"MARK!!" The rules

_Skitso_

Hey, I play club rugby in Scotland and the other day I was playing winger and marked the ball just inside my twenty-two.

The oncoming winger only backed off a few metres, not ten, but outside the 22, I asked the ref(female) to get him back ten.

Was I right, do they have to get back ten metres every time even if that means going 6 or 7 metres outside the 22 metre line??

An if so and he doesn't go back 10, can I tip if off, run at him and gain a penalty??

Thanks.

toomevara

_Skitso_ wrote: »

I asked the ref(female) to get him back ten.

What's the gender of the ref got to do with the price of turnips?

_Skitso_

It was the second time I've ever had a female ref, thought I'd mention it. I wasn't saying she was a good or bad ref.

Crash

Ignoring the fact that the OP felt it necessary to refer to the (female) ref, had a look through the IRB Laws, and a mark is simply a free kick once called, so there's nothing specifically detailing anything to do with the 22 there. however this was the bit i was unsure about, which specifically deals with distance that the opposition have to move back:

21.8 WHAT OPTIONS THE OPPOSING TEAM HAVE AT A
FREE KICK
(a) Must run from the mark. The opposing team must
immediately run towards their own goal line until they are at least
10 metres away from the mark for the free kick, or until they have
reached their goal line if that is nearer the mark. If the free kick is
in a defending teams in-goal area, the opposing team must
immediately run towards their own goal line until they are at least
10 metres away from the mark and not nearer than 5 metres from
the goal line.

The part "If a free kick is in a defending teams in-goal area" i'm slightly confused by. Anyone care to clarify it for me?

edit: ok wait got it - so a player could mark within their own try area, and the opposition then must move at least 10 metres back from the player, AND at least five metres from the try line, aye?

So to answer your question OP, you're completely correct.

Chucky the tree

_Skitso_ wrote: »

An if so and he doesn't go back 10, can I tip if off, run at him and gain a penalty??

If he just stays standing there and tries to tackle you then yes you should get a penalty. However by just running at him you wont, chances are when you tip it and run at him he will just re-treat the extra few metres and then he is fine.

Downtime

The opposition must be back 10 meters from any free kick. However once you approach to kick the ball they can move forward (once back ten metres). Secondly if you decide to take a quick tap and run into an opposing player who is not back ten he cannot be penalised.

21.8(c) If the free kick is taken so quickly that
opponents have no opportunity to retire, they will not be
penalised for this. However, they must continue to retire as
described in 21.8(b) above or until a team mate who was 10 metres
from the mark has run in front of them, before they take part in
the game.

Crash

Aye, provided he is of course making an effort to get back ten.

Kdub

_Skitso_ wrote: »

It was the second time I've ever had a female ref, thought I'd mention it. I wasn't saying she was a good or bad ref.

Was she hot?/:eek:

padser

Kdub wrote: »

Was she hot?/:eek:

She was a rubgy ref....

twinytwo

padser wrote: »

She was a rubgy ref....

Thats a no....