Law Discussion - Super 14, Week 8 (ii)

This is the second instalment of a particularly long law discussion on Week 8 of the Super 14.

2. Truck ‘n Trailer is back in town

Last week we had a maul which became a one-side maul as the Hurricanes withdrew that went ahead and was considered still a maul. This week the Lions were penalised for truck ‘n trailer.

Why the difference? Inconsistency?

The Lions win a line-out and form a maul. The maul makes progress but then one piece of the maul – just two players in fact – breaks off. It goes its own way with Ross Geldenhuys ahead of Franco van der Merwe. Van der Merwe has the ball. When they make contact with the Highlanders Geldenhuys is guilty of obstruction.

The difference here was that what went with the ball was not the original maul but a breakaway faction.

That is why it was penalised.

This happened after 48 minutes.

3. On the other side

The Lions put the ball into the scrum. Jan Vermaak puts the ball in with Jimmy Cowan on his left. The Lions heel and Cowan skips round the scrum to the other side. He goes beyond the feet of Craig Newby, his No.8 and then starts going up the other side towards the tunnel.

OK

No.

Non-ELV Laws

Law 20.12 (d) The scrumhalf whose team does not win possession of the ball must not move to the opposite side of the scrum and overstep the offside line running through the hindmost foot of that player’s team in the scrum.
Penalty: Penalty Kick

ELV

Law 20.12 (d) The scrumhalf whose team does not win possession of the ball must not move to the opposite side of the scrum and overstep the offside line for that scrumhalf that runs through the hindmost foot of that player’s team in the scrum.
Penalty: Penalty Kick

The words have changed a bit, the concept not at all.

This happened after 7 minutes.

4. Why a penalty?

Stefan Terblanche of the Sharks kicks low and bouncing towards the touch-line on his left.

François Steyn of the Sharks, wearing 13 on his back because he is an outside centre, runs down the left touch-line, a ling way behind the ball which bounces into touch ahead of Hosea Gear who has no real chance of stopping it and makes no real attempt to do so.

As Steyn runs the referee calls out to him to stay back. Steyn runs on. The referee penalises Steyn saying: “I’m not going to call it all night.”

Firstly it was a silly penalty because the ball went into touch and nothing Steyn did had any material effect on that action or any other action. It is a rare penalty.

Secondly, this business of “I” is not great. It suggests an impatience which is hardly conducive to good relationships on the field and it gives the impression that the referee is putting himself and his convenience ahead of the players and the game. He is going to referee “all night”. He is going to apply the laws fairly and see fair play all night. That is why he is there. He will not have to warn against off-side all night but will have to do so from time to time.

This happened after 12 minutes into the game. 12 minutes and irritated already.

5. Real off-side

From a scrum to the Blues, Nick Evans kicks high downfield into the middle of the field. The ball is nowhere near touch and Lachie Turner catches it. Ahead of Evans when he kicks is centre Benson Stanley who carries on running downfield.

The referee blows his whistle and Turner runs to him to take a tap kick. The referee stops him.

The Waratahs have top exercise an option for this sort of infringement – a penalty where Stanley went off-side or a scrum where Evans kicked the ball. They opt for the penalty.

The scrum had been just on the Blues’ side of their 10-metre line. The referee gives the penalty on the Blues’ side of the 10-metre line.

Commentator: “I’m not sure how the penalty has landed up there.”

Stanley is off-side when and where he moves forward, and he then carried on moving forward. In this case there is not much difference between the place of the penalty and the place of the optional scrum.

This happened after 25 minutes in the game.

6. No quick throw

The Blues tackle Dean Mumm into touch. Nick Williams of the Blues tries to get the ball off him but Mumm stays in the way. By the time Williams has the ball players are forming up for a line-out. It’s higgledy-piggledy but there are players of both sides. Still Williams throws in quickly and backwards but the Waratahs’ hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau intercepts the throw and heads off for the goal-line. The referee stops him.

There were two reasons to stop him. Firstly there was probably a formed line-out which needed just two players from each side. Secondly the ball did not travel  beyond the line five metres from touch. Polota-Nau stopped it just short of the five-metre line.

That sounds easy, but is it.

The ELVs for the quick throw-in read:

Law 19.2 (e) At a quick throw-in, a player may throw the ball in a straight line along the line of touch or towards that player’s goal-line.

(g) At a quick throw-in, a player must not prevent the ball being thrown in 5 metres.

That ball was thrown on the diagonal. It may well have travelled five metres.

What happens under the ELVs, if a player throws in quickly but just infield down the touch-line to a team-mate who is within five metres of touch?

The written law may need just a slight tweak.

That happened after 38 minutes.

7. Dangerous necking

Near the end of the match, with the Bulls leading 114-10, but down to 14 men with a player in the sin bin, the Bulls forma maul from a line-out.

Derick Kuün decided that Pek Cowan should not be where he is and clamps both arms around his neck and wrenches.

The referee penalises Kuün.

Right?

Heavens yes.

Law 10.4 (e) A player must not tackle (or try to tackle) an opponent above the line of the shoulders. A tackle around the opponent’s neck or head is dangerous play.
Penalty: Penalty Kick

Conceding this penalty was the beginning of the situation which led to the Bulls’ defeat.

This happened after 75 minutes.

8. Up early

The Blues throw into aline-out. They throw deep with a slightly shortened line-out. The ball is travelling along the line-out when Phil Waugh of the Waratahs runs up towards the line-out.

The pod of Blues at the back, shuffles and jumps for the ball. When they catch it, they are infield of the 15-metre line and Waugh is there to meet them.

The referee penalises Waugh.

Right?

Yes.

19.10 OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO PLAYERS NOT IN THE LINE-OUT

In general, a player not taking part in a line-out must stay at least 10 metres behind the line of touch, or on or behind that player’s goal line if that is nearer, until the line-out ends. There are two exceptions to this:

Exception 1: Long throw in. If the player who is throwing in throws the ball beyond the 15-metre line, a player of the same team may run forward to take the ball. If that player does so, an opponent may also run forward.
Penalty: Penalty Kick on the offending team’s offside line, opposite the place of infringement but not less than 15 metres from the touchline.

Where will the penalty be?

10 metres closer to the Waratahs’ goal-line from the line of touch.

9. Mind the gap

The Sharks are to throw into a line-out. Before Bismarck du Plessis throws the ball in, Steven Sykes of the Sharks, at No.2 in the line-out, steps across the gap and bumps Rodney So’oialo. The Sharks then throw in to Johann Muller at No.4.

The referee free-kicks the Sharks for closing the gap with material effect.

Enough?

Law 19.7 (m) After the line-out has formed, but before the ball has been thrown in, a player must not hold, push, charge into, or obstruct an opponent.
Penalty: Penalty Kick on the 15-metre line

A penalty would not have been amiss, for that law remains the same in the ELVs.

That happened after 19 minutes.