THAT “IMAGINARY LINE”

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 664, 16 May 1929, Page 11

THAT “IMAGINARY LINE”

VIEWS FOR AND AGAINST RUGBY RULE TOO MUCH FOR REFEREE? The announcement that an effort is to be made to have the Auckland Rugby Union local rule regarding the “imaginary line” through the back of the scrum abolished has caused a considerable amount of discussion in Rugby circles in the city. The man in the street agrees with the proposal if it will result in the improvement of the standard of the game in the province.

“I think that Auckland should revert to the old rule.” said Mr. F. W. Lucas, who has captained the Ponsonby fifteen that has been uniformly successful during the enforcement of the “imaginary line” understanding. “Under the present system, too much is left to the imagination of the referee, as has been pointed out. Ido not think that the backs will worry so much about the rule as the forwards, who are more affected. If it will improve halfback play, though, it will be a good thing. “There is one way, too, in which the rule operates unfairly. That is when a team is near the goal line, on defence. To comply with the rule, the backs sometimes have to go behind their goal line, which is bad defence. I have seen players in these circumstances penalised when they have unconsciously moved over the goal line into the field of play. “If the old rule comes in again, though, the referees will have to pay more attention to forwards breaking away on the blind side.” “Imaginary line? A lot of blessed rot!” said a citizen who was asked his opinion in the street. “X have been watching Rugby for 20 years now. and I have seen Auckland inside backs lose all idea of defence, and the forwards develop into shiners, just because of the imaginary line. The only imaginary line we want is the equator.” The reporter questioned several others. One man was of the opinion that strong Auckland packs had been unable to win matches because their backs were too slow and lackadaisical —the result of having plenty of time arid room to work in under the “imaginary line” rule. Another man, however, was strongly for the rule. Auckland wanted to see spectacular Rugby, with plenty of movement up and downfield In it, he said, and slogging forward matches pleased neither players nor spectators. He thought ultimately New Zealand would follow Auckland’s lead in this respect, just as it had with the amended kick-into-touch rule. One Rugby stalwart said that the rule was “all right” if all the clubs would adhere to it.