Law Discussion - Week 12

There are still lots of law things to talk about in each week of the Super 14, and Week 12 is no exception.

So far this week we have give then statistics of the week. We have also placed eight clips on the South African Referees' website (www.sareferees.co.za). For those who cannot access them we shall repeat them towards the end of this discussion.

1. Taken back

a. A scrum is awarded to the Sharks fractionally outside their 22. Because of the place most of their players in the scrum are behind their 22. The ball comes back to Rory Kockott, the scrumhalf, well behind the 22. He passes to his left and two passes later Stefan Terblanche, well inside his 22, kicks directly into touch.

Where will the line-out be?

Opposite the place where Terblanche kicked, because the Sharks had taken the ball back into their 22, even if it was via a scrum.

That's the ELVs for you.

b. Some distance outside the Highlanders 22, the Cheetahs throw into a line-out but the Highlanders slap the ball back and recover it close to their 22.  From just outside their 22 they get the ball back to Toby Morland who is just inside his 22 and he passes back to Fetu'u Vainikolo who is about six metres from his goal-line. Vainikolo kicks the ball out on the full.

Where will the line-out be?

You have three choices:

i. where the ball went out.
ii where Morland passed the ball back, i.e. about a metre inside his 22.
iii where Vainikolo kicked the ball, i.e. about six metres from his goal-line.

The touch judge in this case opted for ii, a metre inside the Highlanders' half.

That means that Vainikolo's kick had gained his side about 15 metres. According to the ELVs if you take the ball back into your 22, you gain no metres at all if you kick it out on the full.

The line-out should have been six metres from the Highlanders' line.

2. Why no off-side

From a tackle/ruck Ben Lucas breaks. He breaks at speed through the tackle ruck and runs some 20 metres before Nick Evans grabs him. As he falls Lucas passes the ball to David Croft who is tackled by Daniel Braid and Nick Evans, who is on the ground, by the way. Croft lays the ball back quickly and well away from his body. Lucas picks up the ball and passes to his left. The ball hits Troy Flavell of the Blues as he falls back.

The referee awards a scrum to the Reds for a knock-on when Croft placed the ball.

What about the off-side?

Strictly speaking Flavell is off-side at the tackle, but he was in fact doing what the law requires of him, trying to get ball on-side. He had been knocked to the ground as Lucas burst away and burst had run quickly.

There was clearly from his body language - hands up and trying to shrink - on the part of Flavell.

Does that really deserve a penalty in front of the posts?

This happens after 13 minutes.

3. Why can't he?

Adam Thomson of the Highlanders tackles Adriaan Strauss of the Cheetahs from behind. He holds onto him and they both go to ground. It is a tackle and Thomson is a tackler in terms of the law.

No ruck is formed.

Thomson stands up and tackles Falie Oelschig, the Cheetahs scrumhalf as he picks up the ball.

Is Thomson liable to penalty?

He is on his feet - clearly on his feet no chance of being accused of not supporting his own weight.
Oelschig has the ball.

But what about the gate?

The tackler is not obliged to come from behind. He is allowed to play where he stands up.

This happened after 11 minutes.

4. Said

a. Referee: "I want a line-out set."

Referee, same match: "Where's my receiver?"

Referee, same match: "I'm not going to have people running ahead of the kicker."

We have spoken about the "I" of the referee before. It's unattractive, gives an air of arrogance and highlights any error the I may make and in this match there were three errors in law.

b. Referee: "Stay on, No.6."

Kieran Read took no notice and the referee did nothing as the flank stayed detached from the scrum.

Watch the referee telling players to move at the line-out and see how often nobody budges.

Not good for discipline/co-operation.

c. Murray Mexted on the Beast Mtawarira who is a Zimbabwean by birth: "He's not a bad footballer. I wonder if he's a Matabele. They're a derivative of the Zulu."

Co-commentator: "I don't know. He was born in Harare."

MM: "I wonder if he voted. I wonder if Mugabe's counting his vote."

d. Murray Mexted on Zac Guildford: "He looks younger than 19, Either way he's still young."

The rest can be seen as clips on www.sareferees.co.za.

5. Any reason not to award a try?

The Reds are attacking, right on the Blues' line. There is a tackle/ruck- certainly a ruck as players of either side are on their feet and physical contact over the ball which is on the ground.

Van Humphries of the Reds is in the ruck, puts a hand down, grabs the ball and places it on the goal-line.

The referee refers the matter to the television match official while the commentators have some fun.

Commentator 1:  "There's the ball - look. Is who ever did it on their feet. Yeah. No worries there, is there? Phil Kearns, can you tell me a reason why I cannot award a try?"

Commentator 2: "Well, I can't think of one."

Commentator 1: "It's a try."

TMO: "The ball has been grounded by Red on the goal-line."

Referee: "Can I award it?"

TMO: "You may award the try."

Is there a reason not to award the try?

There is a very good reason not to award a try - old-fashioned hands in a ruck.

Law 16.4 (b) Players must not handle the ball in a ruck.
Penalty: Penalty Kick

The ELVs applying to the Super 14 do not exclude this law. Handling in a  ruck is still wrong, even in Super 14.

