OPINION: Rugby's laws are at the point where coaches in the same changing shed can have differing opinions on why their team was pulled up for a penalty.
Because the rules are so tough for players to master and understand referees have to show common sense with their decision making, otherwise you'd hear more whistle than in a netball game.
With the controversial but beautiful set move that won the All Blacks a test match against South Africa fresh in the mind, we take a look at some of the confusing, obscure and daft rules that are easily broken in rugby.
But first, was that lineout legit?
Richie McCaw was in an offside position when the ball was thrown into the lineout by Codie Taylor. He had to be two metres from the lineout, and clearly wasn't, when the ball left Taylor's hands.
South African hooker Bismarck du Plessis was also offside at the lineout. As the player in the channel between the touch line and the 5m line, du Plessis had to be two metres behind the lineout and two metres from the 5m line. Instead he was stood on the 5m line when the ball was thrown.
As for Kieren Read being lifted early, that would have been a tough call to make. If he is lifted before the ball is thrown there are centimetres in it. The lift and throw appeared to be simultaneous.
In summary, both teams could have been pulled up for offside at the lineout. It should have been pulled back and re-taken, unless World Rugby have an unwritten rule stating that opposing infringements cancel each other out.
With slightly better timing the All Blacks nail that lineout without any questions being asked.
OFFSIDE
One of the biggest areas of the game causing outrage for fans is the offside line.
Week after week complaints flood in on social media about players being offside at the breakdown and the referees failing to make the call.
Here's where it gets tough.
At the tackle there is no offside line. When players form a ruck, an offside line forms at the hindmost feet. Until the moment a ruck is formed defending players are free to roam into the opposition's attacking line as much as they want.
The All Blacks are the masters at not creating a ruck.
In the opening 10 minutes of their clash with South Africa, New Zealand made 14 tackles. Only three of those turned into rucks, meaning for 11 of those tackles there was never an offside line.
It's a rule that could be tweaked in the next round of law changes.
SCORING WHILE IN TOUCH
This one doesn't come up often, but when it does people can't hide their confusion.
If the ball is in-goal, an attacking player can be lying out of bounds, place their hand on the ball in bounds, and score a try.
As long as the player isn't holding the ball, a simple tap of downward pressure would give him a try.
NOT CONTESTING THE MAUL
We've been treated to plenty of this in 2015, but it still seems a little confusing. (Shoutout to Chris Boyd. His Baby Blacks brought this to our attention in 2014.)
At a lineout, players can choose not to contest a resulting maul, but they have to be careful how they do it.
Defending a maul is a nightmare, so forwards in the lineout have to create a large gap in the lineout where the potential maul is about to form, but do so without leaving the lineout.
If the attacking team moves the ball to the back of the "maul", they are done for accidental offside. If they keep it up front and start moving forward, a player outside the lineout and come in and tackle the ball carrier around his legs.
For a while referees weren't sure what to do when policing the new tactic, but now they have better education in dealing with that part of the game.
It's a genius way to counter the maul, but tough to get right.
- Stuff
