….how disappointing was that. The game had just come to life when Faletau’s try was ruled out. There are so many rules in rugby, I can’t say I have seen this applied in all the time I’ve watched the game. Damn good hurdle.
What a pity that WR and it’s refs has made it all about themselves and there control.
They are fucking ruining Rugby….You have to allow moments of spontaneous brilliance.
Plus the player was in full control and pulled it off. That was a fair move and should have been awarded.
The reasoning is if he jumps into the air like he did, he can't be tackled. So if everyone started doing that, you'd just have penalties for taking people in the air all over the place. It looked spectacular though.
EDIT: apparently it can be penalized as both unfair play (due to my reasoning above) and dangerous play.
Jumping into a tackle has been illegal for ages...never seen it applied like that though.
That probably explains the logic Pakie. But it remains unsatisfying. If they simply applied the you can’t tackle the man without the ball rule, that would seem to exempt this instance. To me the can’t tackle the man in the air rule, if he has the ball is nonsense. If you think about it, most players diving for the line are in the air and are often tackled.
They actually make a distinction for a player diving to score. Here's the clarification of the law. But it is a bit fuddly wuddly as there doesn't seem to be a law prohibiting that specific thing, it comes under the blanket of unfair/dangerous play. Or that's how I read it, someone more versed in the laws may interject and correct if I have it wrong.
‘In principle, in a try scoring situation, if the action is deemed to be a dive forward for a try, then it should be permitted. If a player is deemed to have left the ground to avoid a tackle; or to jump, or hurdle a potential tackler, then this is dangerous play and should be sanctioned accordingly.’
The game is so legally defined these days.. I’d like to see them take Duhan’s recent try to court under that rule. Clearly he dived to score the try. But he also dived to avoid the tackle taking him into touch.
The really dangerous stuff in rugby is so interwoven in the game, it can’t be avoided:
The tangle of bodies at the ruck that apparently destroyed Du Pont’s Achilles.
The wear and tear of scrumming that forced Kitshoff into neck surgery.
The clear risk to the fetcher’s neck when over the ball and pounded by a man mountain…probably how Schalk’s neck was hurt.
The legal contest for a high ball that has one player falling on his head.
……
I can’t see tackling a man who is in possession but in the air as being particularly dangerous. And my limited legal training suggests almost every player is in the air during the act of being tackled….it’s the distinction between running vs walking in athletics
The tangle of bodies at the ruck that apparently destroyed Du Pont’s Achilles.
That was a terrible cleanout by Beirne - 1) shoulder only, no wrap 2) right from the outset targeting the leg, not the body. Also both players just goes straight off their feet. While that seems to be how cleanouts or joining rucks now work, it adds to the danger, because there's no control. You're just throwing your weight in there and it's all going down unchecked with your full weight behind it. If a leg gets in the way, you have Dupont's injury.
I'd card any targeting of a player's leg at the breakdown. If the leg is your first contact, off you go.
Good point, you see these guys flying through the ruck and not getting penalized so many times a game. Not dangerous but still annoying is all the clinging to detached men without the ball.