Kick taken in the in-goal - Law 21.4.(g)

[talbazar]

Alright, I was looking for something else but stumbled onto this in the law book:

[LAWS]21.4.(g) Kick taken in the in-goal. If a player retires into in-goal to take a penalty or free kick awarded in the field of play and a defending player by foul play prevents an opponent from scoring a try a penalty try is awarded.[/LAWS]

What do you make out of it?

I've tried to apply a little scenario:
- Ruck just in front of Blue try line
- Red 7 infringes
- Penalty against Red
- Blue 9 runs back in in-goal and takes the quick tap

Then what?

Option 1. "Defending team = Blue"
Blue 9 fumbles the balls that arrives miraculously in Red 6 (somehow onside) and when Red 6 enters Blue in-goal, Blue 9 commits an act of foul play preventing Red 6 to score.
--> Then that's just exactly as per "normal" foul play preventing a try... Why this law?

Option 2. "Defending team = Red":
Blue 9's quick tap is a success and surprised everyone.
All Red players are flat on a line around 5 metres away from Blue try line (hence off-side from the mark of the PK).
As Red 9 flies pass Blue 8, Blue 8 goes stiff arm and high on Red 9
--> Penalty try between Blue posts 100 down the pitch???
:wtf:

I'm really confused :chin: on what this law is supposed to cover :shrug:

Cheers,
Pierre.
PS: I'm not even sure why I'm asking: I've lived without knowing this law for a while, I'm sure I can continue...

 

[Dixie]

As you suspect, it's a load of junk. A possible scenario (clearly not worth legislating for) is that the kicker miskicks, the ball is still in-goal and available to be grounded by an attacker, so a defender engages in foul play to prevent the score. This is covered by 22.4(h)

 

[Taff]

Surely if it was removed from the lawbook, nobody would even notice.

 

[Ian_Cook]

Alright, I was looking for something else but stumbled onto this in the law book:

[LAWS]21.4.(g) Kick taken in the in-goal. If a player retires into in-goal to take a penalty or free kick awarded in the field of play and a defending player by foul play prevents an opponent from scoring a try a penalty try is awarded.[/LAWS]
<snip>

Option 2. "Defending team = Red":
Blue 9's quick tap is a success and surprised everyone.
All Red players are flat on a line around 5 metres away from Blue try line (hence off-side from the mark of the PK).
As Red 9 flies pass Blue 8, Blue 8 goes stiff arm and high on Red 9
--> Penalty try between Blue posts 100 down the pitch???

Nope. Clue....

Defending team: The team in whose half of the ground play is taking place; their opponents are the attacking team.

Attacking team: The opponents of the defending team in whose half of the ground play is taking place

If the defending team is Red, how come;

Blue 9 is taking a tap kick in Red's in-goal?
The rest of the Red team is 95 metres away near the other goal line


The law is written such that it only applies if the tap kick is taken by a defender in the their own in-goal</snip>

 

[crossref]

I suspect that the law was introduced to counter some deficiency in an earlier version of the laws covering penalty tries.

For instance could it have been the case in a previous version that PT were only possible in field, or when the *attackers* had carried the ball over the goal line. If that was ever the case this law would make sense. .

 

[The Fat]

Remember that the team whose player has retired into the in-goal to take the PK or FK is the defending team.

A FK can be charged (by an onside player) as soon as the kicker starts his approach to kick so possible that an attacking player charges the FK and is then taken out, without the ball, by a defender and is prevented from scoring a try.

 

[Dixie]

Remember that the team whose player has retired into the in-goal to take the PK or FK is the defending team.

A FK can be charged (by an onside player) as soon as the kicker starts his approach to kick so possible that an attacking player charges the FK and is then taken out, without the ball, by a defender and is prevented from scoring a try.

Bearing in mind that the kicker has to go back 5m to get in-goal, and then back another 3m at least to have the run up before kicking the ball still in goal, and that he will ask his team to get behind him ... I doubt that the scenario could occur in practice - but it's a good thought.

 

[Toby Warren]

So this site must have over 500 seasons collective reffing experiance.

Has anyone here ever used this law?

 

[talbazar]

Thanks Ian for the definition, I've had missed that.

And I agree with what seems to be a general consensus here (very rare on RR.com): This law seems at best "useless" because covered by law 22...

And yes Toby, that's probably one of these "never used" law...