November Tests, Week 1 - incidents

And reader's comment

Phew! we have been busy this week and there is the possibility of even greater busy-ness next week end when there are even more matches.

This weekend we had just two – Wales vs Australian and England vs New Zealand.

So far we have given some statistics (click here) and discussed at TMO decision (click here) and the matter of time (click here).

There was the conference for elite referees at Lensbury. (click here). At it was decided that referees would clamp down on backchat and stamping. The players were told to keep silent and there was a case of stamping when the referee called Nathan Sharpe of Australia over and said to him and his captain: "Feet on body away from the ball. Penalty only. No feet on players. We know what the directive is that's come down. Make sure he goes for the ball and only touches the ball.

Now we shall discuss just a few other things and then rest in the hope of gathering strength for the weekend.

But let's start with a commentator's gaffe. Commentator's gaffes are not new and are understandable. But it's not good to broadcast wrong information about the laws of a complicated and emotional game.

1. "Why can't he do that?"

Daniel Carter of New Zealand kicks a long ball downfield. Ian Balshaw of England goes back and from within his 22 he kicks the ball out. Mils Muliaina of New Zealand catches the ball in touch about five metres on his goal-line's side of his 10-metre line.  The ball had crossed the line about 18 metres down the field, where the touch judge raises his flag.  Muliaina passes the ball up the line to Richie McCaw of New Zealand who throws in quickly to Clark Dermody of New Zealand, who sets off. The referee blows his whistle.

Commentator: "I don't see why he can't do that. Why can't he do that? You don't have to take it from the mark. You can take it from behind it."

Commentator 2: "As long as it's straight."

Commentator 1: "As ,longs as it's not formed and it's straight. If someone's formed on the mark, you can't take a quick throw. Apart from that, as long as it's straight."

There is a replay.

Commentator 2: "That's all right, isn't it?

Commentator 1: "Well, yes. It's fine."

It was not all right. It was not fine.

Law 19.2 QUICK THROW-IN
(d) For a quick throw-in, the player must use the ball that went into touch. If, after it went to touch and was made dead, another ball is used, or if another person has touched the ball apart from the player throwing it in, then the quick throw-in is disallowed. The same team throws in at the line-out.

McCaw threw in. Muliaina had touched the ball before McCaw threw in. Muliaina is "another person". New Zealand was then required to throw in at the line-out.

It was all by the book.

That McCaw looked querulous was surprising for a player of his experience.

2. Clean catch

Daniel Carter of New Zealand kicks a high up-and-under down the middle of the field. Inside his 22 Ian Balshaw of England jumps to catch the ball, shouting Mark. As he catches the ball it first bounces – not a big bounce – in his grasp and he then grasps the ball securely.

Is this good enough for a mark/fair catch?

Law 18 – MARK

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!”.

That's what it says – clean catch, but it does not define a clean catch.

For some clean catch means catching the ball without a fumble, for others just catching the ball without a knock-on.

"Clean catch" does not appear elsewhere in the laws – just here. Otherwise there is just the matter of catching the ball. Perhaps it is here because it means that the ball must be caught without a fumble for a mark to be made.

3. Hands in the scrum

Wales, who wear red, put the ball into a scrum and the Australian scrum has them under pressure. The referee blow his whistle and says: "There was a hand in there by a Red player." He says it twice as he gives a free kick to Australia.

Right?

No.

Law 20.9 SCRUM – GENERAL RESTRICTIONS

(b) All players: Handling in the scrum. Players must not handle the ball in the scrum or pick it up with their legs.
Penalty: Penalty Kick

4. Knocked dead

Chris Latham of Australia grubbers and Cameron Shepherd of Australia chases. Gavin Evans of Wales falls back and gets to the ball first as it bounces high deep in the Welsh in-goal. Evans puts up a hand but does not catch the ball which bounces over the dead-ball line.

Shepherd looks quizzical and seems to wonder if a penalty were not possible.

In days of yore it was permissible to knock or throw the ball back over the dead-ball line or into touch-in-goal.

Law 10.2 (c) Throwing into touch. A player must not intentionally knock, place, push or throw the ball with his arm or hand into touch, touch-in-goal, or over the dead-ball line.
Penalty: Penalty Kick on the 15-metre line if the offence is between the 15-metre line and the touch-line, or, at the place of the infringement if the offence occurred elsewhere in the field of play, or five metres from the goal-line and at least 15 metres from the touch-line if the infringement occurred in in-goal.

