Durban decider Part Two

Incidents

What we should be looking at, of course, as referees is the management in such a game when there is so much at stake, so many emotions whirling around, and the calm management of the man in the middle. To examine that is a worthwhile exercise in refereeing.

By contrast what we try to do in this article is look at incidents to be related to the Laws of the Game. Its a law discussion rather than a refereeing discussion. It's not meant to be an exercise in nit-picking, though after such a white-hot match that is how it will seem.

In Part One we gave lots of statistics. Now lets look at a few incidents ending with the one that has provoked most reader interest.

1. Knocked out

Ten minutes into the match, Jaco van der Westhuyzen of South Africa kicks a long kick to his left towards the Australian corner flag. The ball bounces and rolls with Clyde Rathbone of Australia scurrying after it. The ball rolls into the in-goal, and - as he goes for it - Rathbone slips/slides. His left hand knocks the ball into touch-in-goal. He is about three metres from the touch-in-goal line when his hand strikes the ball.

If you decide that there was nothing deliberate in his knocking the ball into touch-in-goal, what do you do?

You order a drop-out.

If you decide that he did it deliberately what do you do?

OK, you are going to penalise Rathbone.

How? Where.

Law 10.2 (c) Throwing into touch. A player must not intentionally throw or knock the ball with his arm or hand into touch, touch-in-goal or over the dead ball line.
Penalty: Penalty kick on the 15-metre line if the offence is between the 15-metre line and the touch line, or at the place of infringement if the offence occurred elsewhere in the field of play, or five metres from the goal-line and at least 15 metres from the touch-line if the infringement occurred in in-goal.

There you have it - a penalty five metres from the goal-line and 15 metres from touch.

2. "You are crawling, Master Os"

South Africa batters at the Australian line. Burly Os du Randt of South Africa plunges at the line. He falls short. He shoves off his knees twice to get closer and is over the line.

Try? No, not at all.

Penalty? Yes.

The movement with his knee is not the act of placing the ball. It was an attempt to move his body closer. It was crawling. It was not one of the options allowed him by the law.

Where do you give the penalty?

At the place where Du Randt held on, even if that place is ten centimetres from the Australian goal-line.

It is only the attacking team's penalty that is moved back to the five-metre line.

Law 21.2 (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 five metres of the opponents' goal-line, the mark for the free kick is five metres from the goal-line, opposite the place of infringement.

3. Whose ball in danger?

De Wet Barry of South Africa kicks. The ball is partially charged down and gathered in by Justin Harrison of Australia, whom Barry tackles, a metre or so inside the South African half. Others gather and there is a heap.

Referee: 'Danger, danger, danger. That'll do.'

He awards a scrum to Australia.

Commentator: 'Dangerous play, which means whoever has the ball keeps the ball.'

If a tackle had happened the ball would be awarded in accordance with the award of a scrum after a tackle. If a team was going forward, they get the ball. If neither team was going forward the ball goes to the team in their opponents' half.

There were two reasons to give Australia the ball - going forward and in the South African half.

4. What if he can't hear the call?

Three times Australia were to throw in at a line-out. Three times the referee told them to get it in, three times they continued to delay and three times the referee awarded a free kick to South Africa.

Law 19.6 (b) The throw-in at the line-out must be taken without delay and without pretending to throw.
Penalty: Free Kick on the 15-metre line.

Cannon did not pretend to throw in. He just stood there like patience on a monument.

Presumably he was waiting for the signal telling him where to throw. What if the crowd was making such a noise that he could not hear the signal?

The laws make no allowance for signals. They just want the ball thrown in without delay.

If noise is drowning the signal, then the team needs to find an alternative, and there are many like the use of hands and feet.

The referees concern is that the ball be thrown in without delay. He has no control over crowd decibels.

5. Paulse's card

The most incisive three-quarter on the day, Matt Giteau, not for the only time in the match, breaks. He gets a pass away to Jeremy Paul who heads for the line. Breyton Paulse of South Africa darts in and tackles Paul from behind. Both go to ground, Paulse behind Paul and hanging onto his ankles.

Paulse gets to his feet and with his hands plays the ball as it comes back behind Paul. He knocks the ball back between his legs, that is towards the Australian side.

Stephen Larkham on the right of Paul and Matt Burke on his left then drive into Paulse from the side.

Commentator: He's allowed to do that.

Is Paulse allowed to do that?

Paul the Australian is a tackled player because he is a ball-carrier who is brought to ground while held by an opponent.
Paulse the South African is the tackler because he brings Paul the Australian to ground, holds onto him and goes to ground himself.

Law 15.5 The Tackler

(a) When a player tackles an opponent and they both go to ground, the tackler must immediately release the tackled player.
(b) The tackler must immediately get up and move away from the tackled player and from the ball at once.
(c) The tackler must get up before playing the ball.

Paulse the South African released Paul the Australian immediately. Paulse immediately got up. Paulse was clearly on his feet before playing the ball.

It would seem that he had done nothing wrong?

But what about all of that about coming in from your own side - "through the gate"?

That applies only to "other players", that is those who were not the tackled player and not the tackler.

Law 15.7 Other players

(d) At a tackle or near to a tackle, other players who play the ball must do so from behind the ball and from directly behind the tackled player or the tackler closest to those players' goal-line.

What if it was a ruck?

Paulse on his feet plays the ball back through his legs, which may well constitute a knock-on, and then gathers the ball up off the ground.

After he has played the ball up, Larkham packs on him from the right and then Burke from the left and then Phil Waugh drives into him from behind.

It would not seem that Larkham and Burke made their physical contact with him over the ball until he had the ball up off the ground.

It seems unlikely that it was a ruck.

What about Larkham playing from the side and not from behind the tackler?

But a tackler, according to the definition is a player on the ground. Does he cease to be a tackler when he gets up off the ground?

Law 15 Definition Opposition players who hold the ball-carrier and bring that player to ground and who also go to ground are known as tacklers
Opposition players who hold the ball-carrier and do not go to ground are not tacklers.

Paulse held Paul and went to ground. Ergo he was a tackler.

Does he cease to be a tackler when he gets up?

That is not said in the Laws. If he is still a tackler when Larkham and Burke play him, they certainly played from the side.

The whole thing has an unhealthy vagueness about it.

Would it not be better to say that everybody who plays the ball after a tackle must do so from behind the ball, whether he is the tackler or not?

Would that not make things less complicated for referees, players and spectators? Wouldn't that mean it was a healthy simplification of an intrinsically complex situation?

Imagine having to go through the above checklist at such a crucial stage in the game with players barking at you.