Law 18 - Mark
DEFINITION:
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!”.
A mark cannot be made from a kick-off.
A kick is awarded for a mark. The place for the kick is the place of the mark.
A player may make a mark even though the ball touched a goal post or crossbar before being caught. A player from the defending team may make a mark in in-goal.
1 AFTER A MARK
The referee immediately blows the whistle and awards a kick to the player who made the mark.
2 KICK AWARDED
The kick is awarded at the place of the mark.
3 KICK – WHERE
The kick is taken at or behind the mark on a line through the mark.
4 WHO KICKS
The kick is taken by the player who made the mark. If that player cannot take the kick within one minute, a scrum is formed at the place of the mark with the ball thrown in by the player's team. If the mark is in the in-goal, the scrum is 5 metres from the goal-line, on a line through the mark.
5 HOW THE KICK IS TAKEN
The provisions of Law 21 – Free Kicks – apply to a kick awarded after a mark.
6 SCRUM ALTERNATIVE
(a) The team of the player who made the mark may choose to take a scrum.
(b) Where the scrum is. If the mark is in the field-of-play, the scrum is at the place of the mark, but at least 5 metres from the touch-line. If the mark is in-goal, the scrum is 5 metres from the goal-line on a line through the mark, and at least 5 metres from the touch-line.
(c) Who throws in. The team of the player who made the mark throws the ball in.
7 PENALTY KICK AWARDED
(a) An opponent, whether on-side or off-side, must not charge a player who has made a mark after the referee has blown the whistle.
Penalty: Penalty Kick
(b) Where penalty kick is taken. If the infringing player is on-side, the penalty kick is taken at the place of the infringement. If the infringing player is off-side, the penalty kick is taken at the place of the off-side line (Law 11 Off-side and On-side in General Play.)
(c) The penalty kick. Any player from the non-offending team may take the penalty kick.
