Two similar incidents on Saturday with two very different outcomes and processes which illustrate everything complicated about how officials adjudicate touching down for a try.
Scotland’s comeback begins early in the second half, when a clever kick from Finn Russell bounces in the French in-goal area, and Darcy Graham does well to get a limb onto the ball before Ethan Dumortier.
Meanwhile, in Cardiff a couple of hours later, Wales’ Louis Rees-Zammit takes a pass and sets off on one of his trademark chip and chases, using his phenomenal speed to get to the ball ahead of Freddie Steward.
Differing opinions
Both incidents go to the TMO, but the TMOs, it seems, have differing opinions.
In Edinburgh, TMO Ben Whitehouse is very vague about whether Graham has managed a clean touchdown – he doubts control and clean placing. But Ben O’Keeffe is unequivocal: Graham has made downward pressure on the ball with the ball touching the turf, so it is a try.
In Cardiff, TMO Joy Neville is of the same opinion for Rees-Zammit’s touchdown as O’Keeffe is for Graham’s; she needs only one replay before putting out her verdict to referee Nic Berry: Rees-Zammit grounds the ball, and Berry may award the try.
But Berry is not so sure. He sees the touchdown, but is bothered that Rees-Zammit has touched the ball in the air before dotting it down, and that the ball has touched the ground after it was touched by Rees-Zammit. So he orders a replay again. And then decides that Rees-Zammit touched the ball in the air, then again when the ball is on the ground. So he disallows the try.
There are two things in play here. The first is the knock-on, which is defined thus: “When a player loses possession of the ball, and it goes forward, or when a player hits the ball forward with the hand or arm, or when the ball hits the hand or arm and goes forward, and the ball touches the ground or another player before the original player can catch it.”
And then there is the act of scoring a try, which is defined thus: A try is scored when an attacking payer is the first to ground the ball in the opponent’s in-goal (Law 8.2.a). Annoyingly, the definition of grounding a ball is to be found only in Law 21.1.a and b: a) By holding it and touching the ground with it; or b) By pressing down on it with a hand or hands, arm or arms, or the front of the player’s body from waist to neck.
🤔 Did Darcy Graham actually dot this one down?
The officials thought so, do you agree? #SCOvFRApic.twitter.com/NtAADMpr7d
— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) August 5, 2023
In both incidents, we see players moving at high speed, desperate to achieve a grounding defined by Law 21.1.b. Both players do indeed get to the ball first, but neither is holding it. Both touch it, the ball touches the ground, and both do press down on the ball.
But in both situations, something happens in between, which – it should be added, in our view rather than very clearly – is important, but which only Berry picks up on. He asks for another replay to look for separation: a moment in between the player’s initial touch and the act of grounding where the ball is no longer touching the grounding player’s hand.
This is important, because if there is separation from the moment of touching the ball, and if after the separation the ball then touches the ground first, we are in the knock-on territory as defined by the sentence: “…when a player hits the ball forward with the hand or arm, or when the ball hits the hand or arm and goes forward, and the ball touches the ground…”
The reason Whitehouse doubts a clean touchdown is, assumedly, this moment of – what we see from the replay – likely separation. But he does not communicate this explicitly. O’Keeffe, without this input, focuses on the grounding only, and awards the try.
Neville, the TMO in Cardiff, does the same as O’Keeffe. But Berry looks at the entire act of Rees-Zammit and sees the winger touch the ball, then separation, then the ball touch the ground, then Rees-Zammit ground the ball. So he awards, correctly, a knock-on.
Very close calls
This, we think, should also have been the outcome of the Scottish try. The separation is less clear and obvious, but the ball and Graham’s hand move at different speeds after his initial contact, with Graham’s hand only catching up with the ball once it hits the ground.
Both are very close calls. But it is important to focus on every stage of the act of possibly scoring a try and focus on all of the applicable laws and definitions in order to arrive at the right decision, not just one of them – as is often the case in rugby, it’s just not that simple!
READ MORE: Wales v England: Five takeaways from Rugby World Cup warm-up clash as Steve Borthwick better get the Tipp-Ex out
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