Was the Ref correct?

Hi Ref, At the weekend in an U16 Game in Swansea, the ref blew for a penalty infringement at a ruck on the half way line. The scrum half took a quick tap penalty from where the ref was standing. However, the ref stopped play and awarded a scrum feed to the other team due to the scrum half not taking the quick tap penalty from the correct mark. The ref said the mark was not where he was positioned but further in field. Was the ref correct, or should the penalty simply have been re-taken from the correct mark? Many thanks. Confused-ish

Hi there

By the letter of the law the referee was absolutely correct. 

21.2 Where penalty and free kicks are taken 

(a) The kicker must take the penalty or free kick at the mark or anywhere behind it on a line through the mark. If the place for a penalty or free kick is within 5 metres of the opponents’ goal line, the mark for the kick is 5 metres from the goal line, opposite the place of infringement. 

(b) When a penalty or free kick is awarded in in-goal, the mark for the kick is in the field of play, 5 metres from the goal line, in line with the place of infringement. 

Sanction: Any infringement by the kicker’s team results in a scrum 5 metres from the goal line in line with the mark. The opposing team throws in the ball. 

At lower levels the referee may decide to simply let the scrum half retake it from the correct spot, however the referee might equally have already spoken to the scrum half about this, or might have covered it in his pre-game brief? 

It's a judgement call sometimes, but the referee was correct. 

Thanks 

The Rugby Ref

Rucking?

If I am a defending player and a ruck is formed, at what point am I/we allowed to touch the ball with our hands?
Phil. 

Hi Phil, thanks for the question.

As you have rightly pointed out, once a ruck has formed you cannot use your hands to win the ball.

16.4 (b)Players must not handle the ball in a ruck except after a tackle if they are on their feet and have their hands on the ball before the ruck is formed. Sanction: Penalty kick

So when can you start using our hands again?
Well, not until the ruck is over, so when is that?

16.6 Successful end to a ruck?  A ruck ends successfully when the ball leaves the ruck, or when the ball is on or over the goal line.

The usual question here that referees are asked is "when has the ball left the ruck?"  The law doesn't actually say, which means (like many laws in Rugby Union) it is up to the referees judgement.  

The Rugby Ref says the ruck is over when the ball leaves the ruck, which means the confines of everyone involved in the ruck.  Imagine stretching a rubber band around all the players in the ruck; that is the players on their feet competing for the ball with their feet, and the players on the ground unable to move away, or play the ball.  If the ball is inside this imaginary rubber band, then the ball is still in the ruck and can't be handled.   Once the ball pops outside the rubber band, the ruck is over and can be picked up by any player in a legal position to do so. 

So Phil, the short answer to your question in "not until the ball leaves the ruck".

The Rugby Ref

Hey Ref......

Hey ref,
My name is Toby Teakell from Texas. I have a buddy on my team from France who insists on that he is correct in this matter because he has been playing for 15 years and that Americans do not know rugby.
We were playing a friendly in sevens the other day where he found himself on the receiving end of one of my kickoffs where I grubbered a ball 11 meters in which my teammate picked up tossed back to me and ran for a try. This led to a French ego breakdown in which I am still receiving links to laws and texts of how I wasn't allowed to do that.
According to irb laws 13.5-13.7 the ball has to go 10 meters, but does not state anything about the ball being in the air for 10 meters, just that it has to eventually get there.
Am I being too technical when reading the laws or is my friend being ignorant towards someone that does know how to read.. That happens to be an "American rugby player" that didn't grow up with the sport?
Thanks,Toby Teakell

 Hi Toby

Thanks for the question.  You are correct in that the ball needs to travel 10m, but it doesn't need to travel that distance in a single go.  So a grubber kick that goes 11m before anyone touches it is legal, providing the grubber starts with a drop kick.

Well done.

The Rugby Ref

Rugby Contact

These days a lot is made of defense tackling with no arms - ie shoulder charging the offensive player or simply running into him.  But why is it not an offence if the attacking player simply turns his shoulder into the defender?  
Also a hand off in the face is a valid attacking tactic but if a defender pushed his hand into the attackers face then he would be penalised.
Why the disparity?  For me the attacker should not be allowed to run shoulder first into a defender as he is likely to injure him.
ThanksSteve Ditchburn

Steve

The difference is that a tackle is an offensive move and the law states how it should be done safely.  The tackler is driving into the ball carrier, the momentum is with him.  The ball carrier is merely defending himself and has no energy or momentum going into the collision.  It's all about safety.