Could the TMO have told the referee. The strict letter of the protocol would say No. Commonsense would suggest that help for the referee in this case would be a fair thing to do.

Perhaps the new IRB protocol will expand just a little bit to enable the TMO to help in a case such as this.

There is too big a difference between what happened and what should have happened - between a try toi the Reds and a penalty to the Blues.

6. Penalty try. Would you give it?

From a kick-off Jean de Villiers of the Stormers collects the ball, turns and races down the touch-line on his left as Mark Gerrard of the Brumbies comes across and closes in. Inside De Villiers is Gcobani Bobo of the Stormers. He is the nearest to De Villiers and Gerrard.

De Villiers passes infield to Bobo. Christian Lealiifano of the Brumbies with both hands pushes Bobo in the back. Bobo stumbles and does not gather the pass. The referee awards a penalty try and sends Lealiifano to the sin bin.

There is only one reason for awarding a penalty try - if, but for foul play, a try would probably have been scored.

That was the instant judgement the referee had to make - no replay, no slow motion, no consultation with the television match official.

The players were in the open and he would have had a good view of it from infield. Not from the lofty camera angle but from the other side and at ground level. He would have seen De Villiers pass infield. The ball was heading through the air towards Bobo. He would have seen Lealiifano's hands go to Bobo's back. He would have seen Bobo veer off course and the ball go to ground.

Bobo was about 10 metres from the line with considerable impetus.

There were good reasons to award a penalty try.

There may well have been good reasons not to award a penalty try - a poor pass from De Villiers, the distance Bobo still had to run.

The silly man was probably young Lealiifano who did do something wrong - putting hands to Bobo before Bobo got the ball.

7. "Off-side. Tackle made."

But was a tackle made?

Tackle has a definite definition in terms of the Laws of the Game, a precise definition in fact in contrast with the general use of tackle in rugby.

Law 15 A tackle occurs when the ball carrier is held by one or more opponents and is brought to ground.

Three things happen - player with ball is grabbed by an opponent and goes to ground while held by the opponent.

In each one of the four grabbings that led up to the "off-side", the ball-carrier is grabbed by an opponent. In not one is the ball-carrier brought to ground with the ball. Not one of the four is a tackle in terms of the law - the sort of tackle which under the ELVs produces an off-side line.

Commentator: "I don't think there is any doubt about the tackle being made..... That man there is certainly off-side."

That man there was Heinrich Brüssow who was the man penalised.

But there certainly was no tackle and no reason at all for Brussow to be off-side, certainly or not.

penalising Brussow was wrong.

The penalty produced the first score of the match.

8. Facing the ball

a. The Chiefs move left. Sione Lauaki passes to his left. The ball strikes Richard Kahui in the face and the ball shoots forward.

Referee: "Off his head. No knock - off his head."

The referee is right, as discussed in Clip 4.

Law 12 DEFINITION KNOCK ON

A knock on occurs when a player loses possession of the ball and it goes forward, or when a player hits the ball forward with the hand or arm, or when the ball hits the hand or arm and goes forward and the ball touches the ground or another player before the original player can catch it.

‘Forward’ means towards the opposing team’s dead ball line.

The knock-on occurs, as the commentator says, when Tanerau Latimer of the Chiefs loses the ball forward.

b. Andrew Hore of the Hurricanes drives around the side of a tackle/ruck. He tries to pass it back to Rodney So'oialo who is driving in.

The point of the ball's contact with So'oialo is not clear but if what the commentator says is true, is it a knock-on.

The commentator speaks of the ball "hitting Rodney So'oialo in the face".

Knock-on?

Law 12 DEFINITION KNOCK ON

A knock on occurs when a player loses possession of the ball and it goes forward, or when a player hits the ball forward with the hand or arm, or when the ball hits the hand or arm and goes forward and the ball touches the ground or another player before the original player can catch it.

‘Forward’ means towards the opposing team’s dead ball line.

Hore does not lose the ball forward. If the commentator is right, the ball does not go forward off So'oialo's hand or arm.

It would be a decision taking courage NOT to blow the whistle for the knock-on but off the face is not a knock-on.

If the point of contact was So'oialo's arm it would be a knock-on.

9. Whose ball in the reset scrum?

The Stormers put the ball in and their scrumhalf, Bolla Conradie, goes behind the scrum expecting the ball. But the Brumbies have a shove on and the scrum goes up. When the referee blows his whistle, the ball is on the Brumbies' side.

The referee says: "Scrum. White ball."

The Brumbies put the ball into the ensuing scrum and score a try from it.

All in order?

No.

Law 2.4 (g) If a scrum collapses or lifts up into the air without penalty a further scrum will be ordered and the team who originally threw in the ball will throw the ball in again.

If a scrum has to be reformed for any other reason not covered in this Law the team who originally threw in the ball will throw the ball in again.

The scrum had not wheeled beyond 90 degrees. It had gone up. The Stormers should have put the ball into the reset scrum.