[Law] Player on ground catching the ball

JohnP

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In today’s Wales vs England game, Curry charged down a Welsh clearing kick and in the process fell to the ground. The ball looped up and while on the ground he caught it and passed it to another english player. Because he is on the ground is he not ‘out of the game’ until he regains his feet? Sanction penalty to Wales?
Purely curious.
Thanks.
 

Flish


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So he used it immediately? If he’d gone to ground, grabbed the ball and used it immediately would that be ok?

He just skipped a step ;-)
 

Decorily

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So he used it immediately? If he’d gone to ground, grabbed the ball and used it immediately would that be ok?

He just skipped a step ;-)

He was on the ground prior to taking possession of the ball as I recall. He clearly 'played' the ball while off his feet in my opinion.
 

Flish


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Seriously though, technically correct, it’s a penalty - but I think it falls into the positive play category so they let it go as a good spectacle
 

Balones

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That was one of the incidents that I was referring to in another thread where England got the benefit of a ‘dubious’ decision and went on to score. The score was not immediate so people are overlooking it compared to the other controversial decisions. This decision had just as much impact as the others which people across several forums are getting excited about. This was an error in law while the others were down to interpretation of the law or a management issue. This was much clearer.
 

Zebra1922


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That was one of the incidents that I was referring to in another thread where England got the benefit of a ‘dubious’ decision and went on to score. The score was not immediate so people are overlooking it compared to the other controversial decisions. This decision had just as much impact as the others which people across several forums are getting excited about. This was an error in law while the others were down to interpretation of the law or a management issue. This was much clearer.

ah but is it? There are some who state it is not clear a player can’t play the ball in this scenario.


I’m not one of them but even here the law is not unambiguous.
 

Balones

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The way that the law has been interpreted for the last couple of years has cleared up the ambiguity. Our professional referees, as well as those at community level, have been given clear guidance on the matter. I haven’t got easy and quick access to examples at the moment but please be assured that in RFU land ‘on the floor is out of the game’.
 

Flish


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Hence my tongue in cheek answer above, we know what a player who goes to ground to gather the ball can do, here I was already there. I believe it used to say that the game is played by players on their feet, hence the adage of on the ground out of the game - but I’m not sure it says that anymore?
 

Flish


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Law 13.3b

There we go then, still there, penalty as I thought - not sure if there’s a question about materiality, any red players close? Comments about spectacle rugby still stand though hence why I suspect it was allowed.
 

Balones

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I assume you are not suggesting that refs should let things go just to ensure there is a spectacle?:)
 

Balones

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There we go then, still there, penalty as I thought - not sure if there’s a question about materiality, any red players close? Comments about spectacle rugby still stand though hence why I suspect it was allowed.

Well Liam Williams was right next to him on the floor and was making an effort to get to his feet as his first action, which is what Curry should have been doing. I’ve no doubt LW would have been pinged if he had flicked the ball up as it came down. At 38.09 on game clock you can actually see that the ball was caught, held for a moment and and then passed. (Incident starts at 37.35.)
 

crossref


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In today’s Wales vs England game, Curry charged down a Welsh clearing kick and in the process fell to the ground. The ball looped up and while on the ground he caught it and passed it to another english player. Because he is on the ground is he not ‘out of the game’ until he regains his feet? Sanction penalty to Wales?
Purely curious.
Thanks.

yes I noticed- and it's a PK
 

crossref


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ah but is it? There are some who state it is not clear a player can’t play the ball in this scenario.


I’m not one of them but even here the law is not unambiguous.

There was some ambiguity prior to the rewrite, but since 2017 the Law has been very clear : on the ground already, ball comes to you, you can't play it.
 

chbg


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Having just watched it, it would have been very harsh to have penalised any-one in that play. I would word the situation differently: as Curry lands on his back the ball drops onto his chest from the charge-down. He played it immediately, instinctively before he had a chance to do anything else. By the letter of the Law he shouldn't have done so, but really it would have looked extremely strange if he had just left it on his chest, or done nothing as it rolled off him. No other player complained (and not many referees noticed). Empathy triumphs for me in refereeing this particular situation.
 

Decorily

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I disagree with your argument.

For me it is not just a case of, for instance, an accidental offside where a player cannot avoid touching /playing a ball, but rather, as has previously been stated, a deliberate and considered action.
 

crossref


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Bumping , as it's another scenario where elite ref played on
 
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