Law Discussion - RWC Day 5

There were three matches on Day 5 on which Tonga beat the USA, Fiji beat Japan in a thriller and Italy battled to beat Romania. There is one incident in particular that drew our attention.

We have already given the statistics of Day 5.

1. The “bizarre ruling”

Italy attack Romania. Andrea Masi of Italy kicks ahead down towards the Romanian goal-line. Catalin Fercu, the Romanian right wing, falls back rapidly and gathers the ball before the goal-line but the impetus of his run-back takes him into the goal area. He seeks to run out of trouble but fullback David Bortolussi ankletaps him from behind. Bortolussi and Fercu both go to ground. Both leap up. Fercu, still in his in-goal and near his posts, kicks but Valerio Bernabo charges the kick down about three metres from the goal-line. The ball goes back towards the Romanian in-goal . Bortolussi grabs the ball just before the line and dives over for a “try”.

The referee penalised Bortolussi on the five-metre line.

The commentator though the decision “a bit daft”. Then he said: “There is no off-side from a charge-down. Bizarre ruling. I don’t believe Bergamasco was off-side because it was a charge-down. Much easier for us sitting up here with the benefit from the replay.”

There did not seem to be real benefit from the replay as there are errors in what he says, not least in terms of law.

This business of no off-side from a charge-down is an entirely new one. Just when you think you have heard it all, a new one pops up to amaze. There is nothing in the law which says “there is no off-side from a charge-down”. The law does say that a charge-down is not a knock-on but the offside law still applies – the simple offside of being in front of a player of your team who last played the ball. Bortolussi (not Bergamasco) was offside because he was in front of Bernabo who last played the ball when he charged it down.

The decision was neither daft nor bizarre. It was in fact correct.

Law 11 DEFINITIONS

In general play a player is off-side 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.

Where is the penalty?

Law 21.2 WHERE PENALTY AND FREE KICKS ARE TAKEN

(a) The kicker must take the penalty or free kick at the mark or anywhere behind it on a line through the mark. If the place for a penalty or free kick is within 5 metres of the opponents’ goal-line, the mark for the kick is 5 metres from the goal-line, opposite the place of infringement.

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

That means that if Bortolussi picked up the ball before the goal-line, the penalty was where he picked it up. If he picked it up over the goal-line, the place for the penalty would have been five metres from the goal-line.

There was one other point. When Fercu fell with the ball, did the ball touch the ground in in-goal.

Law 22.1 GROUNDING THE BALL

There are two ways a player can ground the ball:

(a) Player touches the ground with the ball. A player grounds the ball by holding the ball and touching the ground with it, in in-goal. ‘Holding’ means holding in the hand or hands, or in the arm or arms. No downward pressure is required.

Fercu was holding the ball. If it then touched the ground, it was grounded. If it was grounded then it would have been a 5m scrum to Italy.

2. Sending-off

The referee sent off Marius Tincu, the lively Romanian hooker. Tincu had not done anything wrong but he had been injured. Was the referee entitled to send him off?

Romania attack going right. Fly-half Ionut Dimofte chips. Manoa Vosawai of Italy bats the ball with his right hand. The Romanians struggle to control it and in the bobbing about Andrea Masi tackles Tincu hard.

The referee stops play and then attends to Tincu, stabilising his head and assisting the medical personnel when they come on. Tincu gets to his feet and after Dimofte has goaled a penalty is in position for the Italian kick-off.

The referee asks him about his health and then stops play. He goes across to Tincu and says to him: “I just want to make sure you’re all right.” Tincu is a bit taken aback but the referee says to reassure him: “I’m just worried about your safety, that’s all.” The referee says to the Romanian support staff: “”He was out.” Tincu then leaves the field and is replaced.

Did the referee have the right to stop Tincu from playing?

Law 3.9 THE REFEREE’S POWER TO STOP AN INJURED PLAYER FROM CONTINUING

If the referee decides – with or without the advice of a doctor or other medically qualified person – that a player is so injured that the player should stop playing, the referee may order that player to leave the playing area. The referee may also order an injured player to leave the field in order to be medically examined.

The referee in this case was highly qualified to do what he did because he had had 17 years as a paramedic. Few referees would be as qualified as he was.

3. Charge-down vs knock-on

This concerns incidents in both 1. and 2. above.

