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Opinion
Watching Saturday’s game between the All Blacks and England, what struck me was the number of times England were offside.
It appeared to be a tactic to upset the opposition.
Offside is covered under section ten of the laws of the game. The principle is the game is only played by players who are onside. Yet those players who are slowly moving back to an onside position can interfere with the team using the ball and intercept a pass while offside.
This happened a number of times on Saturday night. There is nothing more frustrating than players deliberately going slow so as to gain an advantage.
Clearly this tactic is being exploited by a number of teams in this World Cup. The governing body should change the law immediately.
(Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
If you are in an offside position, you should never be allowed to interfere with the play. It is such an easy law to change and would give the team in possession the ability to play the ball without interference from an offside player.
I wonder how many players would be slowly returning to an onside position then?
The other glaring tactic that has been employed by a number of teams is what a number of commentators call fast line speed.
This tactic has seen players rush at the attacking team to upset their patterns of play. Most of the time these players are offside and instead of retiring back to an onside position, they are allowed to continue moving forward.
This is covered in section 10.1.c: Preventing the opposition from playing as they wish. No team can play as they wish if the opposition is allowed to attack from an offside position.
Surely given the senior assistant referees at this World Cup, the offside position should be policed.
Yes, it might slow the game down at first – but when players realise that it is going to be policed, they will stop gaining that advantage.
The team in possession will be able to play the game ensuring a more exciting and fairer brand of rugby.
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.