The Rugby Ref

Penalty Try........?

Hi Rugby Ref,when Morahan made the tackle on the line he seemed to knock the ball forward out of Farrell's grip.Is this not a deliberate knock on? Should it have been a penalty try and if so why didn't the TMO say something?
Thanks for a great blog!
CheersBob

Hi Bob

The Rugby Ref watched this incident in real time and then again in slow motion.
In real time, Farrell's body language said he had made a mistake.
In slow motion it was obvious to The Rugby Ref that Farrell had knocked on prior to Morahan sticking his hand in.
The Rugby Ref agrees with the TMO that the knock on by Farrell was the first offence, everything else is immaterial.
The Rugby Ref has heard a few appeals for a penalty try, but genuinely feels that would be a very unexpected result.
The Rugby Ref believes that (in line with current thinking) offences should be clear, obvious and expected.  That doesn't mean the referee should pander to the crowd, but it does mean he shouldn't stick himself out on a limb.

Thanks for the question Bob.
The Rugby Ref

What is "the arm"?

At a recent referee course there was some discussion as to what constitutes “the arm” when considering a knock-on under Law 12.  Some there – with way more experience than I – suggested that it was technically from the elbow down to the wrist. I cannot find a definition of “the arm” in the Laws, but – potentially confusingly – there is reference to “whole arm” when discussing binding.  Any thoughts?
Owain Stone

Owain

Let's not get too hung up on something so simple.   We all know where your arm is, it's from your shoulder to your wrist.  To suggest otherwise is a bit daft!

Ask these 'more experienced' referees to quote the law that says it only applies to the lower arm?

The Rugby Ref

Does it matter?

The incident just before half time has no doubt created a lot of discussion about the accuracy of the decision and the exact law in place, but I would be interested in the views with respect to game management !

 

I have been a mini / junior and senior ref ( at low level in the UK ), and one of the aspects that assessors would often say to me is 'materiality' ! 'Did it really matter', the classic situation being not straight at the lineout if the opposition do not compete !

 

He ( the ref ) knows the ball went straight out, but everyone, Northampton, Leicester, the crowd, the commentators ( the dancing girls !!! ) all expected and reacted as if it was half time !

 

In your opinion would the game have been managed better if the ref had just blown for half time ( with a "kick was straight out, scrum offence, time up, half time" points to tunnel ...  ) ?

Did it really matter that the kick went 6 inches ( or whatever the distance ) past the touch line ?

 

Cheers

Paul

PS: Lets not even, for the sake of Brian Moore's sanity, raise the not straight at the scrum not being pinged !!  :-)

Hi Paul

We are talking about the Final between Tigers and Saints.

What you have to ask yourself is "did it have a material affect on the game?"  The answer is "Yes it did", because had the referee blown for half time, ignoring the law, then the opposition would have been denied their right to play the ball, and as it turns out denied the opportunity to score three points.     Getting the law wrong and denying a point scoring opportunity would have been a critical error for the referee.

Taking your example of the line out, you also have to ask yourself "why are they not competing?"  Is it because the referee is not policing the not straight, therefore they have given up competing?

Materiality and letting he game flow is not an easy skill to master.

The Rugby Ref

Can you please advise.....

Dear Ref

Can you please advise on the incident that led to the scrum that eventually led to Dylan Hartley being sent off.

I was at the game and had my ref-link on and heard Wayne Barnes telling the player not to kick the ball into touch to end the first half, The player then kicked the ball which i think bounced in the field of play then went out, The resulting sanction was a scrum from the point at which it was kicked.

My understanding is that the kick should land in the field of play, which im sure in this case it did so why the scrum? 

Alan

Hi Alan

The Law says that if a 22 drop out goes straight into touch, without landing in the field of play, then the referee will offer the non offending team the option of either a kick again, or a scrum, with the non-offending team having the put in.  There is a third option, but no one ever takes it!

13.14 Drop-out goes directly into touch

The ball must land in the field of play. If it is kicked directly into touch, the opposing team has three 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, or
• To accept the kick. If they accept the kick, the throw-in is on the 22-metre line.

That is quite straight forward.  However we had a situation where the drop out was awarded, so must take place, but time was up.  So what happens if it goes straight out?

An IRB clarification going back to 2010, said that (basically) the game must restart and the kicking team cannot end the game by kicking the ball straight out.  If they do then the other team must get the options.

Wayne Barnes made this very clear to Myler, saying several times, "the game must restart", "you cannot kick the ball straight out (to end the half)".  I believe Myler understood this, otherwise why go into the corner of the 22 and try to grubber it across the corner into touch?

