@GrumpyGregry
Can our resident ref remind me when a no 8 can pick the ball up in a scrum?
From what i saw the welsh 8 picked the ball up from in front of the rapidly retreating 2nd rows legs, that cant be legal can it? That would be handling in the scrum in my opinion.
Resident retired-ref (though i may yet be coaxed out of retirement as it happens)
what Laws apply?
6.A.4 (a) The referee is the sole judge of fact and of Law during a match. - which is pretty much what Brian Moore said "He didn't give it" but the match is now over so we can debate it.
The Laws say a scrum ends, amongst other things, when:-
20.10 (c)
Hindmost player unbinds. The hindmost player in a scrum is the player whose feet are nearest the team’s own goal line. If the hindmost player unbinds from the scrum with the ball at that player’s feet and picks up the ball, the scrum ends.
and as to the 8 binding it says in
20.3 (f)
Binding by all other players. All players in a scrum, other than front-row players, must bind on a lock’s body with at least one arm prior to the scrum engagement. The locks must bind with the props in front of them. No other player other than a prop may hold an opponent.
Binding is defined as one full arm, not a hand or fingertips.
and then
20.9 (b)
All players: Handling in the scrum. Players must not handle the ball in the scrum or pick it up with their legs.
My view: (which I screamed at the TV at the time and no amount of replays has made me change my mind. I think the 8 unbound before the ball was at his feet whilst the scrum was still going on (ping!). I think he then handled the ball whilst it was still in the scrum (ping!)
So two penalty offences. Two glaring, obvious penalty offences. Were they material offences? - which is the standard at that level - I'd have to say yes but my view of materiality is not that of an elite referee. So, in my view, in Sussex One, if I saw exactly the same situation and I was in the middle I'd ping it. A no-brainer. But then I'd have pinged nearly every scrum feed y'day, and would have taken much more drastic action over the crooked line-out throws.
As to the ref; I think he missed a lot and was over reliant, and worse still,
obviously over reliant on his assistant referees, all match.