Law Discussion: Touch or not
Touchline decisions are often difficult, surprisingly so as being a touch judge was often regarded as a sinecure. Law changes with their exceptions have ensured that it is no sinecure at all. It is not just the law which has complicated matters but the nicety of judgement required while a leisurely replay is there to make sure people know that the assistant referee was wrong.
In the match between Bath and Exeter Chiefs recently there is an example of a difficult touchline decision.
After the Bath forwards score a mauled try, Exeter Chiefs kick off deep to their right and Bath kick for the touchline on their left. Phil Dollman, the Chiefs' fullback, positions himself at the touch line and has his right foot grounded in touch when the ball arrives. He tries to catch the ball but drops it. He then picks it up, steps into touch and throws in quickly.
When Dollman was in the process of catching the ball the assistant referee raised his flag to indicate touch.
When Dollman dropped the ball, the assistant referee dropped his flag.
The referee ordered a scrum for a knock-on by Dollman.
There are several things to look at here. Was the ball out?
Was the ball not out?
Did Dollman knock on?
Answering the first two is the problem and all in all the decision would have been easier if only Dollman had caught the ball.
Let's look to the law.
Law 19 DEFINITIONS
The ball is in touch when it is not being carried by a player and it touches the touchline or anything or anyone on or beyond the touchline.
Dollman is not carrying the ball. He is in touch.
The ball touches a player in touch.
That seems conclusive but it's far too simple for law makers intent on speeding the game up by eschewing stoppages.
Law 19 DEFINITIONS
The ball is in touch if a player catches the ball and that player has a foot on the touchline or the ground beyond the touchline. 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.
But Dollman does not catch the ball.
Law 19 DEFINITIONS
A player in touch may kick or knock the ball, but not hold it, provided it has not crossed the plane of the touchline. The plane of the touchline is the vertical space rising immediately above the touchline.
(The essence of this bit of law dates back to 1885.)
Dollman does not hold the ball.
It's here that the judgement comes in and is tough on the spur of the moment. Had the ball 'crossed the plane of the touchline'?
If it had crossed the plane of the touchline, then the ball was out when it touched Dollman who was not in touch.
If it had not crossed the plane of touch, it was play on.
Look at it. The ball makes its contact with Dollman's right arm and that seems beyond the plane of the touchline. In that case the ball was out when it touched Dollman and then the assistant referee was right when he raised his flag.
When he drops his flag, the referee may have had an instruction from the referee, but it would seem that his raising of the flag was the right decision.
Whether or not Dollman knocked on is unclear from the evidence of the replays from a distance and at an angle. His hands are out in front of his crouched body and the ball hits his heel. It may well have gone backwards from his hands.
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.
At the kick-off the referee raced after the ball and his assistant was down near where the ball was caught. The assistant had the better view as he could look down the line with Dollman facing him. The referee was not in a good position – well downfield and at an angle.
This was not an easy decision. It may well have been easier if we had had only this definition to deal with:
Law 19 DEFINITIONS
The ball is in touch when it is not being carried by a player and it touches the touchline or anything or anyone on or beyond the touchline.
