[Tackle] Entry in a tackle !!!

[DocY]

Look at it this way:

Red BC makes a line break. Blue is chasing. Another Blue defender tackles the Red BC.

If the Red BC offloads before he hits the ground then there is no tackle, no tackle zone so the Blue chaser can't be at fault for catching the offload.

If the Red BC offloads after he hits the ground then a tackle has occurred. The timing difference here is in milliseconds.

No player can process and act in that time frame. Play on.

I don't think the referee could either, so it wouldn't be C&O, but if the BC was clearly brought to ground before popping up the ball (and I regularly see players take a second or two to do this) then it would be obvious and could be penalised.

 

[Pegleg]

Let's be realistic. When the BC offloads in a tackle it's going to be immediately, often before he hits the ground (though not in the OP). That doesn't leave any time for the chasing defender to avoid the tackle area.

The onus is on the BC to put the ball in the hands of a teammate. "Accidental offsides" might be a just call but I don't see that supported in law. Otherwise it's "Play on!" for me.

I'd treat that as no tackle (no ball carrier goes to ground as there is now no ball carrier in the "tackle"). Once he hits the ground the gate comes into play. All a question of judgement of course with regard to the time line. You call it as you see it.

 

[OB..]

This implied 1M or coming through the gate is surely in respect of attempting to directly disrupt or play ball and not having as a consequence of having the ball popped to you by an opposition player?

Having an offside line at the tackle turned out to be a disaster, so the 1m zone serves the purpose of making players stay clear of the tackle unless intending to enter it.

 

[Dickie E]

This implied 1M or coming through the gate is surely in respect of attempting to directly disrupt or play ball and not having as a consequence of having the ball popped to you by an opposition player?

I see this as different to the Chiefs example (when we were looking at tackle only situations a while back) where a player was positively loitering within the 1m zone. He put himself in that position and his presence there was not incidental to the dynamics of the play.

Looking for an offence is the wrong mindset IMO.

As I noted I am picturing a hypothetical situation. Without more visualisation or "information to compute", it is play on for me.

I agree it is a matter of milliseconds:

Scenario 1: as ball carrier is being brought to ground he flicks the ball out and it is caught by an opponent - play on
Scenario 2: ball carrier is tackled, weighs up his options and chooses to pop ball to team mate but ball is intercepted by opponent who is hovering over the tackle on the wrong side - penalty.

It is not a matter of "looking for an offence". It is a matter of recognising an offence when it occurs.