The fact is that he messed up the grubber kick and a replay (which The Rugby Ref has watched several times),  shows that the referee got it spot on.  Myler ballooned the drop kick and it went straight into touch without landing in the field of play.  Wayne Barnes then said "I told you you couldn't do that, Options?"

The Rugby Ref is certain that Wayne Barnes got this decision (and the sending off of Dylan Hartley) 100% correct.

Thanks for the question Alan.

The Rugby Ref

What does the law say?

Hi

I was watching this match on the TV this morning and an interesting incident happened.

The Rebels had a penalty, 35 metres out, midfield. They signal for a shot at goal.

The Stormers gather in a huddle on their own 22

The rebels kicker then chips the ball, off the tee towards the corner. Had this been allowed, the winger would almost certainly have scored.

The referee blows up, says something about making a genuine attempt at goal, and allows him to take it again. He slots the penalty.

I have had a look through the rules, and it seems to me the ref had two options under the laws as published

1/ Allow it

2/ Ping the rebels for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Is there a law about a genuine attempt at a place kick? I cant see it anywhere in the laws published on the IRB site.

Regards

Jon Noble

Hi John

In the opinion of The Rugby Ref, the referee got it wrong.

Law 21.5

(b)If the kicker indicates to the referee the intention to kick at goal, the kicker must kick at goal. Once the kicker has made the intention clear, there can be no change of the intention. The referee may enquire of the kicker as to the intention.

Sanction: Unless otherwise stated in Law any infringement by the kicker’s team results in a scrum at the mark. The opposing team throws in the ball.

In the opinion of The Rugby Ref, this was not a genuine attempt at goal (although it is difficult to comment without seeing it), so the result should have been a scrum to the opposition.

The Rugby Ref

Televised Match Officials and the Role of the Referee

The Rugby Ref was recently asked to collaborate with an article on injuries in sport.
The Rugby Ref has no connection with the firm concerned, but feels that anything that contributes to player safety is worth looking at.  The article below was submitted by Vicki Power.

Televised Match Officials and the Role of the Referee

The role of the Rugby referee is changing due to changes in the laws and an emphasis being put on player safety and health.

Concussion bin

Last year the International Rugby Board (IRB) introduced the Concussion bin in a trial period in the (then) Aviva Premiership. This allowed players who had sustained a collision or head injury to be assessed off the field. A temporary substitute is put into the game for 5 minutes while the assessment is taking place. If the player is fit and well, he can then return to the game. If he presents symptoms of a concussion he will remain out of the game and the temporary substitute becomes permanent.

Televised Match Officials (TMO)

In addition to the introduction of the concussion bin, the IRB allowed for more use of video technology during televised games. Previously, the video was used to assess whether a try had been scored, but the change allowed for the referee (in certain competitions) to consult the Television Match Official (TMO) with regards to foul play or personal injury, and also allowed the TMO to alert the referee of any incidents they may have missed.

There are mixed feelings on the use of TMO with some saying that it takes away the charm of rugby and the role of the referee and can be seen as a cop out on the referee’s part.

But, the results from the trial period appear, at this point, to be positive.

NB: The Rugby Ref says "anything that helps remove foul play from the game, and helps the referee make the correct decision should be welcomed, but the referee must remain the sole judge of fact and of law".

Referees have a great responsibility when they step onto the pitch. They must ensure that players and coaches comply with the laws of the game and that the integrity of the sport is upheld and that can only be assisted, at the highest levels, with the use of video technology.

Injury Surveillance Report

A recent report produced by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), highlighted the severity and frequency of specific injuries within the sport.

The study is commissioned by the Rugby Football Union and Premier Rugby Ltd and was first conducted in 2002. The study is now the largest of its kind and is used to assess professional rugby union injuries and training practises throughout the world.

Most Common cause of Injury

The report went into great detail of the causes of injuries during a match and what came out on top was Tackles.

The most common injuries to be sustained from a tackle are: Thigh injuries, knee injuries, other leg injuries and sternal injury to the ball carrier. Clavicle injuries, concussion and cervical nerve root injury to the tackler.

Tackles are all lumped under the same bracket, the report does not go into detail of illegal tackles or foul play, which explains the wide variety of injuries associated with this action.

NB: The Rugby Ref says "rugby is a collision sport and injuries are inevitable, but lets remove the dangerous and foul play, that produces preventable injuries".

