Ian - could you outline how they do it in Basketball please? Thanks.
Sure.
In Basketball, when a player jumps to catch the ball...
1. if his landing area is clear of players at the moment he jumped, that space belongs to the jumper. If any opponent moves into that area, and the jumper hits or makes contact with him, that player will be called for contact. If its dangerous, a personal foul is called.
2. if his landing area is not clear of players at the moment he jumped, that space belongs to the players already there. If the jumper makes contact with any player already in the landing area, the jumper is called for a charging foul.
This could easily be adapted to Rugby in the scenario where a player kicks the ball, and the same player or a team mate or an opponent runs and jumps to catch the ball.
The first player from either side to jump to catch the ball owns the space,
but only if the landing area is clear, so
1. If there are no players of either side already in the landing area at the moment the player jumps, then other players must not move into that area to catch the ball or tackle the jumper until his feet touch the ground.
2. If there are one or more opponents is in the area where the ball is coming down, those opponents own the space where they are and the space near them (near being 1m as defined in the Laws). If a player jumps for the ball, he is responsible for his own safety in the event of a collision,