Search results

The post about betting got me to post this. Well, actually I was considering it since a humdinger of a match my club lost last week, having been ahead three (different) times in the game. It is common, particularly when one side is outmatched, for the team that scores first to never lose the...

It always amazes me how many tiers of rugby union leagues there are in England. In the Netherlands there are just five levels for men, a Premier division, a first, two second divisions split N/S (now of 12 sides each, formerly 10), four third divisions, and with the size increase higher up, now...

I made a mistake as a TJ yesterday. The side in possession had managed to keep the ball in play (90%+ likely they did, and I'm not interested in the <10% chance I was right after all) and raised my flag too soon. Ref whistled immediately, presumably expecting the ball carrier to be jostled into...

Although a tackle can only take place in the field of play (15.1), defenders have the right to stop the ball from being grounded after the ball-carrier has cross the goal line. In a very one-sided game, a sole defender attempted to stop the ball carrier from grounding the ball by holding him...

Even more so at the highest level than any other, props are the most different pairing. Locks and wings may have preferences, and there is a clear difference between inside and outside centre, but with props there is perhaps more of a difference than between SH and FH (admittedly only at scrum...

You've finally taught the NH how to score :) Should be an interesting Cup!

after repassing the http://www.irblaws.com/ exam I recalled mention of http://www.sareferees.com/laws/test-yourself/ and went and did it. I got 21/22, the one which I got wrong was "Law 5: Time. Can a rugby match last for more than 80 minutes?" which I answered in the affirmative. My reasoning...

Background: a red player was held by a blue player, and was joined by plenty of other red players long before the six of them were lying on the ground. A clear penalty under either maul or ruck law, so no issue there. My question is: can a maul ever become a ruck? Note that I used to believe...

The coaches were happy, but I'm not 100% on the decision. Orange v Yellow, half time score 5-5. Halfway through the second half the visitors had scored a penalty and two (unconverted) tries. With temperaure well above 20C and humidity above 80%, one player at around this time (unrelated to...

Pre-match today I was confronted out of the blue by an otherwise friendly coach who was insistent that the team not throwing in at the lineout should equalise numbers, i.e. not put fewer players in than the team throwing in. This was U19 (U15 to be more precise, but age/local variations seem to...

The laws of rugby union could be clearer. The entire population of Wales, including WG, thought that WB made an error. He did not. The laws of rugby union are somewhat ambiguous as to which frame of reference should be applied, unlike those of rugby league. I was only exposed to league...

Is the referee completely and utterly incompetent? completely and utterly incompetent, with regard to the scrum? corrupt Or perhaps he is just inventing new laws?

The Laws require certain actions by players to be done immediately, particularly when a tackle is completed. How long can pass before such an action is no longer immediate?

I notice that thee has been no comment about the SA #9 putting the ball in slightly askew. Besides the comment of bcm666, that is, who was not afraid to call it. How fast are #9s travelling relative to the field of play that they need to use relativistic interpretations at scrum time?

I'm not going to post on https://www.facebook.com/RugbyRefscom but: "Considering nearly every game has a ref, should every ref be a 1st aider? Not for a cut finger, but for the urgent medical situations where the seconds & minutes matter. What real reason is there not to be a first aider if the...

This is not a poll for the simple reason that my question is not answerable in that format. What am I asking? What priorities we have, as referees. The format I am suggesting is that of a report card. Either A-C (with +, - or A*, A**) or 5-10 (scale of 1-10, but 5 being a fail; please only use...

So not entirely unrelated to rugby, but inspired by the "appeal" system which exists in both cricket and tennis. I'm not particularly interested in watching indeterminate replays over and over again. I can't do it on the pitch myself. In cricket it would be relatively easy to "refer" a...

I'm due to referee at fun events three days in a row (two of which the players will take somewhat seriously) and not looking forward to how my legs'll feel on Sunday. I'll set the fencepost. Only just over 160 minutes over two days. But 9 matches, most of which with fresh young players. Seven...

I was coaching, not refereeing. Blue are 7 points down in the final minute of an irrelevant/fun match. #8 is aware of the score and is in an easy try-scoring position if he simply goes for the corner, but initially tries to beat the defence closer to the posts - unrealistic in my view, so I...

I may be missing something really obvious. Clearly a player in possession of the ball, running forwards, needs to drop it forwards of himself in order to kick it. Equally clearly the time it takes to do so (half a second for a drop of four feet) is far too short for a committed tackler to pull...