Law Discussion - RWC, Days 16-19
The Pool matches in the 2007 Rugby World Cup rushed to a close with a dramatic final weekend where the futures of eight teams were decided. We discuss some law issues from Days 16-19, the last bit of the pool matches.
The matches concerned are Georgia vs Namibia, Samoa vs USA, England vs Tonga, New Zealand vs Romania, Australia vs Canada, Wales vs Fiji, Scotland vs Italy, France vs Georgia, Argentina vs Ireland and South Africa vs the USA. The teams that progressed to the quarter-finals as a result of this series of matches are England, Fiji, Scotland and Argentina. It was a tense time.
There are clips of some of the incidents on www.sareferees.co.za.
1. Colour hints
Way back there was a little booklet of Hints for Referees. One of the first bits of advice was on a referee’s garb. In that it was suggested that the referee always take two, preferably three, jerseys to a match in case of colour clashes – that was in the days when referees, in search of anonymity, wore single-colour jerseys.
When Georgia played Namibia, the players used three colours – white, red and blue. As has been the trend at this World Cup, the colours are in big panels. But still there lots of other colours and colour combinations for the referee.
What was not bright was for the referee wear blue and white with a red whip across the back. At one stage the Georgian scrumhalf wanted to go blind, saw the blue figure of the referee and spun round to go the other way.
2. What no maul!
a. England win a line-out and form a maul-like thing, only it’s not a maul because the Tongans stand off. England realises this and suddenly the players at the back breaks away and is tackled. Because the Tongans stayed off, there nobody was obstructed.
Play goes on.
b. England throw in at a line-out. Ben Kay catches the ball near the back. England make their formation hoping for a maul but Tonga do not join in, and so there is no maul. England work the ball back to Easter and then charge forward, into Finau Maka of Tonga.
The referee blows his whistle and awards a scrum to Tonga for accidental off-side.
That was kind as obstruction was a possibility but there was no way England intended to obstruct. Accidental off-side looks a sensible call.
c. New Zealand throw in at a line-out and try to form a maul formation at the back but the Romanians stand back, hence no maul. The All Blacks drive their formation ahead and as the Romanians come in the back part falls to ground. Neemia Tialata has the ball and lies on the ground.
The referee lets play go on.
That was right. There was no obstruction here at all because when Tialata went to ground, the Oaks had a free run at him.
3. Why me?
England win a scrum and No.8 Nick Easter picks up and passes to flank Martin Corry, who is tackled by Tongan Sione Tu’ipulotu. Easter immediately turns and goes back to the ball that Corry held. The referee penalises Easter.
There are two reasons to penalise Easter. Firstly he is off-side because he is in front of a team-mate who last played the ball. Secondly, he is a part of “other players” at the tackle, i.e. neither the tackler nor the tackled player, and so he is required to enter the tackle from his side and behind the tackle.
4. Legal?
Tonga throw in deep at a line-out where Lisiate Fa’aoso near the back catches the ball. The Tongans form round Fa’aoso and the English join in. It is a maul. Martin Corry is on the edge of this and is bound by his left arm. He swings round beyond Fa’aoso and takes the ball off Fa’aoso.
The referee says: “He’s in the line-out. It’s legal.”
Is it?
Law 19.13 (c) After the ball has touched a player or the ground. A player not carrying the ball is off-side if, after the ball has touched a player or the ground, that player steps in front of the ball, unless tackling (or trying to tackle) an opponent. Any attempt to tackle must start from that player’s side of the ball.
But:
Law 19.16 OFF-SIDE AT RUCKS OR MAULS IN THE LINE-OUT
(a) When a ruck or a maul develops in a line-out. the off-side line for a player taking part in the line-out no longer runs through the ball. The off-side line is now the hindmost foot of that player’s team in the ruck or maul.
(d) A player taking part in the line-out must either join the ruck or maul, or retire to the off-side line and stay at that line, Otherwise that player is off-side.
Penalty: Penalty Kick on the 15-metre line
(e) The rest of the law of ruck or maul applies. A player must not join the ruck or maul from the opponents’ side. Players must not join it in front of the off-side line. If they do, they are off-side.
Penalty: Penalty Kick on the 15-metre line
Corry joined the maul legally. As long as he stayed a part of the law it would seem that what he did would be legal. But if he released his bind and swing round and into Fa’aoso Corry would have been off-side.
This happened in the 52nd minute.
