Typed up notes from a society presentation on TJing:
Your priorities as a touch judge are :
1. Ball in touch
2. Foul play - in
exceptional cases, this may become your top priority, but let's hope it
doesn't come to that!
3. Everything else is a bonus.
Specific points:
1. Ball in touch.
- The most important point I can make here is for you to raise your flag quickly. Even if you are a long way out of position, it is important that you let me know that the ball has gone into touch.
- Get to the line-of-touch as quickly as possible - do not give the players the opportunity to dictate where the ball has gone out.
- Read the Laws - particularly Laws 6, 10 and 19, and make certain that you know under what circumstances a quick throw-in is permitted and when you should keep your flag raised.
- When the ball has gone into touch, bring up your flag arm. When a quick throw-in IS NO LONGER ALLOWED, then you should bring up your non-flag arm towards the throwing team.
2. How can you contribute to the match?
- You are there to have fun - smile!
- You are part of the referee's support network. You may be required as a pressure valve in the game. Don't be surprised if the ref makes a tough decision, received howls of protest and then tells the players that it was called in from touch!
- Remember that you are not the referee - if the ref ignores a signal you are giving, let it go!
- Communication with each other and the ref is vital - you are operating as part of a team.
- Keep the touch line clear of obstructions - this will make your job easier and safer.
- Concentrate at all times!
3. Image is important.
- Look professional when you turn up.
- Look professional during the game.
- Look professional when you leave.
- When you are a safe distance from the club, you are free to stop looking professional.
4. Positioning
- You are responsible for managing the 15m channel, so keep up with play as much as possible.
- For kick-offs, if the kick is towards you, you should be on the receiving 10m line. If you are one the far side, you should be on the receiving 22m line. Lead and trail appropriately.
- Generally, the nearside TJ should be level with or slightly ahead of play; the far side TJ should be trailing and checking the behaviour of the straggling players behind the ref's back.
- Linger behind play if many players are still close together at a breakdown.
- Be vigilant and check a player's number if he does something illegal!
- When play is in the near corner, get into the touch-in-goal area and look back down the field - pay attention to the touch-in-goal line and the corner flag. Similarly, if a team is kicking a penalty kick for touch close to the goal-line, stand on the corner flag and simply watch which shoulder the ball goes over to decide whether it was touch or touch-in-goal.
- When marking 10m at a penalty, look for each other and make sure you match each other's position - take the mark of whoever gets there first, even if you think their idea of 10m is wrong, back each other up.
- Raise your NON-FLAG ARM at the 10m mark and lower it when all defending players are onside. The flag should not be used to mark 10m - IMAGE!
Also, farside TJ should mark 10m for defending backs at lineouts.
- In general, try to be wherever the ref is not or cannot be.
5. Kicks at goal
- For kicks at goal, get to the posts quickly BUT do not run to the posts until you can clearly see that a try HAS BEEN GIVEN - it looks bad, and remember that image is important.
- Decide before the game whether you are going to swap sides after each kick at goal. If so, do it BEFORE the kick has been taken - it will give you more time to get back into position for the restart.
- One near the posts, one back deep.
- Avoid obstructing charging players.
- If the sun is in your eyes, stand in front of the posts in-field instead.
Agree whether the kick is good BEFORE raising your flags. Put your flags up or down together - IMAGE!
6. Foul play
- Know what constitutes foul play. Read Law 10.
- Signal it even if you think the ref has seen it - bring your flag up to horizontal pointing in-field for a few seconds and repeat the signal when play stops.
- Keep running touch until play has stopped.
- Mirror the other TJ - the ref might not have seen him, so if your partner puts the flag up, do the same and tell the ref that the call was from the other side of the field. Before reporting foul play, prepare what you are going to say to the ref - it may form the basis for a foul play report after the game.
Pay particular attention to WHO (get a NUMBER) did WHAT, to WHOM and WHERE.
- While reporting foul play, hold the flag in boths hands behind your back - this will help you avoid the temptation of gesticulating at the players involved.
- Do not hesitate in recommending a sanction if the ref did not see the incident.
7. Advisory Signals
- These are your lowest priority - if you carry out all your other duties
well and yet do not make a single advisory signal, you willl have had a
good game.
- Make certain that your signal will be seen - if you are doing windmill signals for a knock-on while the ref's back is turned, it undermines his credibility and that of the Team of Three.
- Calls you can reasonably be expected to make are: scrummage pulled down, offsides, hands in ruck (but only really in the 15m channel), knock-on/forward pass. There may be the odd one or two others, but almost everything else should be left to the referee's interpretation - you will most likely have different views and hence different opinions, so leave it to his discretion.