In each case a Romanian kicked and an Italian blocked the ball by knocking it down with the hand.

In the first case Catalan Fercu kicked and Valerio Bernabo knocked the ball down with his hands or arms and the ball went forward. Bernabo was not penalised for his action.

In the second instance Ionut Dimofte chipped and Manoa Vosawai put up a big right hand and knocked the ball down. The ball went forward. Vosawai was penalised.

Why the difference?

Because it was one-handed?

No.

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.

EXCEPTION: Charge down. If a player charges down the ball as an opponent kicks it, or immediately after the kick, it is not a knock-down though the ball may travel forward.

It is only the referee who can decide if Vosawai hit the ball forward or charged it down. His action of lifting a hand and batting the ball looked more like knock-on than charge-down.

4. Line-out off-side

Carlo Festuccia of Italy throws into a line-out and Sergio Parisse catches the ball. As he brings it down, the Romanian prop Petrisor Toderasc, who has been stationed at the back of the line-out runs to Parisse. The other Romanians leave Parisse alone, thus not forming a maul. It was obviously a planned move.

Was Toderasc all right?

No – not till the ball left the line-out. Once Parisse passed the ball back, as he did, the line-out was over but till then Toderasc was not allowed across the line of throw till the ball was played or advance beyond the ball, which he did..

Law 19.12 OFF-SIDE AT THE LINE-OUT

(a) When a line-out forms, there are two separate offside lines, parallel to the goal-lines, for the teams.

(b) Participating players. One offside line applies to the players taking part in the line-out (usually some or all of the forwards, plus the scrum-half and the player throwing in). Until the ball is thrown in, and has touched a player or the ground, this off-side line is the line-of-touch. After that, the offside line is a line through the ball.

5. Penalty try
We are going to keep saying this: A penalty try is not awarded for repeated infringement. A penalty try is awarded if the illegal action of the offending teams prevents the scoring of a probable try.

It does not matter whether the Romanian scrum went down for the first time or the 21st time when the referee awarded a penalty try. All that matters is did the referee think that a try would probably be scored. Probably, not definitely as one commentator said.

In the case of the scrum five-metres from the Italian line, the whole Italian pack was on its feet in good control and going forward while the Romanian scrum had disintegrated. This cohesive Italian phalanx was moving forward with the ball at the number eight’s feet. A try certainly looked probable. The Romanian forwards peeled out to right and to left. The Italian front row actually stayed on its feet but the Romanians brought down the second row.

The penalty try looked a fair decision.

7. Legs up

France is famous for legs up but we are not talking about the Moulin Rouge and its can-can girls. This is something that happens occasionally in a maul.

It’s hard to stop a well coordinated maul, as the Fijians found when they played the cohesive Japanese in Toulouse.

In one maul early on little Tomoki Yoshida was caught up in it tall Kele Leawere, more than once, grabbed his leg and lifted it up.

This is not a permitted way to destabilise a maul as it could possibly cause the maul to collapse.

8. Tap tap

It happened earlier in the World Cup and again on Wednesday in hot Montpellier, again a USA player was involved. The American Eagles were awarded a penalty near their line late in the game. Their scrumhalf Chad Erskine took the tap. He held the ball in both hands and brought his right boot into contact with the ball which did not leave his hands.

OK?

Not according to the Laws of the Game.

Law 21.4 (c) A clear kick. The kicker must kick the ball a visible distance. If the kicker is holding it, it must clearly leave the hands. If it is on the ground, it must clearly leave the mark.

9. Outs and ins

Pierre Hola of Tonga kicks a penalty kick for the touch-line on his left. The USA’s right wing Salesi Sika waits for the ball and as it drops over the touch-line he leans further and further over the touch line. He is over the touch-line and the ball is over the touch-line but his feet are in the field of play.

As he starts to topple over he flicks the ball back through his legs into the field of play. Then he falls to the ground.

Play goes on.

Right?

Yes.

Law 19 DEFINITIONS

If the ball crosses the touch-line or touch-in-goal line, and is caught by a player who has both feet in the playing area, the ball is not in touch or touch-in-goal. Such a player may knock the ball into the playing area. If a player jumps and catches the ball, both feet must land in the playing area otherwise the ball is in touch or touch-in-goal.