Despite a clear knock on at the back of the scrum, Brixham’s Number 8 was able to break away from the dominant five-metre scrum and launch himself over the try line.
He managed to jump two defenders in the process and the opposition had no chance to stop his momentum and prevent the try from being scored.
While these instances are very rare and unusual, there have been some contentious moments in International Rugby such as Charlie Faumuina’s penalty for tackling Kyle Sinckler in last year’s second Lions Test against New Zealand.
A similar situation involved Rocky Elsom for the Wallabies against Fiji in 2010.
While the laws of rugby do not explicitly refer to jumping into tackles, Law 9.11 does state “players must not do anything that is reckless or dangerous to others.”
There’s Law 9.26 “A player must not do anything that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship.”
Ironically, Law 9.17 states “A player must not tackle, charge, pull, push or grasp an opponent whose feet are off the ground.”
So the question becomes what is the mitigating factor in these situations? When a player running with the ball intentionally tried to jump over an opponent instead of running over them, the player with the ball puts the tackler in a dangerous position and should be penalised.
The Roar spoke to a referee with experience at Super Rugby level. The referee explained that incidents like these are extremely infrequent in rugby and it is quite a grey area within the law.
He explained it is also important to consider the context and intent of the jumping player.
As for this incident, our referee recommended a penalty for Brixham’s Number 8 for putting other players in a dangerous position, if he hadn’t seen the blatant knock on.
Ultimately, the onus is on the players themselves to promote safety and integrity of rugby.
Let us know in the comments what you think of the law in the comments below.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
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