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Tri-Nations - Week 1 

Stats and a little

Tri-Nations kicked off with a tense affair at Loftus Versfeld where South Africa beat Australia 22-16 but did so only late in the match.

We give stats here and – yet again – a bit about a line and a bit about a ruck.

1. Statistics

(i) Penalties conceded:

Australia: 10
South Africa: 8

South Africa goaled three penalties, Australia three. South Africa missed two penalty kicks at goal, Australia none.

(ii) Reasons for the penalties:

Australia:

Tackle/ruck: 7 (**Smith 4, *Waugh, Larkham, Gregan)
Scrum: 1 (Young)
Discipline: 2 (Latham – obstruction, Vickerman – air tackle)

South Africa:

Tackle/ruck: 3 (*De Villiers 2, Cronjé)
Off-side: 3 (De Villiers, *Du Preez, *Van der Linde)
Discipline: 2 (Juan Smith – not back 10, Bakkies Botha – air tackle)

* = points scored

(iii) Free kicks awarded

Australia: 1 (line-out)
South Africa: 1 (mark)

(iii) Line-outs awarded

Australia: 24 (3 lost, 2 skew, 1 quick, 1 free kick, 1 penalty)
South Africa: 18 (1 lost, 1 skew, 1 penalty)

Australia cut line-out losses in this Test but to do so threw unvaryingly to No.2 in the line-out.

(iv) Scrums awarded

Australia: 11 (5 reset)
South Africa: 9 (3 reset, 1 penalty)

(v) Drop-outs

Australia: 3
South Africa: 2

(vi) Total Stoppages: 78

(vii) Resets as a % of scrums: 40%

(ix) Tries

Australia vs South Africa: 1 + 1 = 2

(x) Tackle/Rucks: 125 of which only one was unplayable.

(xi) Kicks

By Australia: 32
By South Africa: 31

(xii) Advantage: The referee tried to play advantage on 17 occasions. It worked six times.

(xiii) Turn-overs

Turn-overs in the sense of conceding the ball to opponents happen in many ways. The ones we are concerned at here are those at tackles, when the ball-carrier has the ball and is tackled and the other side wins the ball.

By Australia: 1
By South Africa: 5

(xiv) Comparison with 2nd Mandela Plate match in Johannesburg:

a. Penalties conceded

2nd MP:  Australia vs South Africa: 7 + 12 = 19
1st 3N:  Australia vs South Africa: 10 + 8 = 18

b. Line-out throws

2nd MP: Australia vs South Africa: 17 + 10 = 27
1st 3N: Australia vs South Africa: 24 + 18 = 42

c. Line-outs lost

2nd MP: Australia vs South Africa: 6 + 2 = 8
1st 3N: Australia vs South Africa: 1 + 3 = 4

d. Scrum put-ins

2nd MP: Australia vs South Africa: 13 + 6 = 19
1st 3N: Australia vs South Africa: 11 + 9 = 20

e. Stoppages

2nd MP:  83
1st 3N:  78

f. Resets as percentage of scrums

2nd MP:  73,7%
1st 3N:  40%

g. Tries

2nd MP: Australia vs South Africa: 3 + 3 = 6
1st 3N: Australia vs South Africa: 1 + 1 = 2

h. Sanctions

2nd MP: South Africa two yellow cards – Paulse and Burger.
1st 3N: None. Juan Smith may have been lucky.

2. Communication

It's not about law but about refereeing. The referee in this match could not have been clearer in his gestures, commands and explanations. He set a standard for us all.

3. Lines again

This is now becoming tedious. We have a weekly reference to lines.

There was one where the touch judge was proved right – a great decision. George Smith of Australia, left foot in the field of play, grubbered ahead with his right foot and the tips of his studs brushed the white line, causing some chalk to rise.

There was one, after a mark, when Percy Montgomery of South Africa kicked out on the full and there was a Wallaby query as to whether he was in or out of his 2. But the referee explained that his right foot – his non-kicking foot – was on the 22-metre line. The referee – correctly – explained that on the line was in the 22.

Then was the Larkham case.

After 30 minutes in the second half, Andre Pretorius of South Africa kicks a long kick down to the right-hand touch=-line where Stephen Larkham is waiting,. The ball goes into touch. Larkham has it in touch and he goes to throw in quickly. He does so. The touch judge keeps his flag up. The referee offers South Africa the choice of a scrum or a line-out.

That is what happens. It is the sequence of events at the throw-in which is relevant.

Larkham has the ball. He is in touch. As he is about to throw in, his right foot is on the line. He launches his long left leg infield. His left foot lands on the ground. Then he throws the ball and runs infield to catch it.

That's not all right.

Law 19.2 (e) At a quick throw-in, if the player does not throw the ball in straight so that it travels at least 5 metres along the line of touch before it touches the ground or a player, or if the player steps into the field of play when the ball is thrown, then the quick throw-in is disallowed. The opposing team chooses to throw-in at either a line-out where the quick throw-in was attempted, or a scrum on the 15-metre line at that place.

So the throw-in was wrong and the option to South Africa with their choice of a scrum was right.

But whose decision is it?

Of course, all decisions belong to the referee but this is one case where the touch judge is required to play an active part.

Law 6.B.5 (d) TOUCH JUDGE SIGNALS

(d) When to lower the flag. When the ball is thrown in, the touch judge must lower the flag with the following exceptions:

Exception 1: When the player throwing ion the ball puts any part of either foot in the field of play, the touch judge keeps his flag up.

Exception 2: When the team not entitled to throw in has done so, the touch judge keeps his flag up.

Exception 3: When, at a quick throw-in, that ball that went into touch is replaced by another ball or after it went into touch it has been touched by anyone except the player who takes the throw-in, the touch judge keeps his flag up.

Exceptions 2 & 3 are OK in the Larkham case but not Exception 1, for Larkham put his foot well and truly into the field of play.

That the touch judge kept his flag up was right and he was the right [person to do so.

4. What's a ruck?

Reader: With the score tied at 16-all the Springboks go left to Big Joe, he steps inside and is tackled. Pretorius comes and ‘forms’ a ruck and George Smith ‘steals’ the ball.

Question television commentators said Smith had infringed the ruck laws. They then explain: "A ruck is formed when one player is on the ground and two are standing over the ball,” 

Now Pretorius was not standing over Big Joe when Smith tried to steal the ball and there weren't two players standing over the ball over both the brilliant flyhalf and Big Joe.

What are the ruck laws then in that case? Why was Smith penalised?

Comment: The player on the ground is not really relevant to the formation of the ruck though there usually is one of those when a ruck is formed.

There are three elements to the ruck – the ball and a player from each side – the ball on the ground and the players on their feet in physical contact over the ball.

In this case, just after 31 minutes in the second half, Al Baxter tackled Van Niekerk and both went to ground. Smith, on his feet tried to grab the ball. Pretorius came and made immediate contact with Smith. The ball was still on the ground. That meant that a ruck had been formed.

If Smith then continued to use his hands to get the ball, he was wrong and subject to penalty – tough as it seems. It's tough that what started legally should, without a change of action, become illegal.

It's hard for the players and hard for the referee.

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