More on ELVs from Hartebeesthoek
South Africa's top ten referees met at the Nature Reserve at Hartebeesthoek for their annual; pre-season course, which included, this year, instruction and discussion of the Experimental Law Variations which will be introduced partly to the Super 14 and fully into all domestic rugby in South Africa.
The presentations and discussions were led by Andre Watson, South Africa's manager of referees, and Tappe Henning, the International Rugby Board's referee selector. The discussions were held over four days and ended with an examination which included the ELVs.
For top referees this is not easy as they run the risk of refereeing three different sets of laws in a short period of time - a Super 14 match, a Six Nations Test and a Vodacom Cup match.
We have already discussed some of the variations. We shall now look at the tackle/ruck, the scrum, the line-out, kick-offs and sanctions.
This is not the law as it is written but the law reduced to "layman's language".
1. Tackle/ruck
There are some big innovations here - off-side at the tackle, the ball unplayable at a tackle/ruck and the use of hands in the ruck, and then the sanctions which will be applied.
a. Off-side
There is an off-side line at a tackle which will stretch from touch-line to touch-line and will change with each successive tackle. This is true whether or not a ruck is formed.
The tackled player and the tackler are not subject to the off-side law - provided that they get back to their feet to play.
This will apply to both Super 14 and to South Africa's domestic rugby.
This change may be most obvious when a player breaks, runs for some distance and is tackled by the fullback, meaning that 14 players of the fullback's team are in an off-side position.
Players in an off-side position at a tackle come on-side if they reach an on-side position or if an opponent kicks the ball or runs five metres with the ball.
In the second case running five metres with the ball (usually just over two strides) is in any direction.
Sanction: a penalty kick. This applies to side entry because it will fall under off-side - the offending player crossing the off-side line to enter the tackle.
b. Unplayable
If the ball at a tackle or ruck or maul is unplayable, the referee will award a free kick to the team not in possession at the start of the tackle or ruck.
c. Use of hands
Players in a ruck who are on their feet are allowed to use their hands in a ruck to win possession provided that they are not guilty of foul play.
Hands may be sued to pick up the ball. That means that it is possible to turn a ruck into a maul. Opponents are allowed to pull a maul down but are not allowed to pull a ruck down.
This will not apply to Super 14.
d. Sanctions
We have already mentioned the sanction for being off-side and having an effect on play - a penalty kick.
Dangerous/foul play is always a penalty kick.
The following have been changed from penalty kicks to free kicks:
lying on the ground on or over the ball
falling on or over a player lying on the ground
going off feet at a tackle/ruck
lying on the ground and playing the ball
If any of the above becomes deliberately infringing or repeated infringement. A penalty kick will be awarded.
The following remain penalties:
kicking the ball from the hands of a tackled player when he is at the goal-line
collapsing the ruck
jumping on top of a ruck
stamping on a player on the ground
2. Line-outs
a. Numbers will no longer apply at line-outs in the domestic competition. They will continue to apply in Super 14. Domestically, a team may put as many players into the line-out as it can fit between 5m and 15m, regardless of whether it is throwing into the line-out or not.
b. A team need not have a receiver (scrumhalf) at the line-out, but if they do, he must stand 2m from the line-of-touch.
c. The immediate opponent of the player throwing into a line-out (usually a hooker) must be two metres from the line-out.
This will be applied in Super 14 and in domestic competition. This is to prevent the non-throwing hooker from standing at his front man and lifting him, giving him an edge on the jumper of the team throwing in the ball who would be at No.2 in the line-out if he wanted support from his front man.
d. Pregripping of the jumper and lifting of the jumper are allowed. These are de facto practices already.
e. Sanctions: There has been no change to the sanctions in the line-out except that in domestic competitions the free kick for wrong numbers falls away and for an incorrect throw-in a free kick is awarded where previously it had been a scrum
3. Kick-offs and drop-outs
a.. Sanctions: As in Sevens rugby, errors by the kicking team result in Free Kicks.
if the kicker's players are in front of the kick - free kick
if the kick does not travel 10m - free kick
if the ball is kicked into in-goal and is immediately dead - free kick
if the ball goes directly into touch - option of a free kick or a line-out.
4. Scrums
a. The offside lines for players not in the scrum or involved in putting the ball into the scrum is 5 metres back from the back foot of their last player in the scrum.
This affects defending scrumhalves in two ways:
(i) If the scrumhalf of the team not winning the ball moves more than a metre from the scrum, he must drop back to the off-side line five metres behind the scrum.
(ii) If the scrumhalf stays close to the scrum but wants to go to the "other side" of the scrum, he must not advance beyond a line through the rearmost foot on his side of the scrum.
b. >Sanctions:
It is a penalty for off-side.
There are changes to the sanctions:
Having too few players in a scrum: free kick
If the prop pushes in at an angle: free kick
Incorrect binding by props and hookers - free kick
Incorrect binding by others in the scrum - free kick
Handling in the scrum - free kick
Falling on the ball as it emerges from the scrum, - free kick
Scrumhalf kicking the ball in the scrum - free kick