Law Discussion: damned two movements
Just when it seemed dead the ghastly phoenix of Two Movements, aka Double Movement, rose up again. Heaven forbid that it starts another plague.
It happened in the match between the Blue Bulls and the Sharks at Loftus Versfeld – the match of multiple TMO interventions which totalled just under 20 minutes on the chilly evening.
Bog Danie Rossouw of the Blue Bulls charged at the Sharks’ line. Just before the line Monty Dumond and Jacques Botes brought him down and as Rossouw fell, Andries Strauss fell on his upper body.
Rossouw kept hold of the ball and then reached out with a long right arm and grounded the ball on the Sharks’ goal-line.
The referee referred to the TMO and asked him to check the “legality” of the try.
The TMO came back with his decision: “”Two movements of the Blue player, therefore a penalty Black.”
It was surprising. That it was a wrong decision was disappointing. The use of that “two movements” damning.
There is nothing in the Laws of the Game that talks of two movements. Nothing. Nothing at all. The man who invented it should be subject to all manner of tortures – for all eternity it seems!
It has added nothing to the game but has led to lots of woolly thinking.
If there were two movements, what was the first one? Was it that Rossouw ran with the ball towards the line? That was hi first movement, and surely a legal one.
His next movement was to reach out to score a try. That, too, was a legal one according to Law 15.
Law 15.5 (g) If players are tackled near to the goal-line, these players may immediately reach out and ground the ball on or over the goal-line to score a try and make a touch-down.
That is what happened.
Rossouw was the tackled player. There were things he was not allowed to do. He was not allowed to hang onto the ball if there was somebody else wanting to play it. He did not do that.
He was not allowed to get up with the ball. He did not do that.
He was not allowed to crawl with the ball. He did not do that.
He was not allowed to propel his body forward after its had stopped moving, that is after it had lost momentum. He could scarcely have done that with Botes hanging onto him and Strauss lying on top of him.
Of course he moved his torso. It would be impossible to move his right arm without moving his torso but he did not move his body forward to get closer to the line. He was within arm’s length of the line.
By the Laws of the Game Danie Rossouw scored a try.
There are verbal shortcuts in rugby that have a clearly defined meaning – such as coming through the gate and lazy runner. Second movement/double movement is not one of them. It should be banned.
