Law discussion: Offside in in-goal

There was an unusual penalty try at Newlands on Saturday when the Stormers played the Sharks.

The Sharks score a penalty goal and Kurt Coleman of the Stormers kicks off deep to his left. Frans Steyn catches the ball and is immediately grabbed by Juan de Jongh. Steyn gives the ball to Jaco Reinach who kicks to his right, but the kick is charged down by Damian de Allende of the Stormers. The ball flies towards the Sharks' line as Odwa Ndungane falls back for the Sharks and De Allende, Schalk Burger and Nizaam Carr speed towards the ball. Ndungane gets the bouncing ball infield and carries it back over his goal-line. He is in-goal when Carr and Burger grab him. As he falls to ground Ndungane loses the ball forward. Reinach, who is in front of Ndungane balls on the ball as Dillyn Leyds of the Stormers makes for the ball. The referee awards a penalty try.

After awarding the penalty try, the referee turns to explain the decision to the Sharks' captain, Bismarck du Plessis, but the Springbok hooker gives him a thumbs-up sign (not caught on the clip) and says that he understands. Steyn is puzzled. He asks how a player can be regarded as offside behind his goal-line.

In-goal is not a free for all. Laws do not just disappear. There are some changes to tackle, ruck and maul, and the ball can be killed by touching it down. But lots of other laws still exist.

A knock-on in in-goal is an infringement.

A forward pass in in-goal is an infringement.

Throwing the ball into touch-in-goal is an infringement.

Hitting, punching, kicking an opponent in in-goal is each an infringement.

Offside is an infringement.

Law 22.16 INFRINGEMENTS IN IN-GOAL

All infringements in the in-goal are treated as if they had taken place in the field of play.

A knock-on or a throw forward in the in-goal results in a 5-metre scrum, opposite the place of infringement.

Sanction: For an infringement, the mark for a penalty kick or free kick cannot be in the in-goal.

When a penalty kick or free kick is awarded for an infringement in the In-goal, the mark for the kick is in the field of play, 5 metres from the goal-line, opposite the place of infringement.

There – a penalty kick may be awarded for a certain kind of infringement in in-goal if it is the sort of infringement that would have been penalised in the field of play.

Offside is such an infringement.

The most rudimentary form of offside is being in front a player of your side who last played the ball.

Law 11 DEFINITIONS

In general play a player is offside if the player is in front of a team-mate who is carrying the ball, or in front of a team-mate who last played the ball.

Reinach was in front of Ndungane who had last played the ball. Reinach was in an offside position.

Being in an offside position is not penalised unless the player does something while there. Reinach did some thing. He dived on the ball to touch it down and so end play.

Ndungane lost the ball forward. That is a knock-on.

Law 12 DEFINITION: KNOCK-ON

A knock-on occurs when a player loses possession of the ball and it goes forward, or when a player hits the ball forward with the hand or arm, or when the ball hits the hand or arm and goes forward, and the ball touches the ground or another player before the original player can catch it.

‘Forward’ means towards the opposing team’s dead ball-line.

But the ball is not dead at a knock-on and the referee always allows the other team to play on for an advantage. Leyds would have liked to have played on as he could have scored a try.

Law 11.7 OFFSIDE AFTER A KNOCK-ON

When a player knocks-on and an offside team-mate next plays the ball, the offside player is liable to sanction if playing the ball prevented an opponent from gaining an advantage.

Sanction: Penalty kick

What Reinach did was an infringement. He infringed of his own volition for he wanted to prevent Leyds from scoring a try – an understandable reflex but nonetheless wrong.

Law 10 deals with Foul Play.

Law 10.2 UNFAIR PLAY

(a) Intentionally Offending. A player must not intentionally infringe any Law of the Game, or play unfairly. The player who intentionally offends must be either admonished, or cautioned that a send-off will result if the offence or a similar offence is committed, or sent off.

Sanction: Penalty kick

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.

Would Leyds have probably scored a try but for what Reinach did illegally?

The referee's answer was Yes – and so he awarded a penalty try.

Strictly according to law he should have sent Reinach to the sin bin. Look at the 'musts' in the law above. Now that would have been harsh for what was simply a reflex action that did no damage and in fact incurred a penalty try.

Like Bismarck du Plessis we should give the referee a thumbs-up for this decision. It was a correct one.