A penalty try must be awarded if the offence prevents a try that would probably otherwise have been scored.

In this case Evans's action looked entirely innocent.

5. Bantams battle

The scrumhalves in the England-New Zealand match are two chunky men. England put the ball into the scrum and heel it under pressure.

Sean Perry, the England scrumhalf, does not go to pick up the ball but stays at the side of the scrum to prevent Byron Kelleher, the New Zealand scrumhalf, from getting at the ball or the No.8. At one stage he puts his shoulder into the aggressive All Black.

OK?

Nor if Perry is in front of the ball while it is in the England scrum.

Law 20.12 (b) Off-side for scrumhalves. When a team has won the ball in a scrum, the scrumhalf of that team is off-side if both feet are in front of the ball while it is still in the scrum. If the scrumhalf has only one foot in front of the ball, the scrumhalf is not off-side.

6. Ahead of the kicker

Reader: In the Cardiff Blues vs Leicester match, the referee penalised Morgan for tackling a Leicester player who had received the ball from a quick throw in.

The referee said that Morgan was off-side when the kick by his team mate was taken.

After looking hard at the IRB law book I could not find an adequate answer, in my opinion the ball went dead once it had gone into touch, Morgan’s off-side at the time of kick became irrelevant as the ball was dead and a Leicester player opted to restart by taking a quick throw. Morgan was on-side when the throw was taken so was entitled to tackle the ball receiver?

Comment: If all is as you say, you are right. Even if Morgan had been in front of the kicker and had advanced it was irrelevant as the ball went into touch and he could have not effect on play. Then there was a stoppage and then play restarted. It started all over again with no off-side lines and no residue of guilt. Morgan seemed entitled to tackle.

7. Slack's law again

Reader: As a referee, I have some issues with these proposals.  I am not against the spirit of creating more space, but against the ability of the referee to apply them, and also of the shape and feel of the game not to change as a result.

First of all, for those of us who referee without qualified touch judges, it will be a nightmare to figure out how far 5m on BOTH SIDES every single ruck (about 100+ per game).  Usually the backs are a little steeper to build speed for an attack, and so the referee can focus his attention on the defensive offside line and fringers.  It will be very difficult to ensure that the attacking forwards are also back 5m.  Although I suppose we could add stripes every meter like an American football field, and all referees could have eyes implanted in the back of their heads’.

Also, I agree with one reader’s suggestion that a 5m offside line for everyone will make joining the ruck for either side difficult.  

Previous objections notwithstanding, there were two suggestions offered by readers: the first was to only require the defenders to be 5m.  The problem with that is the game will turn into League without the kicking.  Every ruck the defence will retreat 5m, and then the scrum-half will pass wide enough for the defensive ruckers to be out of the play, to a charging player with support to win the next ruck.  As a result the ‘tackle-line’ will always be further downfield from the previous ‘gain-line’.  You do this all the way up the field until the defenders are on their own goal-line, and then finally you have to try an actual backline movement or ‘cross-kick’, or maybe just go for a drop-goal.

It is important to the competition aspect of the game, that the defence, if properly organized, be able to engage in a tackle BEHIND the gain-line.  So that even if the attack is able to constantly recycle the ball by winning rucks, the defence may force the attack to kick the ball away to regain field position.

The other suggestion was to have both sides with a 5m line which starts on the edge of the ruck, but directly behind the ruck the offside line is as it is today.  This would not seem a hardship on the attacking backs, as they are usually this deep anyway, but will be very hard for the referee to police for the defence.

My suggestion is simpler, and possibly easier for the referee.  Same laws as today, BUT the ball is not considered ‘out’ till it touches the first pair of hands or the ground after the halfback has passed it, or if picked up and not immediately passed.  Today, when the halfback puts two hands on the ball, the defence charges up, so by the time the ball is at the flyhalf, the defence has at least 2-3 steps closing off the space.

Instead the flyhalf will catch the ball and only then will the defence be able to charge up.  This will allow for the continuation of the principle of behind-gain-line tackling that I mentioned earlier, while still providing 2-3 more steps of room for the flyhalf to use.

Now the referee must determine whether the halfback has ‘passed’ it, or ‘picked’ it and use preventative communication to indicate when the ball is out (whereas today the ‘two-hands’ principle is simple for the players to observe.

Paul Bethe – New York