A bit of rucking sneaks back into the Northern Hemisphere
All but extinct in the Southern Hemisphere, we noticed some light rucking is being allowed in the Northern Hemisphere – a refreshingly pragmatic way of speeding up play at ruck time.
Leicester v Northampton was a classic battle between a marauding tight five with a completely dominant scrum (Leicester) up against a dynamic, tough loose trio with dangerous outsides (Northampton).
The refereeing was excellent from Dave Pearson. A couple of things stood out in particular.
- A bit of rucking was allowed (players helping opponents to roll away from rucks);
- Pearson didn’t feel compelled to single players out after a minor fight; and
- The Liecester wing was not penalised for tackling a player on the ground when he chased a kick through that was gathered by the opponent
I often cringe in anticipation of extremely soft penalties when the letter of the law wins out over common sense – in situations where no-one is fouled or disadvantaged by opponents’ actions despite the fact that a law may have been fractured.
In the all-Ireland Magner’s League clash between Ulster v Munster, referee Alain Rolland also allowed players to ‘assist’ their opponents to roll away from the base of rucks where they found themselves on the wrong side.
Irish International Referee Alain Rolland
Other positives about this performance included
- Delaying blowing the whistle before awarding Munster’s second try
Rolland waited until he had a view that confirmed his notion that a try had been scored - Awarding a sensible (but not excessive) yellow card for a player recklessly impeding an opponent in the air when he was taking a catch from an up and under
[Similar to Craig Joubert's level-headed ruling in the All Blacks v Australia test in Tokyo where NZ wing Sitivini Sivivatu followed through on his opponent and got the yellow card he deserved]
Hopefully we are seeing a more pragmatic reading of the rucking laws. It can take a lot longer to wait for players to get themselves onside or to remove players through less traditional means.
