Boot in hand

[Bunniksider]

U14's game this weekend. My third self assessed game towards ELRA 3, loving it and eager to move on to society reffing.

As play moves cleanly away from a ruck I hear a shout of REF and look round to see home team flanker standing with his boot in his hand. Play on I shout (My thoughts at the time were that I wasn't going to stop the game for a boot but I would have allowed time had we been at a break in play).

The flanker then joins the defensive line with his boot still in hand, as it happens play comes nowhere near this player and breaks down pretty quickly allowing him to, get his boot back on.

On reflection I got away without making a decision by luck but should I have:

1 - Stopped play on shout of REF, allowed him to get his boot on and then restarted with a scrum to opposition.

2 - Stopped play as soon as he continued to play and restarted with a scrum or FK to opposition.

3 - Stopped play as soon as it came near to the flanker and restarted with scrum/FK/PK to opposition.

4 - Something else.

I am leaning towards the second option as it would have been unfair to oppos to stop immediately as per 1, he could have taken himself out of the game for 30 secs and put it back on.

Option 3 is fraught with safety issues regarding stopping in time and him getting involved with boot in hand.

Not sure of the restart though, scrums were going either way, so a free kick seems equitable to oppos but no idea under what law.

 

[Davet]

The easy question first of all - if you do stop play for such a reason then the restart is a scrum to the side in possession at the time.

The thornier question is whether to stop for this or not. In adult rugby absolutely no question - play on till a break in play (NOT inluding a PK to opposition) and then allow 1 minute for him to re-attach boot.

At very junior level, and U13 is very junior, then you have a duty of care that is porportionately greater - ie if a 25 year old player decides to risk getting his socked foot trodden on by an 18 stone prop on the chrge then that is his decision. If a 13 year old, with typical lack of sense felt he had to make a tackle even with no boot on and got a broken toe as a result...

The general problem is that very canny players may develop an injury or lose a boot just when the opposition have a huge 3 on 1 overlap and are attacking with speed and panache - hence the general notion that play goes on if it possibly can.

You could perhaps have simply called to him to stay still and put it back on - and maybe his lesson if the opposition scored would be that in future he should tie them on properly and perhaps tape over the laces.

If you blew up wth the opposition on for a good run with a possible score then they may have grounds to feel aggrieved

If it was me... I think, once he had put himself in danger, so if play approached him, then at U13 I think I would have blown up - with great reluctance, and bollocked him for disobeying the instruction to stay still and put it back on. I would probably also discuss it with his coach after the game.

Would his disobedience let me restart with a FK? Not sure, he did nothing wrong in Law, and the decision to stop was mine... There could be an argument for a PK, various heads under Law 10, but that seems rather Draconian.

This is one iof the deep joys of refereeing... fnding things out about yourself:wow:

 

[Bunniksider]

My safety concerns were primarily the potential damage he could to A.N Other by tackling with a boot in his hand and secondly for his own foot.