Super 12 - Week Eight

Statistics and Laws

The Blues came skating back into contention while the Crusaders stumbled in Durban and the Chiefs fell in Johannesburg. In fact the congestion in most of the table has started to ease a bit. It was Easter and the Resurrection and lots of alleluia. Presumably the Cats victory after 13 Super 12 defeats elicited some sort of rugby alleluia to celebrate their resurrection!

There are many things we could discuss but the few we have are fairly lengthy.

This week there was - yet again - a penalty for wrongly intruding into a line-out. It was in the Reds match but it was not against the Reds. It must be catching as it was against their opponents!

1. Statistics:

We update these each week. From Week Four on there have been byes. This week the Waratahs and the Hurricanes had byes. Only the Brumbies and the Highlanders have not had byes. We have used averages to keep comparisons going.

Penalties conceded

The Crusaders remain the least penalised team in Super 12, even though playing away from home. The Chiefs were also well-disciplined, conceding only two penalties in the second half of their match. The most penalised team remains the Sharks.

The teams which have conceded fewest penalties in a match are the Crusaders, the Hurricanes and the Highlanders, with four each. The most penalties conceded in a match is 17 - by the Stormers, followed by the Hurricanes who leapt from four one week to 16 the next.

Of the 93 penalties, 50 were at the tackle - directly at the tackle, not high tackle or off-side but what happens at the scene of a tackle.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Blues	9	7	7	8		11	8	10
Brumbies	8	7	8	9	14	7	7	11
Bulls	9	8	6	10	8	8		6
Cats	14	10	11	8	8		10	13
Chiefs	11	7	10		12	8	5	8
Crusaders	9	9	8		4	6	6	5
Highlanders	15	13	9	11	9	10	4	7
Hurricanes	11	10	14	12	14	4	16
Reds	5	12	10	11		9	13	10
Sharks	14	12	16	11	10		7	12
Stormers	8	8	7	5	7	17		11
Waratahs	11	7	7	10	10	13	9
Totals:	124	110	113	95	96	93	85	93
Average	10,3	9,2	9,4	9,5	9,6	9,3	8,5	9,3

Penalties conceded per match

Highlanders vs Reds: 15 + 5 = 20
Cats vs Stormers: 14 + 8 = 22
Crusaders vs Waratahs: 9 + 11 = 20
Chiefs vs Hurricanes: 11 + 11 = 22
Brumbies vs Blues: 8 + 9 = 17
Bulls vs Sharks: 9 + 14 = 23
Crusaders vs Blues: 9 + 7 = 16
Brumbies vs Cats: 7 + 10 = 17
Waratahs vs Sharks: 7 + 12 = 19
Reds vs Chiefs: 12 + 7 = 19
Bulls vs Hurricanes: 8 + 10 = 18
Stormers vs Highlanders: 8 + 13 = 21
Blues vs Chiefs: 7 + 10 = 17
Waratahs vs Cats: 7 + 11 = 18
Bulls vs Highlanders: 6 + 9 = 15
Brumbies vs Sharks: 8 + 16 = 24
Reds vs Crusaders: 10 + 8 = 18
Stormers vs Hurricanes: 7 + 14 = 21
Hurricanes vs Cats: 12 + 8 = 20
Bulls vs Brumbies: 10 + 9 = 19
Stormers vs Waratahs: 5 + 10 = 15
Reds vs Blues: 11 + 8 = 19
Highlanders vs Sharks: 11 + 11 = 22
Bulls vs Waratahs: 8 + 10 = 18
Hurricanes vs Sharks: 14 + 10 = 24
Highlanders vs Cats: 9 + 8 = 17
Chiefs vs Crusaders: 12 + 4 = 16
Stormers vs Brumbies: 14 + 7 = 21
Stormers vs Bulls: 17 + 8 = 25
Hurricanes vs Blues: 4 + 11 = 15
Chiefs vs Waratahs: 8 + 13 = 21
Crusaders vs Highlanders: 6 + 10
Brumbies vs Reds: 7 + 9 = 16
Blues vs Waratahs, 8 + 9 = 17
Sharks vs Cats, 7 + 10 = 17
Highlanders vs Chiefs: 4 + 5 = 9
Hurricanes vs Reds: 16 + 13 = 29
Crusaders vs Brumbies: 6 + 7 = 13
Blues vs Bulls: 10 + 6 = 16
Brumbies vs Highlanders: 11 + 7 = 18
Reds vs Stormers: 10 + 11 = 21
Sharks vs Crusaders: 12 + 5 = 17
Cats vs Chiefs: 13 + 8 = 21

The match between the Hurricanes and the Reds produced the most penalties. The match between the Highlanders and the Chiefs produced the fewest penalties.