5. You will not throw
Keven Mealamu of New Zealand is tackled into touch. Lucian Sirbu of Romania picks up the ball and wants to take a quick throw, but Jerry Collins stand right in front of Sirbu, about half a metre from him with his hands in the air, thus preventing the throw. Menaced, Sirbu does not throw.
If Sirbu was allowed to take the quick throw-in, and it seemed that he was so allowed, then what Collins did was wrong.
Law 19.2 (g) At a quick throw-in, a player must not prevent the ball being thrown in 5 metres.
Penalty: Free Kick on the 15-metre line
6. Double movement and all that jazz
The Romanians attack and hooker Marius Tincu charges for the line. Luke McAlister and Andrew Ellis try to stop him. Tincu goes to ground over the line with McAlister under him. He then bounces his body to the right and scores a try which the referee awards.
Commentator: “”No double movement here. He’s held up and then it’s a case of not held in the tackle because he’s on top of the bodies. He can move off that situation. No problem.”
Law 15.1 A tackle can only take place in the field of play.
Forget the misplaced “only”. That Tincu is over the line means that there is no tackle.
Law 15.3 (b) If the ball-carrier is sitting on the ground or on top of another player on the ground the ball carrier is ‘brought to ground’.
Forget being on top of bodies, which is the same as being on the ground.
But it is a try all right.
7. Place and back
The All Blacks attack the Romanian line. Andrew Hore bursts for the line but is tackled by Ovidiu Tonita, the Romanian No.8. He is short of the line but stretches forward with his left hand and places the ball on the ground, but he is still short. Instead he draws thew ball back to his side.
OK?
The referee was right.
Law 21.1 WHERE PENALTY AND FREE KICKS ARE AWARDED
Unless a law states otherwise, the mark for a penalty or free kick is at the place of infringement.
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.
This penalty is certainly not awarded within five metres of the AB goal-line. The place of the penalty is at the place of infringement.
8. Making my mark
A. Julian Huxley of Australia kicks diagonally into the Canadian 22 where Justin Mensah-Coker, with spectacular athleticism, dives backwards and catches the ball in the air, falling on his back. As he catches the ball, he claims a mark. The referee gives it.
OK?
Yes, it is a free kick. No longer does the player have to have feet on the ground.
It is interesting how that developed. Originally to indicate the desire to have a fair catch the catcher had to stand firm with a toe raised. Then the cry ‘Mark’ was introduced but the catcher still had to have a toe raised. Then raising the toe was no longer required, then it was just a matter of having feet on the ground and then the feet could be airborne.
Mensah-Coker,’s catch was a wonderful bit of athleticism.
Law 18 To make a mark, a player must be on or behind that player’s 22-metre line. A player with one foot on the 22 metre line or behind it is considered to be ‘in the 22’. The player must make a clean catch direct from an opponent’s kick and at the same time shout “Mark!”.
b. Morgan Williams of Canada kicks diagonally into the Australian 22 where Drew Mitchell of Australia jumps in the air, catches the ball and calls a mark.
Landing he holds the ball and lifts his boot to the ball and sets off. The referee calls him back and awards the free kick.
It was a mark, as we have discussed. That the referee stopped him and had the kick properly taken was an act of kindness.
Law 21.4 PENALTY AND FREE KICK OPTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS
(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.
The sanction for not doing it properly is a scrum at the mark.
9. Whose scrum?
a. Georgia put the ball into a scrum. The French apply pressure and the ball sticks in the tunnel. Suddenly France lurch forward and the scrum collapses.
The referee awards a rescrum and gives the ball again to “White” (Georgia).
Commentator: “I don’t know why he’s given the ball to White, because it has finished under the French scrum. Referee Lewis is really trying to keep the Georgians in this game, isn’t he?”
Who was right – referee or commentator?
The referee.
Law 20.4 (g) If a scrum collapses or lifts up into the air without penalty, a further scrum will be ordered and the team who originally threw in the ball will throw the ball in again.
The referee was just applying the law, not trying to keep anybody in the game.
b. South Africa have a scrum five metres from the USA line. They win the scrum and are pushing forward with the ball at South Africa’s No.8, Schalk Burger’s feet. But the ball bounces off his feet and goes forward into the USA side. The scrum goes up and the referee stops the scrum. He awards a rescrum to South Africa. The crowd signify disapproval. They thought the scrum should have gone to the Eagles.
The referee was right.
