Law discussion from Twickenham
England had a huge 62-5 victory over Wales which would now carry the regular epithet weakened, in keeping with the time and custom of 2007. There are just a few things to note about the match.
We have already given some statistics and have mentioned the scrums which continued to be tedious with collapses and resets.
We have shown two clips from the match on www.sareferees.co.za - a tackle on Shaun Perry by Horsman and Tom Shanklin and the other a deliberate knock-on by Ceri Sweeney.
1. Dangerous tackles
There were two that attracted attention, the second eliciting a yellow card.
a. England play Wales. Shaun Perry, the England scrumhalf, comes round the blind side where Tom Shanklin of Wales tackles him around the thighs and Chris Horsman around the neck. This lefts Perry so that he is vertical to the ground with his head facing downwards.
The "spear tackle" is not written into law as a spear tackle but instructions from the IRB have made it clear that it is a nasty form of dangerous tackle for which referees should first consider a red card and then work down from there if there are mitigating circumstances.
In this case no card was issued at all - just a penalty against Wales. Shanklin's action is certainly to lift Perry off the ground and tip him over. Neither his action and certainly not that of Horsman are calculated to see Perry safely to ground.
b. This was also a two-man tackle and again both men were out of order.
Dan Hipkiss of England broke brilliantly and raced down the field. Lee Byrne, the Welsh fullback, came across in cover and tackled Hipkiss around the neck, pulling him backwards. As Byrne was doing this Welsh wing Aled Brew came into Hipkiss, turning his body so that his right shoulder was ahead of his body. His right elbow made first contact with Hipkiss who was stopped abruptly.
This time the referee issued a yellow card to Brew for a tackle without the arms. It certainly, in real time, looked a tackle of great impact - worse than it looked in slow motion, but definitely a tackle without the use of the arms.
Here we have two tackles in which four tacklers were wrong.
Would you give two yellow cards at each tackle?
People could get upset.
People could also get upset that of the four only Brew was singled out for serious sanction.
2. Off-side?
Colin Charvis of Wales cuts clean through from a line-out and then, left-footed, kicks the ball low ahead. The ball hits David Strettle of England and bounces a long way back to Wales where Robert Sidoli of Wales grabs the ball. Mark Regan of England, who was in front of Strettle when the ball hit him and bounced ahead, tackles Sidoli. The referee penalises Regan.
Right?
Yes. It is the most basic off-side of them all - being in front of a team-mate who last played the ball.
3. Tackle oddities
The laws for the tackle are apparently changing next year. At times on Saturday it seemed that they had already changed and free-for-all was the name of the game.
a. Jonny Wilkinson runs down the left-hand touch-line. Chris Horsman of Wales tackles him and both go to ground. The first player to react to the tackle is Michael Owen, the Welsh No.8. He goes towards the tackle through the gate but Jason Robinson darts beyond Wilkinson and pulls Owen away.
After that a multiple pile-up occurs with bodies squirming on the ground like bulky earthworms. The referee awards a scrum to England.
The business about coming into a tackle through the "gate" applies to both teams. It applied to Jason Robinson.
This happened at about 34 minutes.
b. England drop out far and knock the ball back a long way. Prop Matt Stevens turns, goes back and retrieves the ball as Robert Sidoli tackles him. Simon Shaw of England of England is falling back. He goes not get to Stevens. In fact he is about two metres in front of Stevens. Shaw turns and thrusts a shoulder into Will James who is approaching the tackle.
Legal?
Not at all. He is playing a man who does not have the ball and is not part of any tackle/ruck.
This happened at about 76 minutes.