Law Discussion - Super 14, Week 2

The ELVs run along in Week 2 and take a lot of the interest but we have also other points of law to discuss this week.

So far we have given statistics for the Super 14 and the third round of the Six Nations and discussed incidents from the third round of the Six Nations.

There are eight clips on www.sareferees.co.za which may also be of interest.

We have an incident from a French Top 14 match, which may be of interest, and we have some things which people said, including some Mextedisms.

Let’s start with the penalty try.

1. Penalty try

The Brumbies are hot on the attack against the Highlanders. They go left and look as if they must score. Hooker Huia Edmonds has the ball with two men free outside of him, Stephen Hoiles and Francis Fainifo. He goes for the line himself and is less than a metre from the line when big Hayden Triggs fells him. He drops and the Brumbies do not score.

The referee discusses the matter with his assistant and then awards a penalty and sends Triggs to the sin bin.

Inevitably a commentator, who is a regular critic of referees’ decisions, finds fault, saying: “I think that’s real rough.”

Were their grounds for a penalty try.

Triggs’s tackle was high. It’s around Edmonds’s neck. That constitutes foul play.

Law 10.2 A penalty try must be awarded if the offence prevents a try that would probably otherwise have been scored. A player who prevents a try being scored through foul play must either be cautioned and temporarily suspended or sent off.

The second criterion is the probability of try’s being scored. It would be hard to see a more probable score. Edmonds needed top do little more than fall down to score. A try was certainly probable. There was a covering player behind the action, Tom Donnelly who was coming across and in in-goal and not in a good position to stop the charging Brumby. The try still looked probable.

The two criteria are met – foul play and the probable try.

That makes the penalty try eminently reasonable.

There is an argument which says that Smith may well not have scored if Triggs had tackled him legally. That is a specious argument. The fact is that he did tackle illegally. It was a foul tackle that stopped Smith from scoring.

The “If he had’ve” argument will apply to all penalty tries – If he’d tackled properly instead of tripping him, If they’d wheeled instead of collapsing…. It’s not better an argument than saying the Brumbies would’ve scored if Edmonds had passed. He did not pass. Triggs did not tackle legally.

Then there was criticism for sending Triggs to the sin bin. But that is exactly what the law requires –  A player who prevents a try being scored through foul play must either be cautioned and temporarily suspended or sent off.

The referee was required to send Triggs to the sin bin or off the field. He had no legal alternative. He sent him to the sin bin.

2. A fumbled mark

The Blues kick down onto Rayno Benjamin who is well inside his 22. He runs backwards facing his own goal-line and calls for the mark as he catches the ball. He fumbles it twice in that it bounces out of his hands but he holds onto it.  The referee gives the mark for the fair catch.

But was it a fair catch?

Law 18 DEFINITION

To make a mark, a player must be on or behind that player’s 22-metre line. A player with one foot on the 22-metre line or behind it is considered to be ‘in the 22’. The player must make a clean catch direct from an opponent’s kick and at the same time shout “Mark”. A mark cannot be made from a kick off, or a restart kick except for a drop out.

“Clean catch” is not defined in law but is generally regarded as a catch without a fumble. Otherwise “catch” by itself would have done.

3. Unauthorised replacement

This happens in a sequence of play which goes on for two and a half minutes.

First the Western Force attack. Then Jacques-Louis Potgieter intercepts and grubbers the ball a long way downfield. Potgieter chases, starts limping and goes to ground injured about six metres from the Force line while Drew Mitchell of the Force goes on a counterattack.

The Force gradually go upfield, leaving Potgieter lying behind them. Play goes on for roughly two minutes after Potgieter falls down injured. In other words the Cheetahs defend for two minutes without him. After he has been down and attended to for a minute Conrad Barnard came onto the field. He came on about three metres on the half-way line side of the Cheetahs’ ten-metre line.

When play was about six metres beyond the Cheetahs’ 22, play stopped for a free kick to the Force.

The referee’s assistant came on and pointed out Barnard’s illegal intrusion and suggested that they go back for the penalty, which is what happened. The penalty was given where Barnard came onto the field, i.e. about three metres on the half-way line side of the Cheetahs’ ten-metre line. Matt Giteau goaled and the Force went ahead 13-12.

OK?

Not altogether.

First point: Barnard was not allowed onto the field in the way he came on.

3.7 PERMANENT REPLACEMENT

A player may be replaced if injured. If the player is permanently replaced, that player must not return and play in that match. The replacement of the injured player must be made when the ball is dead and with the permission of the referee.

