Ndungane and the TMO
It was a try
The non-try by Akona Ndungane of the Bulls in the match with the Hurricanes was the big talking point in South Africa on Friday evening and the talk was angry.
Ndungane's action had all the appearance of a try. It's certainly worth a close look, especially in view of the controversy at the time and since then.
The score was 20-12 to the Bulls when Victor Matfield kicked an astonishingly delicate diagonal kick to his right. Speedy Akona Ndungane on the right wing toes the ball over the Hurricanes' goal-line and dived on the ball.
The ball was clearly under the front of his torso and in contact with the ground. It was almost a surprise that the referee referred the matter to the television match official instead of simply awarding the try off his own bat. But there are precedents that advise caution.
The TMO looked at it four times. Each time it seemed all the more clearly that it was a try. That made his verdict a shock.
He said to the referee: "There was no control of the ball by the Blue player."
When the referee asked if there was a knock-on or whether he should award a 22 and said that he had difficulty hearing the TMO said: "No control over the ball. It was not properly grounded. Go for a 22."
Apparently there was no question of a knock-on.
Let's look at the law on grounding the ball. It's not long and it's not hard.
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.
(b) Player presses down on the ball. A player grounds the ball when it is on the ground in the in-goal and the player presses down on it with a hand or hands, arm or arms, or the front of the player's body from waist to neck inclusive.
It is (b) that is relevant: Player presses down on the ball. A player grounds the ball when it [the ball] is on the ground in the in-goal and the player presses down on it with … the front of the player's body from waist to neck inclusive.
That is what Ndungane did – pressed down on the ball which was on the ground in the Hurricanes' in-goal with the front of his waist, at the lowest his waist.
There is nothing in the whole law about control. The word does not occur. It gets a mention from time to time in commentary but it is not a helpful expression to use, rather like ambiguity of doiuble movement.
The TMO's job differs from the referee's job. He has time to consider his decision and replays to help him, often in slow motion. But he needs to know his law. In this case it's not a lot of law to read but it is the essential to the TMO's job.
How it was decided that it should be a 22 was a bit of a mystery. There was no knock-on. If the ball was not properly grounded by Ndungane and if nobody else grounded the ball by the time the referee blew his whistle, it would seem that play should have restarted with a five-metre scrum to the Bulls. It's hard to find a reason to give a 22.
Of course, it was not the only mistake on the night.
