Kick Forward question

Hi there Ref

I saw a situation the other day and was not sure if it was legal or not and request your advice.

Situation:

Blue team backs have the ball in the middle of the park and the centre chips the ball forward and all the backs advance, The parson who chipped the ball get to the bouncing ball first and kicks it off the ground as its bouncing, a second blue player who was just in front of the this person collects the bouncing ball collects the ball and scores a try.

So was he off side if he was in front of the player kicking the ball? I don’t think it could be a forward pass as a kick is not a pass is it ?

Hi Alan

Thanks for your question.   

Law 10.1 A player is offside in open play if that player is in front of a team-mate who is carrying the ball or who last played it. An offside player must not interfere with play. This includes :

a. Playing the ball.

b. Tackling the ball-carrier.

c. Preventing the opposition from playing as they wish.

So after the second kick, the team-mate in front of the kicker is offside and must not interfere with play. Since the player in front "played the ball" he did interfere with play.  Penalty.

Thanks for the question

The Rugby Ref

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Summary of Law Changes for the 2022 season

 LAW CHANGES 1 JULY 2022

Following the World Rugby Council meeting in May 2022, a number of law changes have

been made. These all come into force for the whole game on 1 July 2022.

The five current Global Law Trials Goal Line Drop-out, 50:22, jackler protection, banning pre-bound pods in open play (flying wedge) and approving a single latcher will become full law.

There are two new Global Law Trials

- Brake foot - At the scrum, hookers must have a brake foot in place during "Crouch" and "Bind" phases, and is removed on "Set".  This is to reduce axial loading on the hookers.

- Water carriers - New restrictions on medics and water carriers have been introduced as well as formalising technical zones into law. This is primarily related to the elite game, but the principles apply to all levels of the game.

These will become Global Law Trials until at least the end of 2023. There are also a number of

minor amends to law that have arisen from previous clarifications.

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