Tiger5150
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This rule and the modern interpretation of it is driving me crazy. The way it is interpreted and policed these days has turned pretty much every try that involves a decoy runner into a bunker lottery.
To sum up what I mean, the Tigers had a try disallowed last Friday based on the standard modern interpretation of the rule. Chris Lawrence, running as a decoy came in contact with the outside shoulder of a defender in the line about 20m from the man with the ball. Ref, bunker, commentators all happily scream "OUTSIDE SHOULDER" and everyone pats each other on the back at a job well done. My problem in this case (and Ive seen it a few times) is that Lawrence started his run from the outside of the opposition second rower ("his man" in defence) and ran inside him past his inside shoulder. He did do the "right" thing. trouble is the defending teams know the interpretation of the rule and simply know if you can contact a runner with your outside shoulder the try will be disallowed, so the inside man races across to tag him and the try is disallowed. If you run to the inside of a defender like you are supposed to you are still on the outside of the next man and if he can get across to tag you with his outside shoulder and fall to the ground 20m from the ball, no try.
The converse of this I saw in the Souffs Penrith game. One of the panthers trys out wide the penrith decoy runner ran STRAIGHT INTO Naden, chest to chest and just took him out but Naden didnt drop like a sack of spuds. Naden had no hope of stopping the try, but he was clearly taken out. Try was allowed.
Its a rubbish interpretation and as it is applied simply and in such a black and white manner, its is becoming a lottery.
To sum up what I mean, the Tigers had a try disallowed last Friday based on the standard modern interpretation of the rule. Chris Lawrence, running as a decoy came in contact with the outside shoulder of a defender in the line about 20m from the man with the ball. Ref, bunker, commentators all happily scream "OUTSIDE SHOULDER" and everyone pats each other on the back at a job well done. My problem in this case (and Ive seen it a few times) is that Lawrence started his run from the outside of the opposition second rower ("his man" in defence) and ran inside him past his inside shoulder. He did do the "right" thing. trouble is the defending teams know the interpretation of the rule and simply know if you can contact a runner with your outside shoulder the try will be disallowed, so the inside man races across to tag him and the try is disallowed. If you run to the inside of a defender like you are supposed to you are still on the outside of the next man and if he can get across to tag you with his outside shoulder and fall to the ground 20m from the ball, no try.
The converse of this I saw in the Souffs Penrith game. One of the panthers trys out wide the penrith decoy runner ran STRAIGHT INTO Naden, chest to chest and just took him out but Naden didnt drop like a sack of spuds. Naden had no hope of stopping the try, but he was clearly taken out. Try was allowed.
Its a rubbish interpretation and as it is applied simply and in such a black and white manner, its is becoming a lottery.