Hi jcas1403. It's terrifyingly common - and it doesn't necessarily stop as you get more experienced either! The thing is, as a new ref your brain is in overload during a game; way too much information requiring complex processing in way too short a time. My bugbear was always in-goal, where much of what happens is counter-intuitive. In my second game, we had a 5m defensive lineout on the left touchline, and the defending side won it, but decided to try to run it out instead of kicking it. Four passes later, we are still in in-goal and the righ winger is under extreme pressure. He just aboout manages to get a kick away - but it goes into touch-in-goal without ever clearing the goal line. How (and where) to restart? I gave a lineout to the attackers on the 5m line. :wtf:
On Sunday, some 7 or 8 years on, I was reffing a U.16 tournament. A scrum half pass from a midfield position about 15m out went over the head of the #10, who had to turn and retrieve the ball which had gone into in-goal. He was chased by several attackers, and tried to outrun them laterally. He was caught and bundled over the dead ball line about 3m from touch-in-goal. I knew it was an attacking scrum restart - but should I give it in line with where the ball entered in-goal, where the ball exited it (minimum 5m in), or 5m out and 15m in? (I know, I know - but the thing about going blank is the irrationality of it all!). I went with the attacking scrum 5m out and 5m in, in the sure and certain knowledge that anyone well enough versed in law to correct me if I was wrong, would alos be a ref who would sympathise with my blank moment. make a confident call and stick with it; just look it up later. I did, and was surprised to find that the law appears to be silent as to the lateral position of the 5m scrum in this latest case:
[LAWS]22.11 BALL DEAD IN IN-GOAL
(a) When the ball touches the touch-in-goal line or the dead ball line, or touches anything or anyone beyond those lines, the ball becomes dead. If the ball was played into in-goal by the attacking team, a drop-out shall be awarded to the defending team. If the ball was played into in-goal by the defending team, a 5-metre scrum shall be awarded and the attacking team throws in the ball.
(b) When a player carrying the ball touches the touch-in-goal line, the dead ball line, or touches the ground beyond those lines, the ball becomes dead. If the ball was carried into in-goal by the attacking team, a drop-out shall be awarded to the defending team. If the ball was carried into in-goal by the defending team, a 5-metre scrum shall be awarded and the attacking team throws in the ball.[/LAWS]
As regards my panic seven or more years ago, the scrum 5 should have been given in line with where the ball was kicked, and not (as I probably would still give) 5out and 5 in. To this day, I struggle to find the proper restart if, for example, a defender under pressure midfield close to his own line kicked laterally, but the ball went into touch-in-goal rather than touch. If an attacker had done it, we'd offer a scrum at the place of the kick; is that an option here? I'd expect a captain to ask me for that option, but I don't believe it can be given; we are back, I think, to the unsatisfactory 22.11 above, with its open array of lateral options. Where do you award the 5m scrum? in line with the kick, in line with where the ball entered in-goal, 15m in, or 5m in? Ansewrs on a postcard please, with the appropriate law reference.
