From our REO's

Initiative – Based on safety and the need to get the balance between possession and contestability back into Rugby Union at the tackle/ruck contact area.

Compare Rugby Union to our Rugby/Football cousins. In Rugby League a team gets the ball for 6 tackles to see what they can do with it, then they turn it over to the opposition to have a turn. There is no contest for the ball in the contact area. In American Football, a team has the opportunity to make so many yards, then the opposition have their turn if those yards are not made. There is no contest for the ball in the contest area. Rugby Union is philosophically different in that every time the ball is in play, it is deemed to be contestable, especially at the contact area. The Rugby Union Playing Charter has a most important and sport defining principle; “The contest for possession of the ball is one of Rugby’s key features… As one team attempts to maintain continuity of possession, the opposing team strives to contest possession. This provides the essential balance between continuity of play and continuity of possession. The balance of contestability and continuity applies to both set piece and general play”. When this fundamental principle is compromised, a key element in the fabric of Rugby Union is lost.

History – With the introduction of professional rugby in 1995, there was a media constructed demand for more points. This was deemed to be necessary for entertainment, viewer numbers and ratings. The concept of the ball carrying team having more rights at the breakdown was conceived and the ‘bridge’ was born; the ball carrying team could recycle the ball at will and therefore score readily. This has evolved over the years in a number of forms to the now current ‘hit and seal’ approach. With the non-ball carrying team unable to contest equally, they generally re-deploy in defence. This has created a paradoxical situation; the ball carrying team can recycle at will, but cannot go anywhere due to the defence.

Issue – A number of tactics have been deployed to make trying to contest for the ball by the non-ball carrying team difficult and undesirable. Other tactics are being used to create low pressure zones along side the contact area to make attack points easier to penetrate because the defence is so stout wide of the contact area. These tactics are illegal in law and often dangerous as they target vulnerable opponents in a defenceless position, and virtually always occur in an off-side position or through a channel outside the bounds of the imaginary ‘gate’. Most of the illegal tactics used at the contest area are executed by the ball carrying team.

Issues Defined

1. Off-side pillars (stationary and running)
   
2. Entry outside the gate targeting vulnerable opponents in the contest area
   
3. Players diving over the contest area to target opponents arriving and/or on the ground
   
4. Hitting and sealing to instantly eliminate a fair contest
   

Referees – The referees have a responsibility in law, as do the coaches and players, to have a game played in a safe and equitable manner. Historically they have generally refereed the non-ball carrying team well but in more recent times have probably over refereed them at the expense of the ball-carrying team being allowed to infringe at will at the breakdown area.

Solutions

• Adopt a wider (3m-5m) and deeper primary position similar to what was historically referred to as the “45 degree” primary position. This will allow the referee to lift his/her head and focus wider and deeper.
• Stop ball watching
• Referee the breakdown more technically. We referee other contest areas (scrum and lineout) more technically as opposed to tactically. Make the same commitment and take the same stance at the breakdown. If the pictures are wrong then sanction. For example, if a non-ball carrying team player drove into the side of a ruck, or dived over the top of a ruck, or sealed the ball, or stood off-side in the ‘post’ position, referees would immediately penalise. Referees know what the pictures look like; put them in the ball carrying team context and sanction accordingly.
• Pre-match is vital. Explain to coaches and captains your intentions; if you see infringements (identified above), you will sanction, irrespective of whether they are ball carriers or not.
• Communicate pro-actively. At the moment we generally call “hands off”, “roll out”, “get on side”, “release 7” as examples. These verbal cues are all retrospective or after the fact. Try as you arrive at the tackle/ruck, “stay up”, “gate”, “on your feet” as examples. These are positive verbal cues and are preventative.