Grappling for the ball before the maul is formed.

[ChuckieB]

Just trying to understand some of the subtleties for maul formation.

stade francais ball carrier is goes into contact with Gloucester player who manages to grab onto the ball, rather than the player directly, to try and rip it.

SF team mate then binds/tries to take out Gloucester player rather than bind to his own teammate.

Does the initial grappling mean the SF player ceases to be the ball carrier, thus making the Gloucester player fair game for first contact for forming the maul?

Or should the SF player have bound on to his own man, the one taking the ball into contact?

 

[Dickie E]

Does the initial grappling mean the SF player ceases to be the ball carrier,

If the SF player loses possession of the ball, yes. Otherwise, no.

 

[chbg]

Don't sweat the small stuff, certainly well below the top tier of the game. It won't do the community game any good.

For me, both players have become ball carriers, so either can be tackled/bound and the maul formed. But, unless he has lost possession completely before the third person binds, the original ball carrier remains that. Do what all players would expect.

 

[beckett50]

The situation you saw in the SF -v- Gloucester match is a common occurrence. What you will often observe is that the referee will delay calling "Maul!" in case the defender completes the tackle by bringing the ball carrier to ground - at which point it becomes a tackle and another set of Laws comes into play.

Don't be too hasty about calling the Maul, in the same way as we often hoisted by our petard by calling a Ruck early :smile: