Big Dai is a Level 10+1 Rugby Union referee for the London Society. After playing for many years in the Social side of a leading national club, he started refereeing a few seasons ago. He recounts his adventures trooping around South West London to give the ungrateful a game of weekend rugby.
There’s perhaps an unwanted consequence stemming from these rules;
‘Sanctions: For all offences other than offside, not entering through the gate, and Law 10 - Foul Play, the sanction is a Free Kick’
‘Tackle and ruck: If the ball is unplayable at the breakdown, the side that did not take the ball into contact will receive a Free Kick’
Now I’m not a chap who likes deliberately breaking the laws, but just playing devil’s advocate here; if the opposition have a ruck in our 22 the best way to prevent a try and let my team set up the defense is to just lie on top of the ball to stop it coming out; in the best case I won’t get caught and we’ll get a free kick, in the worst case there’ll be a free kick against us, which is a lot less worrying than a try or a penalty. The opposition might get penalised for stamping, in which case my consolation for a sore back is a penalty for my team. Of course if I were a professional player whose mortgage depends on winning, it might be a more serious option.
The referee still has the option to call a penalty if the offence was 'in the redzone' but that brings referee judgement into play in a way the ELV were supposed to prevent. Its all well and good testing the theory with disciplined professional, imagine the mess this will create at grass root?
I like the penalties as they are; if your team has a good kicker, then penalties are a real disincentive/punishment for teams who cheat to prevent a score against them. It’s also clear to all players; don’t obstruct release, don’t lie on the ball, don’t pause before releasing after the tackle. All these things are important for free-flowing rugby. Besides, a careful penalty kicker with a good kicking ritual gives those of us reaching the twilight years of our first team career a moment’s rest, and I’m sure the refs appreciate that sometimes too. It’s also worth watching; I remember as a child admiring the skill of Dusty Hare, Ollie Campbell and so on taking whopping great place kicks from impossible angles, having artfully fashioned a ‘tee’ out of mud. It’s a part of the game that’s worth keeping. Oh, and bring back the mud instead of those namby-pamby plastic tees they use now.
They even bring those plastic tees on with a radio controlled car model these days, steered by some spotty teenager in the stands who’s won a caption competition to drive the little car onto the pitch, as if that’s supposed to entertain us. I’m not impressed. I might be impressed when they send a radio controlled model of a JCB on the pitch to fashion a perfect kicking tee out of mud.
3 comments:
There’s perhaps an unwanted consequence stemming from these rules;
‘Sanctions: For all offences other than offside, not entering through the gate, and Law 10 - Foul Play, the sanction is a Free Kick’
‘Tackle and ruck: If the ball is unplayable at the breakdown, the side that did not take the ball into contact will receive a Free Kick’
Now I’m not a chap who likes deliberately breaking the laws, but just playing devil’s advocate here; if the opposition have a ruck in our 22 the best way to prevent a try and let my team set up the defense is to just lie on top of the ball to stop it coming out; in the best case I won’t get caught and we’ll get a free kick, in the worst case there’ll be a free kick against us, which is a lot less worrying than a try or a penalty. The opposition might get penalised for stamping, in which case my consolation for a sore back is a penalty for my team. Of course if I were a professional player whose mortgage depends on winning, it might be a more serious option.
The referee still has the option to call a penalty if the offence was 'in the redzone' but that brings referee judgement into play in a way the ELV were supposed to prevent.
Its all well and good testing the theory with disciplined professional, imagine the mess this will create at grass root?
I like the penalties as they are; if your team has a good kicker, then penalties are a real disincentive/punishment for teams who cheat to prevent a score against them. It’s also clear to all players; don’t obstruct release, don’t lie on the ball, don’t pause before releasing after the tackle. All these things are important for free-flowing rugby. Besides, a careful penalty kicker with a good kicking ritual gives those of us reaching the twilight years of our first team career a moment’s rest, and I’m sure the refs appreciate that sometimes too. It’s also worth watching; I remember as a child admiring the skill of Dusty Hare, Ollie Campbell and so on taking whopping great place kicks from impossible angles, having artfully fashioned a ‘tee’ out of mud. It’s a part of the game that’s worth keeping. Oh, and bring back the mud instead of those namby-pamby plastic tees they use now.
They even bring those plastic tees on with a radio controlled car model these days, steered by some spotty teenager in the stands who’s won a caption competition to drive the little car onto the pitch, as if that’s supposed to entertain us. I’m not impressed. I might be impressed when they send a radio controlled model of a JCB on the pitch to fashion a perfect kicking tee out of mud.
Oh well, maybe I’m getting old.
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