[Law] It Just Keeps Getting Stranger

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Donk93953

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So...the same coach and head of our university union and webpage that I dealt with in Law 3....hmmmm...I'll log a protest."

has placed an asterisk next to his first loss this weekend, 31-12, because the referee apparently only timed 30 minute halves. No weather problems, no apparent discussion on reduction of time, he just made a mistake. Anyone have any insights on how to graciously handle this? Yes, Law 6 came to mind.
 
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frencie851


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To be fair, if a ref is missing 20 minutes of a game by accident I would expect it to be politely questioned?
 
Jolly Roger

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I assume it was an adult game as different time regulations apply to youth matches.
Did anyone mention to the referee at half time that only 30 mins had been played?
Has the referee admitted that 2x30min halves were played or is it a matter of the coach’s opinion?
Was the match abandoned early as a result of safety or injury?

Of note is the wording of Law 5.1
“A match lasts no longer than 80 minutes (split into two halves, each of not more than 40 minutes plus time lost), unless the match organiser has authorised the playing of extra-time in a drawn match within a knock-out competition.”
So the referee has complied with LotG by not exceeding 2x40mins. I suggest that it is therefore a competition regulation issue.

Out of interest, In Scottish competitions “if a Match is abandoned after at least 20 minutes of the second half have elapsed the Match shall be deemed to have been completed and the score at the time of the abandonment shall stand as the Match result”.

If it was just a genuine mistake by the referee then I would challenge why the coach did not raise the issue at half time and then again immediately after the final whistle was blown.

One for the competition governing body, not a question of law.
 
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crossref


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Obviously you need more than just the asterisk to go on.

It's impossible to play two thirty minute halves by accident. One, I give you, but when you end the first half everyone will tell you what you have done.

I think you need to find the true story, and also (like the last question) you need to track down the competition regulations
 
L'irlandais

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The OP says there are no regulations available. From an earlier discussion we know that it relates to a (men’s?) team involved in University rugby in South California. This is regulated by USA rugby’s College conferences. Should be relatively easy to get a copy of competition regulations from Southern California Rugby Referees Society
 
Rich_NL

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It's a competition rule question, not a matter for the laws. If it's not in the regs, I guess the competition leader/manager will have to adjudicate.

It can certainly make a difference. One lower-league local team won all its matches last year, and in all the more challenging games I reffed/saw them play, they were about equal up to 60 minutes and then youth and speed training kicked in and they'd pop 4 or 5 tries in in the last 20.
 
SimonSmith

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L'irlandais said:
The OP says there are no regulations available. From an earlier discussion we know that it relates to a (men’s?) team involved in University rugby in South California. This is regulated by USA rugby’s College conferences. Should be relatively easy to get a copy of competition regulations from Southern California Rugby Referees Society
Click to expand...

Or from the specific conference and not the Ref Soc. I'll bet money no such guideline exist
 
L'irlandais

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An indictment Of USA rugby then. What’s the point in having loads of programmers study at your Uni, if you cannot pinch some online regs in pdf format? How hard can it be to plagiarise someone else’s regulations and stick a Southern California logo on the cover page?
 
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crossref


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I don't understand. If there are no regulations, how are disputes settled?
 
L'irlandais

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Hello Donk93953,
Without the specific details of the team, it is hard to track down any blurb. Which conference do your team play in? Gold Coast Conference Intercollegiate Rugby maybe?
Would it be unreasonable to send a polite email requesting a copy of the specific regulations?
Official Website of GCCIR

Even if as Simon tells us, the regs just don’t exist, you will at least have explored every avenue. USA Collegiate Men’s Rugby is comprised of the following divisions: D1A, D1-AA, D2 and NSCRO.
Links are provided for these divisions and conferences*

What’s the worst that can happen? They confirm the absence of such regulations. :chin:
At best you get to send the regs to USA rugby, so they can add them to their college resources page.

*Links and Conferences do change periodically, but provide an excellent rugby resource.
 
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L'irlandais

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SimonSmith

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Lawd.

All y'all assume that College Rugby (and rugby generally) is well run.

It isn't. Rugby in the USA is like when Yugoslavia dissolved. Every tribe for itself. My Society alone serves 7 different conferences:
D1AA College Men
D2 College Men
D3 College Men
D1 College Women
D2/3 College Women
Adult
Youth

They all have different officers and (I assume R&R).
Some may have rules; others deal with issues on a case by case basis and hope nothing bad happens. This is not only with issues like this, but discipline as well.
It's a little like the Old West - there's a bunch of local sheriffs. What there isn't is a US Marshal to come in and keep the peace with an overriding sets of laws and rules.

This is one of the reasons I say it isn't a ref issue - it's a conference issue. Simply put: most of the time we don't know what the answer is.
 
L'irlandais

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didds said:
in which case presumably a friendly? So why any concern over the "incorrect" playing time (aside from "missing out" ) ?

didds
Click to expand...
Thanks for that Simon. I had understood, just I feel pretty sure we could turn up a copy, any copy of conference regs. Then (perhaps) Donk could apply them in the absence of any agreement between the coachs.

Didds, I uncovered this
This scoreline caught my eye
10/20/2018 Spring Hill 31-12 Tulane Deep South
Deep South: Tulane and Spring Hill are both unbeaten and they play this weekend. This is a huge game for a conference that will get one seed to playoffs
It may just be a coincidence, that the scoreline matches Donk’s game. But it might go some way to explaining why a coach would go to such lenghts. If a forfait let his team overtake the conference leaders for a place in the play-offs. It’s unclear to me if Donk, reff’d this game, as he did the match discussed in the ofher thread.

http://www.deepsouthrugbyconference.com/Match/spring-hill-college-vs-tulane/
 
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