RUGBY FOOTBALL

Hokitika Guardian, 24 May 1933, Page 3

RUGBY FOOTBALL

SOME RULINGS “

PENALTY AWARDED IN ERROR

111 a letter, the New Zealand Rugby Referrees’ Association stated tli'aj) a referee had awarded a penalty kick against the attacking side for handling the ball in a scrummage at a spot just inside what lie took To be the twentyfive line. He then discovered that, in reality, it was just over the goal-line. The captain of the attacking sidergave notice of appeal for a try. 'The referee allowed the kick at goal, and the question which arose was as to how the game should be restarted. The ruling of the association was that the game shouiU be restarted by the defending side taking the penalty kick which the referee had given.

BALL CARRIED OVER,

The New Zealand Referees’ Association also advised that, under the law in force this year, if a defender was physically forced over the goal-line add then touched the ball down, the twenty-five kick should be awarded, the scrum-out being given only when the defender liad wilfully taken the ball back over his own goal-line.

In a recent alddresg to referees at Christchurch Mr AY.G. Garrard, a former well known referee said. The fundamental rule pf the game Was that no side sho/ald, profit by its own mistakes,, arid if this was realised there would be little to complain about in the standard of refereeing .in Canterbury, where, with the exception of one or two points, the; work, of the referees was better than in other parts of New Zealand! The speaker considered that a referee, must penalise early in the case of lying on the bally- Line*outs were all to frequently followed by scrums, but in speaker’s opinion these were frequently caused by the referee. Either the man who took the ball would not put it down, or air opponent .prevented him from doing -so.’ Both of these were offences punishable- by penalties, anid the referee wasbflt fault if he allowed the stage to ’he reached when a scrummage had been formed. Tlie same applied to a referee allowing the ball to be put into the scrunrset*' ernT times in succession. •• Eithermthe half-back was putting it in 'unfairly of some other plfiyeY was preventing it from being put in correctly.'Th’e'failure to penalise in these two cases not only caused irritation amongst the players, but also tended t 0 slow up the game.