Role of the Referee

When officiating a match, an additional role of the match officials, referee and coaches is to ensure the safety of the players. With the introduction of video technology to help rule and spot unsportsmanlike behaviour, illegal tackles and foul play, does this increase the responsibility placed on the referee? And, as a result, does this place more liability on the referee and the match officials when it comes to pointing fingers after an incident?

Robert Kitson , the Rugby Union correspondent was quoted in The Guardian in 2012:

“If a referee, or his assistants overreact in the heat of the moment it can ruin games and tarnish careers in an instant”

NB: The Rugby Ref says "referees react to what the players do, referees don't break the law or commit foul play, they merely uphold the law.  Let us be the best match officials we can be through training and assessments".

The increased usage of video technology will help ensure that overreactions don’t occur and will help result in a more agreeable and explainable decision, but will the extra liability that it appears to place on the referee result in the overall feeling toward the change being negative?

 

The Rugby Ref welcomes comments on this article.

 

 

Who gives a toss?

I always hear some conflicts around this point so I would love to know the truth. At coin toss what options do the winning team have, and likewise the non winning team.   

Thanks, Ryan.

Ryan

This is a very simple law, but one that referees and players alike get confused over.

The law says:

6.A.3 Duties of the referee before the match
(a) Toss. The referee organises the toss. One of the captains tosses a coin and the other captain calls to see who wins the toss. The winner of the toss decides whether to kick off or to choose an end. If the winner of the toss decides to choose an end, the opponents must kick off and vice versa.

The winner of the toss will choose between "kick or choose ends".  Whichever they choose, the other captain gets the other option.

So if the winner chooses and end, the loser kicks off.
If the winner decides to kick off, the loser chooses an end.

The only option they can't choose is "to receive".  If they want to receive then they must choose an end.

Hope that explains it.

The Rugby Ref.

Ask The Ref

Ruck/Maul formed in goal? At our last match, the red team was attacking toward the blue teams goal and was within 5m for a good 1 minute. When a ruck on the goal line was turned over to blue. In the heat of the battle the ruck moved entirely into the in goal area with out much of the players noticing. When a red player finally realized this he ran around the "ruck" (really just a pile of players in goal?) and touched the ball down. The referee whistled him for offsides and blue assumed a penalty kick on the 5m, is this correct, can you have a ruck in goal and thus an offsides line?  In the same context a when a maul enters the in goal area does there remain an offsides line? 

Thanks, Ryan, New York.

 Ryan

Lets look at some law references

16.6 Successful end to a ruck
A ruck ends successfully when the ball leaves the ruck, or when the ball is on or over the goal line.

22.6 Scrum, ruck or maul pushed into in-goal
A scrum, ruck or maul can take place only in the field of play. As soon as a scrum, ruck or maul is pushed across the goal line, a player may legally ground the ball.This results in a touch down or try. 

So when the ruck moved into in-goal, the ruck ended.  When the ruck ended offside lines disappeared.
At this point we were basically in open play. So the red player (or any other player) can run round and ground the ball for a try.

With a maul, the defenders offside line is the back foot of the maul.  As the maul enters in-goal the offside line becomes the goal line, instead of the back foot, since the maul (and the back foot) don't exist in in-goal.  So defenders can stay alongside the maul as long as they don't cross the goal line (which is now the offside line).  What they can't do is go into the side of the maul from that position if they cross the goal line to do so.

The Rugby Ref

Ball Out ?

Hello
I have seen and heard many variations as to when the ball is out of the scrum/ruck and is challangable, Some people say when the scrum half has both hands on the ball, some say when its lifted. Is there an official view?
Alan


Hi Alan

This is a question that referee's get asked a lot.  The official view, is the one in the law book.

Law 16.6 SUCCESSFUL END TO A RUCK
A ruck ends successfully when the ball leaves the ruck, or when the ball is on or over the goal line.

Law 20.10 ENDING THE SCRUM
(a)  The ball comes out.When the ball comes out of the scrum in any direction except the tunnel, the scrum ends.

Unfortunately the official (Law Book) view is anything but clear.  What is the definition of "leaves the ruck"?  They don't say.  So it is down to the referee's interpretation.

The best advice is to ask the referee for his definition of "ball out" before the game.

The Rugby Ref says "The ball is out when it leaves the ruck, that means beyond the back foot of the breakdown, or lifted off the floor".

Thanks for the question.
The Rugby Ref.

Stud legality

Can you please tell me if these stud are legal for match day?
Robbie

Robbie

Those studs look perfectly legal to The Rugby Ref, what makes you think they might not be?

