Management

Questions about the management of the game. Click on a question to reveal the answer.

Question 1...
The defence side are winning by three points and time is running out. You correctly award them a 22 metre drop out. On the 22 they keep passing the ball to one another, you shout "take it quickly please" but they still pass it up and down the line. What do you do?

Award opposition a free kick anywhere on the 22 metre line. Law 13.11. The drop out must be taken without delay.

Question 2...
Time has nearly elapsed when a side kick the ball into touch. You blow your whistle and call a lineout but before the players reach the lineout time expires. What do you do?

Continue with the lineout. Law 5.7 (e) If time expires and the ball is not dead, or an awarded scrum or lineout has not been completed the referee allows play to continue until the next time that the ball becomes dead. If time expires and a mark, free kick or penalty kick is awarded, the referee allows play to continue. N.B. At an awarded scrum it must be completed in its entirety, i.e. if the scrum is reset, continue until that scrum is complete.

Question 3...
You call the two Captains together prior to the match to decide the toss. Reds call heads and heads it is. The reds Captain then says "we will kick down the hill to start please". What do you do?

You say "your choice is to kick off or choose ends, you cannot do both". Law 13.2. (a) At the start of the game, the team whose captain elected to take the kick after winning the toss will kick off, or the opposing team if the winning captain elected to choose an end.