A referee is there to interpret the laws of the game and will use their better judgment to do so. They are not helped, perhaps, by the constant tinkering with the Laws of the Game.
Reminder 2: Knocking on with the knee
The ball onto the knee is regarded as a knock on. This ruling was clarified by the IRB in a note to the WRU in December 2004.
So a player cannot kick the ball with the knee, or control a bouncing ball, which subsequently goes forward, without it being regarded as a knock on.
Reminder 3: Scrum half at the lineout
Any player standing in the scrum half (9) position at their own lineout can come into the lineout to jump or "support" a jumper. The non throwing side can only bring a player into the line in similar circumstances, if the throwing side does the same.
Reminder 4: Decoy runners and crossing
A player can pass behind a player on their own side and onto another player, as long as the decoy runners (dummy runners) do not cause any form of obstruction to potential tacklers.
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Ian Diddams reviews the possible consequences of the current law trials being looked at in the Queensland Challenger series. In this third article, he focuses on the consequences of the defending 9 having to stay at the scrum tunnel. MORE
Ian Diddams reviews the possible consequences of the current law trials being looked at in the Queensland Challenger series. In this second article, he focuses on the experiments around free kicks after the second scrum collapse. MORE
Ian Diddams reviews the possible consequences of the current law trials being looked at in the Queensland Challenger series. In this article, he focuses on the experiments around speeding up the game. MORE
From our Rugby Coach Weekly archive of Touchline Tales, commenting on a game in an U15 Cup tournament. Last weekend we lost 20-22 in a cup game. The opposition scored at the end from a disputed lineout on our line and we felt our jumper was impeded. MORE
Whether you are refereeing in training (a good thing!) or have to referee your team on a Sunday (not such a good thing!), you will probably find yourself refereeing in some capacity this season. You will need to be confident that you can apply the laws as a coach to satisfy referees who take charge of your team. And if you do find yourself reffing, then it's far more than that...game management, crowd control, position, language, whistle control and signals. MORE
Thank you to the great twitter-sphere, here is a summary of the insightful responses of those who find themselves reffing their team on a Sunday morning. MORE