The key question with studs is "are they dangerous".  No kinds of blades or studs are banned, as long as they are not sharp or burred (or exceptionally long or wide, see IRB regulation 12).

You may find some useful information on the RFU website here: http://www.rfu.com/TakingPart/PlayerHealth/FAQs

There is a question about blades, where it explains the IRB regulations, explains that they are legal and why.

Please post a comment if you have further questions.

The Rugby Ref

Scrum Law question?

Dear ref

Rule 20.4. E,f, and g.

When team A throws in at a scrum, team B pushes the scrum back and the scrum collapses, or stops with team B having the ball at their feet without any penalty many suggest that a new scrum is formed and team B get to throw in as they "won"   The throw in switches team!!

The rules, however, say the team not in position at the stoppage throw in.  Does this mean at the original stoppage that warranted the scrum or the stoppage when the scrum stopped?  So in my example team B would not get to throw in.

Can you confirm the law please?

Dominic
 

 Hi Dominic

Law 20.4 (e) and (f) say:

(e) When a scrum remains stationary and the ball does not emerge immediately a further scrum is ordered at the place of the stoppage. The ball is thrown in by the team not in possession at the time of the stoppage.
(f) When a scrum becomes stationary and does not start moving immediately, the ball must emerge immediately. If it does not a further scrum will be ordered. The ball is thrown in by the team not in possession at the time of the stoppage.

What these two laws are saying is, you can't just get the ball to your side of the scrum and hold it there to kill time. This is a scrum version of "use it or lose it".  If you have the ball won and don't use it, then the other team will get a re-set and the put in.  The Rugby Ref has never had to use these laws.

20.4 (g) is slightly different and says:

(g) If a scrum collapses or lifts up into the air without sanction a further scrum will be ordered and the team who originally threw in the ball will throw the ball in again.

That means, if its nobody's fault that the scrum went up or down, we just start again, same put in.  This might occur if someone slips.

Does that answer your question Dominic?

The Rugby Ref

Quick Throw-In question.

 

"If a quick lineout is being taken and an opposing player gets in line with the player taking the lineout, can it still be thrown backwards to one of his own team so he has no opportunity to contest it?"

Alun

Hi Alun

First off we just need to differentiate between a 'Quick Throw-In' and a 'Quick Lineout'.

A Quick Throw-In is taken before a lineout has formed, and can be taken anywhere from the line of touch, to the throwing team's goal line.  The ball can travel straight or backwards, as long as it goes over the 5m line.  The usual constraints apply such as using the same ball, ball not touched by other players, etc.

A Quick Lineout is taken once a lineout has formed, at the line of touch, but before the other team is ready.  As long as the lineout has formed, this is legal.  A formed lineout is defined as two players from each side.

Alun, I think you are asking if an opposition player can contest the Quick Throw-In?
The answer is 'Yes', providing he does not encroach within the 5m channel.  The thrower can still throw the ball backwards to his own player as a lineout has not been formed.  Remember a lineout consists of two players from each side.

The Rugby Ref hopes that has answered Alun's question.

Law 4.4 (A)

Can you please advise / comment on the above Law.

Watching Tuilagi at the weekend where his top was covered in blood. It surprised me that the ref took no action and on the contrary the Sun run an article on it praising him for playing on with blood all over his top.

Regards
Alan Hibbens


Alan, Law 4.4 (A) is quite clear.

4.4 BANNED ITEMS OF CLOTHING
(a) A player must not wear any item that is contaminated by blood.

The Rugby Ref has no idea why that Law would be ignored, after all it's not as if they would be short of shirts?  But then there are a lot of things that happen at the top level, that The Rugby Ref doesn't understand....and which would not be allowed at the Grass Roots Level of Rugby.

The Rugby Ref

Offside at a charge down.

Hi 

An argument arose as follows in a recent Premiership game. An opposing player kicks the ball. This was charged down by a home player. A second home player is several metres in front of the charge down and then picks up the ball. The referee blows for a penalty for offside.  

The argument was ' a player cannot be offside from a charge down' . The premiership ref gave two penalties in the match (one to each side) for the same offence.  

The question seems to be Law 11.3 that when a player kicks the ball this puts the home player onside but this seems then to be counteracted by the home player who charges down the ball putting the penalised player back offside? 

Ed

Hi Ed

Thanks for a very interesting question.

To help clarify this we need to take a step back and look at offside in open play. Let's look at the definition of offside.