Cards

There were four cards this week. Owen Finegan of the Brumbies went off looking puzzled after he received one. There was no need to look puzzled as his hand on the ball looked completely calculated. Aisea Tuilevu of the Highlanders got one for pulling George Smith's locks and jerking his head back. Scott Linklater came in the side to kill the ball on the Chiefs' line and was sent off and CJ van der Linde of the Chiefs received one as well.

Van der Linde was remarkably silly. Time was running out, his team was nine points ahead and the Chiefs were attacking. Relief came for the Cats when Sione Lauaki knocked on. Then Van der Linde reached up and dug a forearm into Lauaki's neck, producing an angry reaction from the Chiefs. Off Van der Linde went. A scrum to the Cats became a penalty to the Chiefs and a five-metre line-out from which the Chiefs scored, thus securing a bonus point.

That was the Cats first card of the 2004 Super 12, leaving the Crusaders the only cardless team.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Blues

Y

Y

Brumbies

Y

Y

Bulls

Y

Cats

Y

Chiefs

Y,C

C

Y

Crusaders

Highlanders

Y

Y

Y

Hurricanes

Y

Reds

Y

Sharks

Y

Y

Stormers

Y

Waratahs

2Y

Totals

4

3

2

1

2

1

3

4

Tries

The Waratahs and the Hurricanes had byes.

The Brumbies have scored most tries, the Reds fewest on average. The Brumbies have scored a bonus point on six occasions. The Reds and the Chiefs have each done so only once.  

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Blues	3	6	2	0		3	3	9
Brumbies	5	10	2	3	4	7	4	7
Bulls	2	4	1	4	4	1		3
Cats	2	4	1	3	2		4	2
Chiefs	1	3	3		2	2	5	2
Crusaders	1	3	1		4	6	5	3
Highlanders	5	3	1	4	4	4	4	2
Hurricanes	1	3	3	5	2	2	4
Reds	1	5	2	3		1	2	3
Sharks	2	2	1	5	2		5	4
Stormers	3	6	1	4	2	3		2
Waratahs	4	6	5	3	3	2	2
Totals	30	55	23	34	29	31	38	37
Average	2,5	4,8	3,9	3,4	2,9	3,1	3,8	3,7

2. Tacklers' activities:

We look at three incidents from Week Eight of Super 12. The tackle is already a much penalised area and these incidents, from the same match, are worth a look.

a. Tone Kopelani, the Crusaders' lively hooker, breaks. Craig Davidson, the committed Sharks' scrumhalf, tackles him from behind. Kopelani and Davidson both go to ground, Davidson clinging to Kopelani. That made a tackle in terms of the law - the ball-carrier on the ground, held, and the tackler on the ground.

Davidson immediately gets to his feet and plays at the ball. Three Crusaders - Richie McCaw, Somerville and Dave Hewett - smash into Davidson from behind.

The referee penalises Davidson and says: "No.9 off-side at the tackle. No.9, you were never on-side at the tackle. You didn't make the tackle. You must come from behind."

The player with the No.9 on his back was Davidson.

Davidson could have been the only Shark referred to as he was the only one who had performed any action which could be construed as coming in from the wrong side.

b. Henno Mentz of the Sharks comes off the left-wing and bursts through in midfield. Richard McCaw of the Crusaders tackles him from behind. Both go to ground. McCaw does not seem to hold onto Mentz.

McCaw immediately gets to his feet and plays the ball. Luke Watson of the Sharks grabs McCaw from behind as the Crusader picks up the ball. Other players of both sides arrive.

The referee penalises McCaw and says: "You've got to get up and back round there again. Off-side."

He puts his fingertips together in a ruck sign and says: "Formed on top of you."

c. Marika Vunibaka of the Crusaders cuts inside. Trevor Halstead of the Sharks tackles him. The two go to ground as does Mose Tuiali'I, the No.8 of the Crusaders with them.

Craig Davidson and Charl van Rensburg of the Sharks, on their feet and from behind the tackle, lean over to pick up the ball. They have their hands on the ball. Andrew Mehrtens arrives tentatively and on the edge of the action makes loose contact while standing. He flaps a hand at the referee to draw his attention to what Davidson and Van Rensburg are doing. Davidson gets the ball up off the ground. Then Aaron Mauger drives into him.

The referee penalises Davidson and says: "Ruck formed." He makes a little tent with his fingertips to show a ruck.

a. In a. all the evidence of the eyes suggested that Davidson did tackle Kopelani. It was out in the open and clear. The law then allows him to play the ball from wherever he likes as long as he gets to his feet. He did get to his feet. It is hard to find a reason to penalise him.

