Laws: history of release
Much has been made of the emphasis on the tackler's obligation to release the tackled player. For many it is seen as a new law. But is it.
There was great controversy at Newlands when South Africa scored a try and won a Test. An opponent was tackled and the South African player took the ball off him, drew the fullback and sent his team-mate over for a try. The opposition were incensed because the tackled player had not had the opportunity to reach the ball.
Date? This happened at Newlands in 1896. Fred Byrne was the tackled player. Biddy Anderson took the ball off him and passed to Alf Larard. South Africa won 5-0, its first ever Test victory. The Cape Times wrote: "It was a pity that the match should have been decided by what was after all a piece of sharp practice."
The obligation that required a tackled player the chance to release the ball is not new.
The way the tackled player released the ball has varied. In 1866 he was required to put the ball down If the player did not put the ball down, his opponents were entitled to hack him, that is kick him in the shins.
1874: "In the even of any player holding or running with the ball, being fairly tackled and the ball fairly held, he must at once cry 'down' and put it down." The a scrum was formed.
1888: "If in the opinion of the Referee he [the tackled player] has not immediately put the ball down, and if he, lying on the ground, has not immediately got up, he shall, on a claim from the opposite side, award a free kick."
1892: "If a player, while holding or running with the ball, be tackled and the ball fairly held, he must at once put it down in front of him."
1896: In front of him became "between him and his opponents' goal line".
1899: The referee was specifically instructed to act if a player prevented a tackled player from putting the ball down.
1905: Preventing the tackled player from putting the ball down was sanctioned with a free kick, and free kick then meant penalty.
1911: The law noted that after a tackle the next player to play the ball had to do so by playing it with his foot first.
1921: "It is not necessary to form a scrummage when a player has been tackled; any player who is onside can then play the ball with the foot, including a tackled player who must immediately get off the ball."
1931: "No player shall prevent a tackled player from releasing the ball or getting up after he has released it."
1958: It was no longer necessary to play the ball with the foot after a tackle but "It is illegal for any player to prevent a tackled player from releasing the ball."
1967: "It is illegal for any player to prevent a tackled player from releasing the ball
1974: "It is illegal for any player to prevent a tackled player from releasing the ball."
1987: "It is illegal for any player to prevent a tackled player from releasing the ball."
1998: "It is illegal for any player to prevent a tackled player from passing or releasing the ball."
2003: "When a player tackles an opponent and they both go to ground, the tackler must immediately release the tackled player."
Law 8 (a) "No player may prevent a tackled player from passing the ball."
(b) "No player may prevent a tackled player from releasing the ball and getting up or moving away from it."
And here it is in 2010:
Law 15.4 THE TACKLER
(a) When a player tackles an opponent and they both go to ground, the tackler must immediately release the tackled player.
Sanction: Penalty kick
(b) The tackler must immediately get up or move away from the tackled player and from the ball at once.
Sanction: Penalty kick
(c) The tackler must get up before playing the ball and then may play the ball from any direction.
Sanction: Penalty kick
And
Law 15.6 (c) Players in opposition to the ball carrier who remain on their feet who bring the ball carrier to ground so that the player is tackled must release the ball and the ball carrier. Those players may then play the ball providing they are on their feet and do so from behind the ball and from directly behind the tackled player or a tackler closest to those players’ goal line.
Sanction: Penalty kick
There it is. The law giving the tackled player a chance to release the ball and telling other players to give him that chance is not new. It is as old as the game. It is also clear that if you look at it down the last years that it has not been applied.
Why not? Perhaps it is part of the onus on the referee to let the game flow in the interests of entertainment. It may be that referees shy away from being dubbed pedantic if they apply the laws. It may also be a result from not allowing players to put booted feet on obstructive opponents.
Whatever the reason laissez faire has not been good for the game. Ball at tackles has becomes slower and slower and teams rely more and more on structures which make the game slower and slower and kicking.
Perhaps it's time to give the laws a chance.