Brown/Bassett incident

[dickell]

After the Quins/Wasps match, Brown has said that he could have broken his neck in this incident, when he jumped for the ball, collided with Bassett and allegedly fell on his head/neck/shoulder. No penalty or card was given, and there has been no citing.

This may have been discussed before, but it seems to me that the defender in Brown's position, who is running forward to catch the ball, is able to jump much higher than any opponent who is either stationary or slow-moving running behind the flight of the ball.

It could therefore be argued that Brown placed himself in a dangerous situation; it is not reasonable to expect players on the kicker's side to get out of the catcher's way even if he is airborne, as he runs towards them.

Are the laws adequate in this area, or should highjumping as practised by Brown be made illegal for safety reasons?

 

[L'irlandais]

Judging by the citing officer’s silence, I suspect he “Got away!” with Lunn Poly sometime before kick off.
Other discussion about that match

Unless you have a video, or timestamp for the incident it’s hard to have an opinion. I haven’t seen the game.

 

[crossref]

I was surprised that CMK didn't want to see it again on the big screen . But then again, clearly he had decided to trust his TMO, who would have watched in on his delayed screen, and remained silent. fair enough

 

[Zebra1922]

.......

It could therefore be argued that Brown placed himself in a dangerous situation; it is not reasonable to expect players on the kicker's side to get out of the catcher's way even if he is airborne, as he runs towards them.

Are the laws adequate in this area, or should highjumping as practised by Brown be made illegal for safety reasons?

This has been argued before and probably needs revisiting by the authorities. There will be circumstances when the jumping player puts himself and others in danger by his actions, and regardless the outcome for the jumper, they may be the person penalised and potentially carded. Examples being jumping into a stationary player knowing contact will be made, particularly if leading with a knee or elbow, striking head etc. As ever in these arguments context is everything but at the moment I think the jumper is over-protected and can basically do what they want with impunity.

 

[Flish]

Agree, the protection to the aerial player is skewed, see the Leinster red card thread, the player on the ground (who was knee’d in the head by the aerial player) was carded, does the player who jumped not have to take some responsibility for who he lands on, and what effect that has on how he lands?

 

[beckett50]

I read Mike Brown's comments and was somewhat surprised by his outburst. He was, seemingly, laying the bane at the feet of the Match Officials - of whom there are 4 - for landing on his neck/shoulder.

Now, I ask myself, how can I as a Match Official influence the way in which a player lands after he/she has taken the decision to run forward - at speed - and jump into the air to challenge for a high ball? In simple terms, I cannot.

Whilst I can admonish a player should I view there to have been an offence I can have no influence on how players land, and therefore no influence on whether their action causes them to have an injury.

 

[Ciaran Trainor]

I wonder at what level, jumping for the ball is coached? Certainly never was when I learnt the basics. For me brown and others put themselves in danger and the refs decision on the day was correct.

 

[Flish]

I think it underlines the expectation at that level that they will be protected in the air, to the point almost that they can’t see where their own responsibilities lie, to themselves or others. Question for me is where has the expectation come from? World Regby, refs, coaches?

 

[BikingBud]

I think it underlines the expectation at that level that they will be protected in the air, to the point almost that they can’t see where their own responsibilities lie, to themselves or others. Question for me is where has the expectation come from? World Regby, refs, coaches?

The expectation comes from the fact that the jumper gets the penalty, irrespective of the state of play and the position of the other 29 players. I observed this some time ago and nothing has been done to address it yet :wtf:

http://www.rugbyrefs.com/showthread.php?18286-Sale-v-Leicester-Yellow-Card