RUGBY RULES AND PROBLEMS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3869, 8 May 1928, Page 52

RUGBY RULES AND PROBLEMS.

By Chevalier. PASS FORWARD AND ITS PENALTY. Mr H. Harris is reported to have said at last Monday’s meeting of the Otago Rugby Union that “it was a common practice for New Zealand referees to penalise a player taking a pass offside and give a free kick, whereas in England the penalty was for the first offence—the pass forward, a scrum being ordered ” The discussion ended with a decision that u e delegates to the annual meeting of the New Zealand Rugby Union should obtain an opinion, on the points raised, from the governing body. In order that referees who are not able to attend the weekly meetings of the Referees Association may not b e confused over the point raised, it is necessary to. detail a little of the history in connection with the union’s discussion of t be . P, 011 }*' First of all, many referees lelt tlicit iirucli valuable time was bein <r wasted in discussions that resulted in fogging the issue rather than clarifying it. To avoid this, the annual meeting of the association set up a judicial committee so that controversial points mi-'ht be .referred to it as reported upon Tv It at the next meeting of the association tthas been recognised that there are ditterences of interpretation of certain laws, in England and New Zealand. From experience it has been learned that when a dispute has been carried to the final authority of the English Rugby Union, the New Zealand interpretations have been over-ruled.

t tbe points submitted to the Judicial Committee was in connection with a pass forward taken by a player in an offside position It has been the custom in New Zealand to avoid a free kick for what is called an offside pass. This decision has been acceptable to most people concerned, but the English law provides for a penalty for the first breach the rules,— that is, the pass forward Lhe Judicial Committee reported back to the association last Saturday night that w re r'u examination it must hold to the English law, and that a scrummage should be awarded. A motion was immediately moved disagreeing with the decision,, and appealing to the O.R FU for its opinion, and now the O R.F.U. is sending the case on to the N.Z.R.F.U. The Judicial Committee argued that the player standing in front is not offside till he touches the ball, and before it is possible for him to touch the ball a breach has been committed by passingforward the ball for which reason lhe onlj penalty could be a scrummage. Of course, as Mr Harris pointed out,'something must be left to the discretion of the referee, and under the advantage rule he may allow the forward pass to go but Pena ise, a little later, the plaver in an m < lTi PO % tlO n when lle p!avs the ban. What then? Custom and a liberal interpretation of the rule seem to favour the award of a free kick so long as the referee is sure that the receiver w-as in front of the passer. If he ran up from behind in the judgment of the referee, then the penalty would be a scrummage One of the things that evidently led tie Judicial Committee to bring in its findwas tne fact that in the case of an appeal from court to court, the final decision would be according to English law and against the New Zealand interpretation. An iffithority, who has been in close touch with the English Union informed the writer that this is one of the points on which the New Zealand Union is given a free hand. An illustration that was used at the referees meeting seems to give point to the contention that the penalty should be given for the greater breach of the law.

If a man, while stealing goods, murdered another man who endeavoured to arrest him, the penalty would be given for the greater and not the lesser crime. The analogy seems to hold good when applied to the pass forward, and to the taking of the pass when in an offside position. Rules 17 (e) defines a phase of the offside rule as its penalty. It reads: "If the ball has been kicked or touched, or is being carried by one of his own side behind him.” Dropping the qualifying phrases, this rule, as applied to the question at issue, would read: “ If the ball has been touched by one of his own side behind him.” The footnote says: “No offside player shall play the ball or actively or passively obstruct an opponent, etc.” The committee’s argument was that a man in front was not offside and probably the rule would have been more correct if it had said “ in an offside position.” The penalty follows the statement of the rule: “ Penalty kicks awarded at the place of infringement or scrummage where the ball was last played by the offending side, at the option of the other side.” As nothing would be gained by selecting a scrummage in this case, the referee has always ruled a free kick. The matter is now, however, in the hands of the parent body, and referees must carry on as usual until the decision comes to hand. I am no prophet, but I venture to predict that the Dominion interpretation will still hold good. LECTURE ON AMBULANCE WORK. Mr J. Hanson, of the St. John Ambulance, visited the Referees’ Association and gave a short talk on the referee’s relation to the work of the ambulance men and in dealing -with accidents when no qualified attendants were available. Mr Hanson was asked many questions, and was heartily thanked for his attendance. A fow of his points should be broadcast so that as many as possible may make a note of them. It must be remembered that when an ambulance man is called to the field of play he is in charge, but the referee should be sure that he is a qualified ambulance man, and not merely a spectator who is anxious to assist. When an ankle has been sprained the boot should not be removed till the patient has reached home. When a player’s head is injured through a collision or a kick, the referee •should exercise his authority and prevent the player from resuming the game The I ,i ! - a n er may be suffering from a fractured s nn” a risk of very serious results, there is a regulation that play may be suspended only for three minutes, but Mr Hanson asserted that the man was much more important than the game, and in a case of a fractured leg the plaver should not be moved until he can 'be taken direct to the hospital. It was decided that at a future date another lecture should be given, with demonstrations. THE SCRUM AND THE BALL. As a result of one of Saturday's matches the question of the ball going into the scrum gave rise to considerable discussion at the Referees’ Association’s meeting. Mr W. Jenkins, who controlled the main match on Saturday last, is to be congratulated on his general control of his game and on his insistence that the ball should enter the scrum in proper fashion. lie might have inflicted a penalty or two instead of simply orderin" the ball to be put in again. Many referees use their blind eye in scrum work, but this is not for the good of the game. W hat is the use of a scrum if the ball is not allowed a fair show to enter it? Again and again one sees the ball come out of the side'of the scrum without notice being taken Somptimes, when the feet come up together it is very difficult to detect the blameworthy party. It is often due to the manner in which the wing forward puts the ball in and, if possible, the referee should keep an eye on him. The wing forward, who stands >at a distance to put the ball in, generally does so in order that he may have an opportunity to get round the scrum, but the men in the pack, as a result of their position, may be deceived into bringing up their feet before the due time. There is no doubt that the wing forward standing close up to the scrum can get the ball in more quickly and more neatly than the man who stands at a distance. ’lhe rule is very definite upon the matter: “No player shall wilfully prevent the ball being fairlv ■nt ir>+,. scrummage.” Then there is this footnote to the rule: “The ball is n<u tauT lU the scrummage if it pass straight through or if it enter the scrummage and be immediately kicked out at either side ” Further: “A player n-hn foot beyond the front line of his forwards before the ball is fairly in a scrummage shall be troatoJ ing.” Then we have this other law, which give the referee poue. necessary delay in getting the ball nto the scrum: “The ball shall be placed iu the scrummage without delay.” The referee should be careful during the progress of the game to give attention to both sides of the serum. Illegal actions may be detected on the blind side that are not evident on the other, and it is necessary’ for the referee to keep moving round his scrum formation to see that the game is played in its proper snnit. This observation is made because of one or two things that were noticed last Saturday.