Currie Cup incidents, 21 July

We have discussed some law issues from incidents in the last Saturday of Tri-Nations and now discuss some incidents from Currie Cup matches played over that same weekend.

There are four clips on the South African Referees’ website (www.sareferees.co.za) which may well be of interest.

This week we shall also deal with the reaction to two pieces submitted by readers – one on the proposed change to the quick throw-in and one on the fair contest at the tackle. In the latter regard we shall also give Andre Watson’s view of the fair contest at the tackle.

There is a lot to talk about.

1. Moving on

There were two incidents of tackles close to the line which bear scrutiny.

a. From a five-metre scrum strong Frans Viljoen picks up and drives at the Valke goal-line. Tackled he gets the ball over the line. Legally?

Viljoen drives low but Jacques Nieuwenhuis of the Valke brings him down and ends up under Viljoen who is just short of the line. On top of Nieuwenhuis Viljoen pushes his body forward and grounds the ball for the try.

Legal?

No. He is allowed to place the ball but not move his torso to do so – just place the ball. Moving his body forward while in possession of the ball is not one of his options.

b. Big Franco van der Merwe heads for the Free State line. Marius Joubert dives in and tackles him around the ankles, bringing him to ground as Darren Nel jumps on him from above.

Knees on the ground, Van der Merwe levers himself up with his right hand and, getting to the goal-line, plants the ball for the try.

But the referee penalises him.

Referee right?

Yes.

Even if neither Joubert nor Nel was holding him, Van der Merwe still had to get up off the ground to propel his body forward to score the try.

2. Carried over

From a post-line-out maul Derick Kuun of the Blue Bulls, who had been at the back of the maul with the ball in his possession, broke away and chipped towards the Western Province line.

Dylan Des Fountain of Western Province fell back, grabbed the bouncing ball in the field of play but his running line took him into the Western Province in-goal where he passed to Conrad Jantjes, the Western Province fullback. Jantjes kicks to clear but under pressure from Kuun and Dewald Potgieter the kick is charged down deep inside the Western Province in-goal and the ball bounced over the dead-ball line. The referee orders a five-metre scrum, Blue Bulls ball. They score a try from it.

The dissent was surprising as this has been law for years and years – at least since 1888.

In 1888 the law read: If a player shall kick, pass or carry the ball back across his own goal line, and it there be made dead, the opposite side may claim that the ball be brought back and a scrummage formed at the spot from whence it was kicked, passed or carried back. Under any other circumstances a player may at any time touch the ball down in his own goal.

It changed a bit in 1926: If a defending player wilfully kick, pass, knock or carry the ball back into his own ingoal, and it there be made dead, except as the result of a try, the ball shall be brought back and a scrummage formed at the spot from whence it was kicked, passed, knocked or carried back.

That is, with minor adjustments, it remained till 1954.

1954: If a defending player heels, kicks, passes, knocks or carries the ball back over his own goal line and it there becomes dead, except in the case where a try is obtained…. a scrummage shall formed five yards from the goal line opposite the place from which it was kicked, passed, knocked or carried back. The attacking team shall put the ball into the ensuing scrummage.

Let’s look at what the law says today.

Law 22.11 BALL DEAD IN IN-GOAL

(a) When the ball touches the corner post, the touch-in-goal line or the dead-ball line, or touches anything or anyone beyond those lines, the ball becomes dead. If the ball was played into in-goal by the attacking team, a drop-out shall be awarded to the defending team. If the ball was played into the in-goal by the defending team, a 5-metre scrum shall be awarded and the attacking team throws in the ball.

The defending team took the ball into their in-goal and the ball was made dead. The attacking team throws the ball into the five-metre scrum.

There it is. For years and years if you took the ball back into your in-goal and it wen dead without a try being scored – regardless of how it went dead – it would be a five-metre scrum/

3. Head-on stoppage

Dwayne Vermeulen of the Free State charges. Willem Alberts of the Golden Lions charges in to stop him. Vermeulen slips and his head and Alberts’s head collide. The referee blows his whistle.

There has been no foul play, in fact no infringement. Is he entitled to blow his whistle?

Law 6.A.8 THE REFEREE’S WHISTLE

(b) The referee has power to stop play at any time.

(g) The referee must blow the whistle when it would be dangerous to let play continue. This includes when a scrum collapses, or when a front-row player is lifted into the air or is forced upwards out of a scrum, or when it is probable that a player has been seriously injured.

Whose ball?

Free State ball.

Law 20.4 d) Scrum after any other stoppage. After any other stoppage or irregularity not covered by law, the team that was moving forward before the stoppage throws in the ball. If neither team was moving forward, the attacking team throws in the ball.

4. The intruder myth persists

Free State throw in at a line-out. Corniel van Zyl stands out as the receiver. Before Richardt Strauss throw in, Van Zyl steps into the line-out and Strauss throws the ball to him.

All hunkey-dorey.

Commentator: “If you stand out and then go into the line-out and then go into the line-out, the ball has to go to you.”

That just is not the case at all. It was the case for a short, lunatic time when the IRB’s designated members gave a ruling that that is how it had to be. It was a silly ruling and soon cancelled. It has been cancelled for some time now.

The ball in this case went to Van Zyl. It need not have gone to him. Not.

5. Off/on-side?

It’s near the end of the match. The Blue Bulls lead Western Province 16-15. They kick off and Pieter Louw drives the ball forward. A ruck forms. It was certainly a ruck. Bolla Conradie of Western Province passes the ball back to Peter Grant. Before Conradie had passed the ball, lock Willem Steenkamp of the Blue Bulls charged straight at Grant.

The questions asked was: Was Steenkamp off-side?

The referee saw what he did and said: “That’s fine.”

But was he off-side? It was important to Western Province as they then played the ball under pressure, passed badly and Trompie Nontshinga snapped up the ball to score a try.

It is not an easy one to see for two reasons – the camera angle did not make it easy to pick up the off-side line through the last foot of the last Blue Bull in the ruck and secondly because the ball is not visible. It is not clear to the viewer when the ball is out. Once the ball is out, then Steenkamp is allowed to advance the way he did.

What is clear is that the referee gets in a good position to see the ball and to monitor the off-side line. He warns Steenkamp about being off-side, saying: “Last feet.” Steenkamp moves back a little. It looks probable that he is on-side.

Then Bolla Conradie bends to play the ball. This is the bit we cannot see. When he gets hands on the ball, the ball must be out and the ruck is over. It takes Conradie some time to clear the ball. While he is getting it, his back to Steenkamp, Steenkamp advances and the referee says: “That’s fine.” It seems that he is saying that to Steenkamp. When Conradie gets the ball up, he passes to Peter Grant who is under pressure from Steenkamp.

All is not clear to the remote viewer but to the close viewer (the referee), who was the one that counted, things looked in order. Steenkamp’s immediate charge forward suggests that he had seen Conradie play the ball, indicating the end of the ruck.