The ball was not dead, nor did he have the permission of the referee who did not even know he was there.

Replacements of this nature are usually regulated by a match official designated to do the job. Whether he gave permission is unclear and seems unlikely.

Funnily enough there is no sanction in law for such an intrusion,. But there one for an injured player who returns to play without the referee’s permission – A penalty is awarded at the place where play would restart.

There is also a penalty for playing with 16 men, which is presumably what the Cheetahs were doing because there had been no official departure of Potgieter or arrival of Barnard. Again: A penalty is awarded at the place where play would restart.

It would make sense that Barnard should have been penalised where the free kick would have been given, which would have been an easier place for Giteau – not that he needed it any easier.

That makes sense. Otherwise where do you penalise Barnard? Where he stepped onto the field? Where he first did something in play?

4. Dragged dead

Julian Huxley, with the Canberra wind behind him, kicks downfield. It rolls over the Highlanders’ goal line and into the in-goal where it gradually loses impetus as Gavin Williams keeps an eye on it. Just when it seems to have died, Williams, right leg over the dead-ball line grabs the ball.

The referee asks his assistant for help. The assistant suggests that the ball was still rolling. Williams being dead, made the kick dead. A kick into the in-goal that goes dead results in an option to the defending team of a 22 or a scrum where the ball was kicked.

The Highlanders opted for the scrum a long way down the field.

5. Changing his line

Sam Cordingley of the Reds kicks ahead. He bumps into Ma’a Nonu of the Hurricanes.

The referee penalises Nonu, saying: “You changed your running line.”

Then he says: “Penalty there or there?”

Then he says” “15 metres in.”

All that the referee does and says in this incident is right.

When Cordingley kicked, Nonu was not required to evaporate. He could stay where he was, but he was not allowed to move out into Cordingley’s path. That was obstruction.

That obstruction was late, in that it was after the kick. The referee then gave the Reds the option of a penalty where Nonu obstructed or a penalty where the ball landed. (The there or there)

The Reds took the penalty where the ball landed but in such a case the place of the penalty must be at least 15 metres in from touch.

That may help to explain the referee’s telegraphese.

Law 10.4 (m) Late-charging the kicker. A player must not intentionally charge or obstruct an opponent who has just kicked the ball. Penalty: The non-offending team may choose to take the penalty kick either at the place of infringement, where the ball lands, or where it was next played.

6. Not 10 metres.

Or if you’re even older – not 10 yards.

Berrick Barnes of the Reds kicks off to start their match against the Hurricanes. He scoops a high kick and when the ball comes down it drops before it reaches the 10-metre line.

Ma’a Nonu has his back to the ball when it strikes his leg and bounces back into Reds land where the Hurricanes put pressure on the Reds.

The kick is also short at the start to the second half, but the Reds refuse to play the ball and get the scrum.

Law 13.6 KICK OFF OF UNDER 10 METRES BUT PLAYED BY AN OPPONENT

If the ball does not reach the opponent’s 10-metre line but is first played by an opponent, play continues.

7. Things said

a. Referee in Bulls vs Crusaders, giving his decision: “Full arm.”

Why on earth not say penalty? It’s the world for a penalty in the law book. It’s a word everybody understands.

b. In the Brumbies match against the Highlanders, the referee penalised the Brumbies for being off-side at a tackle.

Commentator: “It looked like he was just itching to give the decision without even looking.”

It sounds like a feat of refereeing!

c. Same commentator: “He’s marched them another five metres.”

It’s still 10 metres in law.

d. Flank Schalk Burger to referee: “I’m Number 9/”

Burger had taken up the scrumhalf position at a Sharks scrum while the usual scrumhalf was at flank. The referee has said to him: “Stay, Six.”

e. Commentator in the match between Hurricanes and Reds when the law was explained to him: “Bind on the hindmost. That’s ridiculous.”

f. Commentator as Clinton Schifcofske was squinting at the posts: “Has that guy something in his eye?”

g. Commentator on Chris Latham: “Whatever Worcester paid him, he was cheap.”

h. Before the Hurricanes and the Reds got started there was a delay while some big, burning fireworks were removed.

Commentator: “The fireworks brigade may get fired.”

8. TMO asked

There was an interesting divergence from the TMO protocol in a Top 14 match in France between Castres and Stade Français.

Kees Meeuws of Castres punched, more than once. The referee was aware of wrongdoing and referred the matter to the television match official who gave him advice inaudible to the television audience but resulted in a penalty against Meeuws. Clearly France has a dispensation to do this sort of thing.

Bad idea?

Not necessarily at all and it did not take long at all.