Law 20.4 (g) If a scrum collapses or lifts up into the air without penalty, a further scrum will be ordered and the team who originally threw in the ball will throw the ball in again.
c. Mike Blair of Scotland kicks a high ball. David Bortolussi, the Italian fullback, comes forward and leaps to catch the ball immediately falling to ground. Players fall about and the referee awards a scrum to Italy indicating that the ball had been caught out of the air.
The scrum went to the right side for the wrong reason. TS Eliot said that b doing the right thing for the wrong reason was “last and greatest treason”!
The award of the scrum to the catch concerns only the maul. It does not concern a tackle or a player falling on the ground without being tackled. It is a criterion only for the award of the scrum after an unsuccessful maul.
Law 17.6 (h) Scrum after a maul when catcher is held. If a player catches the ball direct from an opponent’s kick, except from a kick-off or a drop-out, and the player is immediately held by an opponent, a maul may form. Then if the maul remains stationary, stops moving forward for longer than 5 seconds, or if the ball becomes unplayable, and a scrum is ordered, the team of the ball catcher throws in the ball.
‘Direct from an opponent’s kick’ means the ball did not touch another player or the ground before the player caught it.
10. Wrong place?
Wales attack Fiji. They are less than a metre from the Fijian line when the referee penalises them for obstructive crossing. The referee awards a penalty to Fiji where the infringement occurred, about a metre from the line.
Commentator: “The referee has made a mistake here. He’s making them take the penalty one metre from the line. No penalty can be given within five metres from the line. It’s got to be given on the five-metre mark.”
Law 21.1 WHERE PENALTY AND FREE KICKS ARE AWARDED
Unless a law states otherwise, the mark for a penalty or free kick is at the place of infringement.
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.
This penalty is certainly not awarded within five metres of the Welsh goal-line. The place of the penalty is at the place of infringement.
11. Whose throw?
a. Lionel Beauxis of France kicks the ball downfield and it bounces towards touch where Georgian No.8 Giorgi Chkhaidze tries to grab the ball.
Chkhaidze catches the ball and throws it inside to fullback Otar Barkalaia but the touch judge pouts his flag up and awards the line-out to France.
How is that possible?
It is possible only if Chkhaidze had played the ball from the field of play into touch.
Law 19’s definitions
The ball is in touch when it is not being carried by a player and it touches the touch-line or anything or anyone on or beyond the touch-line.
The ball is in touch when a player is carrying it and the ball-carrier (or the ball) touches the touch-line or the ground beyond the touch-line.
The ball is in touch if a player catches the ball and that player has a foot on the touch-line or the ground beyond the touch line.
The place where the ball-carrier (or the ball) touched or crossed the touch-line is where it went into touch.
If a player has one foot in the field of play and one foot in touch and holds the ball, the ball is in touch.
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.
A player in touch may kick or knock the ball, but not hold it, provided it has not crossed the plane of the touch-line. The plane of the touch-line is the vertical space rising immediately above the touch-line.
The ball crosses the plane of the touch-line.
Chkhaidze does not have both feet in the field of play.
Chkhaidze holds the ball, however fleetingly.
Chkhaidze jumps and lands in touch.
The plane of touch is actually irrelevant for Chkhaidze was in touch. When he played the ball he was out and so the ball was also out.
The ball is out, kicked by a French player and so Georgia’s ball.
b. Chad Erskine of the USA kicks a high ball down towards the touch-line on his left. Percy Montgomery of South Africa comes across and jumps to field the ball, catching it just before the plane of the line and landing in touch.
Whose ball.
This one was easier. Montgomery took the ball into touch, therefore the USA’s ball.
c. Juan Martin Hernandez of Argentina drops out. Denis Leamy of Ireland waits for the kick, his legs far apart. His right foot is just touching the touch-line when he catches the ball well in the field of play.
Leamy was clever. The touch judge was able to signal to the referee that the ball was in touch and therefore had gone directly into touch.
The referee was able to offer Ireland a choice – kick again, scrum or line-out. They opted for the scrum.
12. Deliberate wheel
In the match between Samoa and the USA, early in the first half, Samoa were penalised at a scrum which wheeled rapidly and the referee said he was penalising the whole “back five”.
The commentator said that the Samoans had been penalised for “deliberately wheeling” the scrum.
Wheeling the scrum is an ancient rugby art. There is still not a thing wrong with it – any more than there is anything wrong with pushing in the scrum.
Like pushing in the scrum it must be done within the Laws of the game.
That means that the binding must be correct, the angle of pushing must be correct and nothing must be done to cause the scrum to collapse.
