Super 14, Week 2, Incidents
So far we have given statistics of possession for Super 14 and Six Nations, a discussion on scrums and another on advantage, and we have taken incidents from the Six Nations. Two Super 14 touch-line decisions are contained in the Six Nations discussion.
Now we have a few incidents from the Super 14.
1. Dropsy
When the Sharks played the Waratahs there were two drop–outs which did not meet with the referee’s approval. They happened soon after each other.
a. After Peter Hewat missed a kick at goal, the Sharks were to drop out. They threw the ball about a bit and then Frans Steyn dropped out to his right. He dropped the ball onto his instep and nudged it onto the ground and forward for a team-mate to collect.
The referee told him to kick again, because what he had done was not a drop kick.
Law Definitions
Drop Kick – the ball is dropped from the hand or hands to the ground and kicked as it rises from its first bounce.
The sequence of events is ground, foot.
Steyn’s went foot, ground
It was not a drop?
Kick again?
No.
Law 13.12 DROP-OUT INCORRECTLY TAKEN
If the ball is kicked by the wrong type of kick, or from the wrong place, the opposing team has two choices:
To have another drop-out, or
To have a scrum at the centre of the 22-metre line and they throw in the ball.
b. Hewat misses yet again. Play is to restart with a drop-out. The ball has flown into the stand behind the posts and a new ball is thrown on with which Steyn immediately drops out, catching the Waratahs unaware.
The referee stops play and gets Steyn to drop out again because of the use of a different ball.
It was the right kick this time and from the right place. Using another ball is fine, but not in such a way as it steals a march on the opponents.
Imagine a kick at goal with the ballboy standing next to the wing at the corner of the 22. Kick missed, drop-out ordered and the wing grabs the ball from the ballboy, drops out briefly, picks up and is off.
That’s palpably not right.
2. Fetcher and up
Two incidents may be relevant:
a. The Crusaders play the Reds. Stephen Moore of the Reds charges and is tackled. Rodney Blake picks up the ball and plunges to ground. Immediately two Crusaders, Johnny Leo’o and Andrew Ellis, fold over Blake like an envelope, hands down grabbing at the ball. They are grabbing the ball when Greg Holmes of the Reds arrives, followed by Mitch Chapman.
When Holmes arrives, the referee calls out: “On his feet. In the air. Play on.”
By the time Holmes arrived, Leo’o already had the ball up off the ground. That meant that there was no ruck. That meant that Leo’o could continue to battle to get the ball back with his hands and Holmes could contest this with his hands in what had become a maul of sorts.
b. The Lions tackle a Highlander and two Lions, Ernst Joubert and Ethienne Reynecke, bend down, hands down, to get the ball. It is much the same scenario as in a. above. They are trying to get the ball when Highlander hooker David Hall arrives. Hall makes contact and falls to the side. By the time Willie Rickards of the Highlanders arrives, Joubert clearly has the ball up in his arms.
The referee penalises Joubert for hands in a ruck. “I called ruck.”
Presumably then when Hall arrived the ball was on the ground and there was for just a fleeting moment a ruck.
Some may well have penalised the Highlander for holding on. Others may have seen this case as much the same as the Leo’o case.
3. No numbers
From a penalty near the half-way line Stephen Larkham of the Brumbies kicks the ball out on the full about 17 metres from the Blues line. Because it was a penalty the Brumbies are to throw in. The Blues line up. The Brumbies stroll to the line-out. The referee says to the Blues: “I won’t bother with numbers if they walk in.”
By that he meant that he would not award a free kick against the Blues if they are caught offguard and have a man or two more than the Brumbies.
By the way, from the time that penalty was awarded till the ball was thrown into the line-out, 40 seconds elapsed. There were 31 line-outs in the match. If each took 40 seconds from going out to coming in, it would mean robbing the match of over 20 minutes’ playing time.
4. Making a diving mark.
a. Stephen Larkham of the Brumbies punts the ball into the Blues 22. Doug Howlett of the Blues covers and dives full length to catch the ball inches off the turf, calling Mark, as he did so.
b. Phillip Burger of the Cheetahs punts the ball into the Blues 22. Johan Roets of the Bulls covers and dives full length to catch the ball inches off the turf, calling Mark, as he did so.
What would you have done?
If you had have given the mark in each case, you would have done what the referees, many kilometres apart did – and you would have been right. You no longer need to be on your feet when you claim a free kick for a mark.
5. Batty Barnes
Scott Hamilton of the Crusaders kicks high down towards the touch-line on his left and chases after the ball. Berrick Barnes of the Reds covers. The ball bounces and, falling, Barnes sticks out a right hand and bats the ball into touch. When Barnes bats the ball he is about four metres in from touch.
The referee decided on a penalty, which was fair enough.
Where would you give it?
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.
The referee awarded the penalty 15 metres ion from touch. That was right.
6. Advantage enough?
The Crusaders knock on and the referee plays advantage about five metres outside the Crusaders 22. The Reds pass the ball back to Berrick Barnes who drops for goal. He misses.
Scrum for the knock-on or drop-out?
This is the “two bites of the cherry” one, and it’s not easy.
Barnes opted to play the way he did and under no pressure. He could have opted to have played differently. That would suggest that advantage was over.
We discussed advantage earlier this week. It remains difficult.
7. Obstruction?
Thomas Waldrom of the Hurricanes of the Hurricanes dummies and runs ahead with men outside him. He passes to Serge Lilo on his right who runs ahead to score. As Lilo runs ahead, Brendon Leonard, the Chiefs’ scrumhalf, who is covering, bashes into Waldrom.
Obstruction?
Not if Waldrom was behind Lilo. If after he had passed to Lilo he had run ahead of Lilo and so blocked Leonard’s passage to Lilo it would have been obstruction.
8. What no option?
Jimmy Gopperth of the Hurricanes is near his own 10-metre line when he kicks high and chases. The ball comes down just over the Chiefs 10-metre line where Tane Tu’ipulotu of the Chioefs catch it. The referee penalises Luke Andrews for being within 10 metres of Tu’ipulotu and making no effort to retreat. In fact he roams towards Tu’ipulotu.
Correct to penalise Richards?
Yes.
How?
The option of a penalty where Richards was standing or a scrum back where Gopperth kicked the ball.
Law 11 When a player is penalised for being off-side in general play, the opposing team chooses either a penalty kick at the place of infringement or a scrum at the place where the offending team last played the ball. If it was last played in that team’s in-goal, the scrum is formed 5 metres from the goal-line in line with where it was played.
The option of a penalty where Richards was standing or a scrum back where Gopperth kicked the ball.
Law 11 When a player is penalised for being off-side in general play, the opposing team chooses either a penalty kick at the place of infringement or a scrum at the place where the offending team last played the ball. If it was last played in that team’s in-goal, the scrum is formed 5 metres from the goal-line in line with where it was played.
