ball to prevent opponents from gaining possession of it, and must try to make the ball available immediately so that play can continue.
Penalty: Penalty Kick

What Brits did was within law.

This happened inside the first minute of the match.