Certainly the use of off-side at a tackle is loose indeed. There is no off-side at a tackle.

b. If McCaw hung onto Mentz and both were on the ground, there was a tackle. McCaw was entitled to get to his feet to play the ball. When he did so there was no ruck. For a ruck there must be players from both sides in physical contact over the ball on the ground. It is doubtful if Watson's action could have formed a ruck. By the time others arrived McCaw was playing it back to his side.

There is no off-side line at a tackle. McCaw could not have been off-side at a tackle.

If McCaw did not hang onto Mentz, which means that there was no tackle in terms of the laws, all the Crusaders could have played the ball from whatever side they chose. There was nothing ion a rugby field to make them off-side.

Even if McCaw had hung onto Mentz while they both his the ground, he was entitled to play from Mentz's side because he was the tackler.

Any ruck that may have been formed was a dubious quantity.

The tackle is not easy for players or referees. Both Davidson and McCaw, experienced and quality players, seemed genuinely to believe that they had been hard done by. It seemed tough for each of them to be penalised and concede three points as a result.

c. What Davidson and Van Rensburg did initially was legal. When Mehrtens arrived and made bits of light contact with them, it may have been possible to rule a ruck because of the physical contact.

When Mauger drove in there was no longer a ruck because the Sharks duo had the ball up off the ground.

The only little thought for us when we referee is that we should have our decisions right - see what happens and accept the evidence of our eyes. Guessing is not good. Above all we should be sure when we give a penalty.

It's horrible that a penalty could go either way - against Kopelani, Mentz or Vunibaka for holding on just as it went against McCaw and, twice, Davidson for trying to get hold of the ball. There is something wrong with either law or application if things look that much of a lottery.

One other little thing. A referee should call a ruck because it is a ruck. It should not be a ruck just because he says so.

3. Watson caught off-side:

Andrew Mehrtens of the Crusaders, from well inside his 22, kicked a long kick downfield. Brent Russell of the Sharks fielded the ball and kicked a lowish kick far downfield towards the touchline on his left where Mehrtens fielded the ball.

As the ball bounced towards the touch-line it brushed Luke Watson of the Sharks who was retreating.

Commentator 1: "Russell's kick bounced one metre from Luke Watson. He was retreating but still off-side. The law states that if you kick the ball and someone is in an off-side position and is within ten metres of where the ball bounces, they are off-side even if they are retreating or wherever they're going."

Commentator 2: "The kick just brushed Watson."

The kick did indeed brush Watson who was inside the Crusaders' 22 and retreating. He gave an excellent impression of trying to avoid the low, speeding ball which brushed him lightly and went on to Mehrtens. The contact with Watson seemed not to affect the passage of the ball to Mehrtens.

What was said was not entirely true.

It is a principle of rugby that a player who happens to be in an off-side position is not penalised unless he does something while he is there. In the case of being within ten metres of where the ball alights or of a player waiting to play the ball, it is enough just to stand there to be liable to penalty. But Watson was retreating.

A player within 10 metres must go back, retreat, retire - whatever you like.

Law 11. 4 OFF-SIDE UNDER THE 10-METRE LAW

(a) When a team-mate of an off-side player has kicked ahead, the off-side player is considered to be taking part in the game if the player is in front of an imaginary line across the field which is 10 metres from the opponent waiting to play the ball, or from where the ball lands or may land. The off-side player must immediately move behind the imaginary 10 metre line. While moving away, the player must not obstruct an opponent.

(b) While moving away, the off-side player cannot be put on-side by any action of the opposing team. However, before the player has moved the full 10 metres, the player can be put on-side by any on-side team-mate who runs in front of the player.

5 BEING PUT ON-SIDE UNDER THE 10-METRE LAW

(a) The off-side player must retire behind the imaginary 10-metre line across the field, otherwise the player is liable to be penalised.

(b) While retiring, the player can be put on-side before moving behind the imaginary 10-metre line by any of the three actions of the player's team listed above in Section 2. However, the player cannot be put on-side by any action of the opposing team.

Watson was retiring. He was a candidate for being put on-side, not liable to penalty.

But the ball struck him. That may have been an accident. If that had no effect on the ball play could even go on.

The off-side player is not as hopeless a case as the commentator suggested.

4. Dummy run:

The Brumbies put the ball into a scrum and it comes back to them. Their scrum-half Matt Henjak darts to the back of the scrum and then off to the blind side without picking up the ball. The ball stays in the scrum. No.8 Scott Fava picks up the ball and charges onto the open side.

The referee awards a free-kick to the Highlanders.

Right?

Law 20.9  (h) Scrum-half: Dummying. A scrum-half must not take any action to make the opponents think that the ball is out of the scrum while it is still in the scrum. Penalty: Free-kick