[Law] Jersey numbers

[Cross]

Hi all. I was wondering about something, had a quick look at the laws but couldn't find anything so i though i'd ask you guys (and gals).
Yesterday during the Bulls vs Sharks game, the Sharks fielded several players with jerseys without numbers. Isn't there a law/rule against that?
I do not know, but my gut feeling is there is/should be.

I know it doesn't sound like a big deal, but i was thinking of all the ref/TMO conversations where they refer to players by number (blue 8, white 12, green 6, etc.) and how not having a number could complicate the refs job.
Never seen it before, hence my question.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Camquin]

It is a regulation not a law. The laws do not mention numbering.
The requirement to number 1 loose head to 15 full back is a World Rugby regulation and applies to internationals.
In England RFU reg 13.6.3(c) extends that to all RFU adult competitions.

I assume Super Rugby has a similar regulation.
The sanction would be at the discretion of the organising committee.

 

[Cross]

Thanks for the quick and clear response.
If i could bother you with another question: in the RFU, would it be reason enough to prevent the game from taking place?
Thanks again.

 

[didds]

I thnk you'd have a problem in telling 10+ thousand fans the game is off because the numbers fell off.

Though a pro club must have spare sets of shirts about presumably - whether a travveling team would is another thing, and whether they would be prepared to wear the home team's spare set of numbered shirts is a difficult place to go due if anything to sponsorship contracts etc.

Its not unusual to see a player replace a ripped shirt with a numberless one occassionally so there must be leeway in this numbering requirement. (though that said, I now can;t think of an example in recent times I could put my finger on!)

didds


didds

 

[MrQeu]

I thnk you'd have a problem in telling 10+ thousand fans the game is off because the numbers fell off.

Though a pro club must have spare sets of shirts about presumably - whether a travveling team would is another thing, and whether they would be prepared to wear the home team's spare set of numbered shirts is a difficult place to go due if anything to sponsorship contracts etc.

Its not unusual to see a player replace a ripped shirt with a numberless one occassionally so there must be leeway in this numbering requirement. (though that said, I now can;t think of an example in recent times I could put my finger on!)

didds


didds

AFAIK teams usually have shirts with numbers over 23 for that. 24, 25,...

 

[Phil E]

You are allowed to have one player on the field with a numberless shirt, but only one.

 

[L'irlandais]

The NZ Maori had a similar problem with their Centenary Jersey during their victory over Ireland. Not sure how many players' numbers peeled off, but more than one.

read here for further details, got brushed under the carpet at the time. Probably like as didds said, nobody wanted to tell 10,000 Maori fans the game was off.

 

[L'irlandais]

...

Probably like as didds said, nobody wanted to tell 10,000...fans the game was off.

The attendence at Rotorua was 34,000. It seems due to dwindling numbers at Loftus Park, I can find no mention online of match attendence for the OP's game. Although 2014 figures were down 37% at Loftus (11,000 fans). That still suggests well over 20,000 fans at the game.

 

[tim White]

I always tried to get a shirt with the 'wrong' number on it to confuse the opposition; it rarely seemed to work but it amused me at the time.

 

[oldman]

Seem to recall one of the London University colleges has/had Roman numerals on their shirts. Lead to confusion in the game I refereed. Also Leicester and Bristol had letters.

 

[Camquin]

And Bath had no 13.

 

[Andrew1974]

At the level I ref at you often get teams wearing old 1st team kits, and you can end up with 3 numbers 5's or something similar - each number 5 havign a slightly different variation of the kit, perhaps with a different sponsor on the front!

As to wearing the right number, players seem to wear the top that fits best, irresective on number. So the prop wears the shirt that has shrunk least in the wash over the years!!!

 

[Gwladok5]

It is a regulation not a law. The laws do not mention numbering.
The requirement to number 1 loose head to 15 full back is a World Rugby regulation and applies to internationals.
In England RFU reg 13.6.3(c) extends that to all RFU adult competitions.

I assume Super Rugby has a similar regulation.
The sanction would be at the discretion of the organising committee.

Hi! Am I right in assuming no such rule applies to Mini/Junior ie. U18/19 & below rugby?)

 

[Dixie]

Hi! Am I right in assuming no such rule applies to Mini/Junior ie. U18/19 & below rugby?)

I believe you are right - the requirement for jersey numbers does not exend through the age groups in England. This from the clothing section of the applicable regs:

[LAWS]15.13 Clothing
15.13.1 Players’ studs and clothing during training and matches must comply with World Rugby Regulatory requirements (including World Rugby Law 4 and World Rugby Regulation 12) which are available on www.worldrugby.org. [Dixie's note - nothing in Regulation 12 about jerseys being numbered]
15.13.2 Age grade players are permitted to wear base layers provided they comply with the World Rugby Regulatory requirements which are available on http://www.worldrugby.org/
15.13.3 Players of all age grades are permitted to wear spectacles, glasses or specifically designed sports goggles in all forms of non-contact rugby. Players are not permitted to wear spectacles, glasses or specifically designed sports goggles in any form of contact rugby. [/LAWS]

 

[Paule23]

I always tried to get a shirt with the 'wrong' number on it to confuse the opposition; it rarely seemed to work but it amused me at the time.

Never mind confusing the opposition, this constantly confuses me as a ref!

Kick when ready 10. Oh, you're not 10 (even though you're playing there) you're wearing 14. And the left wing has 7, no 8 is wearing 17.......

 

[Lee Lifeson-Peart]

Numbers get on my thruppeny bits.

In these days of sublimated shirts numbers are in a myriad of "cool" fonts and tend not stand out as once they did when I were a lad. 12s look like 13s, 8s look like 6s which look like 9s, 1s look like 7s etc etc

If I was boss of Rugby they all be 1 to 15 on a square panel of contrasting colour.

About 8 years ago I abandoned an U16 game when the 3rd brawl erupted involving a team with no numbers and opponents wearing Roman Numerals. Ironically they both reached the final of the Yorkshire Cup later that year and they were told to wear numbered (Westernised Arabic) shirts.

[Breathes into paper bag and climbs off soapbox]

 

[The umpire]

When my children were in age group rugby, they played against a club who had decided to identify their teams en masse, so every member of the U-11 team had a no. 11 shirt, the U-12s were all no.12, etc etc

 

[TigerCraig]

Numbers are compulsory here from Under 10's up in club rugby, but schools generally only have them for First & Second XV and 16A's which can be a great pain, especially at schools that also have unifomr headgear.

Best I've seen was a golden oldies team who have letters which when they lined up in a particular order sent a slightly rude message to the opponents

 

[Ciaran Trainor]

I always tried to get a shirt with the 'wrong' number on it to confuse the opposition; it rarely seemed to work but it amused me at the time.

Now why does that not surprise me Tim!!
To be fair I used to always try to put the no.10 shirt on just to wind my team mates up.