Definitions
At the start of a game all players are onside. As the match progresses players may find themselves in an offside position. Such players are then liable to be penalised until they become onside again.
In general play a player is offside if the player is in front of a team-mate who is carrying the ball, or in front of a team-mate who last played the ball.
Offside means that a player is temporarily out of the game. Such players are liable to be penalised if they take part in the game. 
In general play, a player can be put onside either by an action of a team-mate or by an action of an opponent. However, the offside player cannot be put onside if the offside player interferes with play; or moves forward, towards the ball, or fails to move 10 metres away from the place where the ball lands.

The second paragraph is the one we need to look at. "A player is offside if he is in front of a team-mate who last played the ball".  So when the charge-down occurs, any team mates of the charger, who were in front of him when he charged-down the ball, are offside and liable to penalty if they take part in the game.

There is a common misconception that a charge own put everyone onside, in fact it only puts all the kickers team onside.  Any of the kickers team who are in front of the kicker are offside at the time of the kick, but a charge-down puts them onside.

Think of it this way (and this is a simplistic rule of thumb), you can only be offside in open play if your team have the ball (or last played it) so when the ball is kicked, only that team can be offside, but when it is charged-down, it is now only the chargers team who can be offside.

So Ed, in your example, the referee was correct, the player in front of his team mate who charged down the kick was offside, and penalised for taking part in the game by playing the ball.

As usual, you need to read more than one piece of law to get the full picture.  In this case the definitions for Law 11, and Law 11.4(f).

Great question Ed, and thanks for posting it.

The Rugby Ref

What is wrong with this picture?

Thanks much, enjoy your blog.

Drew

Level 1 Referee USA Rugby

Spokane, Wa.

Drew

Thanks for sending in the question and photo.
It is always hard to answer questions like this from a still photo, however lets have a go.
The number 8 and the far side flanker both appear to have broken their binds.

Both front rows appear to be driving up.  The big question is which front row are guilty?  Which front row are driving up, and which are being driven?

Unfortunately The Rugby Ref finds it impossible to answer that question from a still photo.

Drew, maybe you could answer your own question and fill in some blanks?

Thanks
The Rugby Ref

Edit: As has been pointed out in the comments, two teams in red, on a red pitch!!!

The Rugby Ref has a new watch.

For Christmas The Rugby Ref got a new watch.  the Spintso Referees watch is specially designed for referees and has lots of useful features.

Spintso stands for Sports Intelligent Solutions, and they claim that their new watch is the "smartest referee watch in the world".

The watch has three modes.  Standard watch, stopwatch, or the special referee match mode.  In match mode the watch has a number of special features that make it a very valuable tool for the referee.

• Count up timer, this keeps going for the whole 80 minutes
• Count down timer, this shows how much time is left to play, and pauses when you call time off
• Added time counter, which shows how much injury time there is
• Half time counter
• There is visual display of how far into the match you are (green bar)
• The watch can be set to time periods, so two halves, or four quarters for instance
• The watch vibrates every ten seconds when paused, so the referee can't forget to restart time after an injury
• Lots of other features, see the Spintso website (below) for full spec

So what does The Rugby Ref think of it?  Well, he likes it.  The display is big and bright.  The countdown timer means The Rugby Ref knows exactly how much one is left, and the vibrate functions means The Rugby Ref can't forget to restart the timer and gets a non visual clue when time is up.

At around £90 this is not a cheap watch, but if you are serious about your refereeing, the The Rugby Referee highly recommends it.

More details here : www.spintso.se

UK stockist here : A & H International

The Rugby Ref.

New 2013 Law Book available for download

 

 

 

Click here to Download the 2013 IRB Law Book

Ball Made Dead.

Hello,

My name is Stephan and I am a referee in the Netherlands.

I have a question concerning law 22.7 and 22.11.

If a ball was kicked into the opponents' in goal and a defender then kicks the ball over the dead ball line what is the result? A scrum for the attacking team or a 22 mgr drop out for the defending team?

Thanks,

Stephan Glaser

 

Stephan

 

When the ball goes into in-goal and is made dead, it doesn't matter who makes it dead.  What matters is who put the ball into in-goal in the first place.

• If the attackers put the ball into in-goal and it is subsequently made dead, we have a 22 drop out. 
• If the defenders put the ball into in-goal and it is subsequently made dead, we have a 5m attacking scrum.

So in your question it depends what side the player was on, who kicked it into in-goal.  Assuming he was an attacking player, we would have a 22 drop out for the defending team.

Thanks for the question.
The Rugby Ref.