We had a "He has to let him up" yesterday as well. :biggrin:...commentators read the Laws of the Game and informed themselves of changes. Today we had Scotland penalised for being offside charging down Tonga in goal. Commentator thinks hands on the ball is out of a ruck.
...commentators read the Laws of the Game and informed themselves of changes. Today we had Scotland penalised for being offside charging down Tonga in goal. Commentator thinks hands on the ball is out of a ruck.
Agree. Just about every team asks the ref at the pre-match briefing when the ball is out. And they get different answers - which is, of course, why they ask.To be fair I can usually find differing directives on this rather critical issue from various bodies around the world (and from different referees). I have seen/ heard refs shout 'hands on', and conversly seen others tell defenders to get back when the ball is sitting in the open. It is an area of the game that could do with ONE very clear directive.
Plenty of refs will say that hands on means ball out
They need to get up to speed.
See http://www.irblaws.com/index.php?domain=9&guideline=7&language=EN
Offside at the ruck
May 2014
When a scrum half attempts to retrieve the ball from a ruck, the ball is not out until that player has picked the ball up from the ground.
This is an interesting subject
May 2014 - IRB issue a " Law application guideline "
But how does this information get disseminated to referees ????
I'll tell you how I didn't first hear about it:
- Via any of the RFU training depts,
- via my referee society
- via my club referee coordinator
!!!!!
So, without my personal diligence or through RR.com, then this info might not have got to me. I can only imagine that other referees are in the same boat.
I did inform my training officer at my society and a society communique followed, but this is luck - rather than a smart cascade system in action.