Policing the gain line?

stpaddy99

Have to say Im a stickler for the back foot law.

This weekend I thought the referees were abysmal at policing it
freeze frame lots of breakdowns in several matches and see how many players are offside , its amazing
the law states all defending players must be behind the hindmost foot at the ruck

so all threequarters must be behind the back foot of the back player on their side of the ruck

some players were 4or 5 yards offside, in some cases 3 or 4 players offside at the same time


commentators didnt mention it and referees often had their backs to it looking out for different infringements....it really impinged massively on the attacking play as the attacking sides were nullifed by offside defences yet again

another thing, refs missed several hands on the fllor at the rucks, check out dylan hartleys illegal hands on the floor in the ruck that created george norths wonder try for northampton today

these refs should have gone to specsavers

laws of the game state

"After a tackle, a ruck will sometimes form. This occurs when at least one player from each side bind onto each other with the ball on the ground between them.[48] Additional players may join the ruck, but must do so from behind the rearmost foot of the hindmost team mate in the ruck (often referred to as "coming through the gate") and bind onto the body of a team mate.[49][50] The offside line for uninvolved players is perpendicular to the last feet of the rearmost player on their side of the ruck and they must remain behind this line until the ball emerges.[51] In a ruck, no player may use their hands to win the ball, except if they were on their feet and had their hands on the ball before the ruck formed."

CatFromHue

It should really be in the touch judges remit to ref the off side line, they've got the best view if it.

who_me

I remember in one of Irelands AIs a few years back, the ref was a stickler for the offside rule at the breakdown. The players looked very confused at the start, but once he explained a few times, it ended up being a very entertaining game.

IMO it should be stated that there should be daylight between the defenders and the offside line across the back of the ruck. Too many players straddle it/are near it etc., if they're pushed back even 1m it would have a big impact on the game.

stpaddy99

who_me wrote: »

I remember in one of Irelands AIs a few years back, the ref was a stickler for the offside rule at the breakdown. The players looked very confused at the start, but once he explained a few times, it ended up being a very entertaining game.

IMO it should be stated that there should be daylight between the defenders and the offside line across the back of the ruck. Too many players straddle it/are near it etc., if they're pushed back even 1m it would have a big impact on the game.

I hate the lazy back trackers, I hate th efact refs and linesmen dont come down harsh on it, ruins the game it does. attackers need to point it out to the refs more too as do captains

stpaddy99

CatFromHue wrote: »

It should really be in the touch judges remit to ref the off side line, they've got the best view if it.

good point

Losty Dublin

stpaddy99 wrote: »

Have to say Im a stickler for the back foot law.

This weekend I thought the referees were abysmal at policing it
freeze frame lots of breakdowns in several matches and see how many players are offside , its amazing
the law states all defending players must be behind the hindmost foot at the ruck


....another thing, refs missed several hands on the fllor at the rucks, check out dylan hartleys illegal hands on the floor in the ruck that created george norths wonder try for northampton today

these refs should have gone to specsavers
...

Not to poke an argument or anything but the next tract of foundation of referee courses are on in January.

Just saying, like.

chippers

I have to agree, being behind the back foot is not being officiated strongly enough. It's a pity as if it was and players adhered to it, it would result in the backs having more time on the ball and hopefully more creative play.

On another rule, crooked feeding at scrum time seems to have been totally forgotten about. The hope I had at the start of the season that it would be cracked down is now gone.

awec

Wayne Barnes missed so many offsides on Friday night that I lost count.

TheGoldenAges

I think this is one of the big differences between the SH and the NH, refs here seem to ignore the rule at the breakdown but enforce it in other instances like a kick. The quality of the tournament would substantially increase if attacking teams had room to move.

iamjenko

CatFromHue wrote: »

It should really be in the touch judges remit to ref the off side line, they've got the best view if it.

Yes, cant understand why they are now called Assistant Referees when they cant make single judgement with out "going upstarirs", cant call the off-side line... you might as well have the kit man from each team run the line à la J3's

razorblunt

I've noticed recently that lazy runners when coming back past a ruck they'd often deliberately impede an opposition player who's trying to join a ruck, to the extent of jersey pulling etc. Notable examples were George North versus Ospreys, the Glaws second row who's name escapes me and Johne Murphy. It's blatantly obvious but the refs and linesmen are primarily focused on the ruck itself so never catch it.

bilston

awec wrote: »

Wayne Barnes missed so many offsides on Friday night that I lost count.

I was going to post the same thing, although he did get their midfield a couple of times of lineouts but in that instance his touch judges are probably the ones making the call as the ref is probably focusing on the lineout and any potential maul.

.ak

awec wrote: »

Wayne Barnes missed so many offsides on Friday night that I lost count.

You mean the Diack one?

rje66

havnt seen any of the above infringments, but in any match there will be many many infringments and the ref and linesmen will judge which ones have a material effect and the ones which dont . They will ping the material offences as they see it, not how home supporters or the lads with a few beers in the pub see it;););)
If they ping every single offence we wont have a decent match to watch,

sometimes things will go unsighted, lots happening very quickly and bodies in the sight line, realistically they cant see every single offence like tv viewers can with multiple angles and slomotion.

Larbre34

Its true, you can almost imagine the refs and blazers seminars where these issues arise. One or two become fashionable for enforcement, like being ahead of the kicker in deep restarts a few years back, binding, hooking etc then the commentators move on to something else that becomes a bugbear and the refs committee get caught up with that.

The reality is that there are too many minor infringement possibilities for 3 officials to keep on top of them all, however anything around the ruck should be prioritised because minor infringements can give massive gains if missed.