Grounding

[Simon Thomas]

and if you use that argument with your assessor you had better duck :wink:

 

[OB..]

So if you stand still with your arms outstretched and drop the ball so that it drops vertically downwards then it has NOT travelled in the direction of the opponents dead ball line, therefore it has not gone forward. Where it lands in relation to the ex-ballcarrier is of absolutely no consequence.

Yes i stand corrected as of what is forward, yet if the above happened I would give a knock on and I doubt anyone would disagree.

I would.

I would assume it was your judgement at fault rather than your interpretation of the law. Where did it come from?

 

[Ian_Cook]

andyscott's unique interpretation of the knock on law has never occurred to me at all.

What happens of a player stands facing his own dbl, his arms outstretched towards his own dbl, and he drops the ball so that it lands just in front of his toes. The ball has clearly travelled towards the oppositition dbl but landed closer to the player's own dbl than his body... so, play on??

 

[The Fat]

Yes i stand corrected as of what is forward, yet if the above happened I would give a knock on and I doubt anyone would disagree.

I just apply the duck principle if someone drops the ball. If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck then it probably is a duck.

Even though what you're saying is incorrect, I do have some degree of empathy for your inclination to award a knock forward if a player drops the ball in front of himself whilst facing the oppositions dead ball line. This only comes about from my earlier years of playing rugby league prior to rugby. It is one area where I find I really need to concentrate/check my thought process as to whether a player has dropped the ball or in fact knocked forward. To be fair, I know that a great number of spectators would immediately be calling for a knock forward if a player dropped the ball in front of himself even though the ball didn't travel towards the oppositions dead ball line. Bottom line is, those spectators would also be wrong.

 

[Ciaran Trainor]

The duck principle will probably be required on tomorrows soaked pitches.
May have to chase some off before play begins!!