Lineout alternative - penalty kicks

Dixie


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Under the law Amendment Trials, when a PK is awarded at a lineout there is offered the alternative of a lineout in line with the mark, as well as the normal scrum alternative. The stated objective is to avoid the waste of time involved in kicking the ball back into touch so the lineout can be taken.

Would anyone agree with me that there is no good reason to restrict this option to lineout offences? It seems sensible that if the lineout occurs 7m from the goal line and a lineout offence occurs, there is no need to waste time kicking to touch. But it does NOT seem sensible to me that if the lineout occurs 7m from touch, there's a catch'n'drive, and the maul is illegally collapsed 4m from goal, then we need to see a kick to touch followed by a lineout on the 5m line.

Personally, I'd change this LAT so that at any penalty awarded between the 15m line and the touchline, the non-offending team can elect to take a lineout in line with the PK as well as the scrum.

Views?
 
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Davet

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Or - perhaps - rather than using the 15m from touch line as the defining factor why not use the 22 - across the width of the pitch - if they prefer to kick to gain 17 metres then fine, but they would be allowed to avoid the risk of overcooking, and the time waste, by taking the linout in line with the offence - on the sasme side of the pitch as the offence.
 

OB..


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Perhaps we should simply allow the lineout to count as part of the penalty
 

crossref


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Why not offer the lineout option for all penalties. It will very rarely be taken, there is almost always some gain in ground to be had from actually kicking it, even if only a few metres
 

talbazar


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Why not offer the lineout option for all penalties. It will very rarely be taken, there is almost always some gain in ground to be had from actually kicking it, even if only a few metres

The best reason I see not to do so is that we all ref'ed games where even from between the 15m line and the touch line, the kicker fails to send the ball into touch...
At some age groups or even adult levels and/or with some horrible weather conditions, a kick from the center of the pitch is not 100% guaranteed to end up in touch, even in line with where it's taken...

Just my thoughts...
Pierre.
 

Dixie


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Why not offer the lineout option for all penalties. It will very rarely be taken, there is almost always some gain in ground to be had from actually kicking it, even if only a few metres
This was my thought exactly. I suggested limiting its use to the 15m channel to address talbazar's point:

The best reason I see not to do so is that we all ref'ed games where even from between the 15m line and the touch line, the kicker fails to send the ball into touch...
At some age groups or even adult levels and/or with some horrible weather conditions, a kick from the center of the pitch is not 100% guaranteed to end up in touch, even in line with where it's taken...

Just my thoughts...
Pierre.

But now I think about it, I think I'd revert to always giving the option, and from everywhere. I've never seen a wholly lateral kick attempted except at the 5m line (i.e. a team so negative that the best they can think of doing from the middle of the halfway line is to attempt a lineout on the halfway line). When they miss touch, it's because they went for distance and misjudged. That will still happen - there still won't be teams so negative as to accept a lineout on halfway when awarded a PK infield on halfway.
 

crossref


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Imagine a pk on the centre spot. Even in a gale I think a team will fancy therir chances of making 10m or do by actually kicking it
 
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