POINTS FOR RUGBY PLAYERS.

Shannon News, 8 April 1924, Page 3

POINTS FOR RUGBY PLAYERS.

WHAT IS * 4 OFFSIDE. ’ ’

Arrangements are now well forward for the commencement of the 1924 Rugby season in this district. The various clubs have held their annual meetings and the indications from such point to an even more successful season than that of 1923.

As there is always a diversity of opinion upon almost any subject known to man, so it is with Ru,gby football. This especially applies to the rules of the; Rugby game, and particularly offside play. If the game is to progress to a better standard and a general understanding among players, there can be only one correct interpretation of thp rules. With this idea in view, we publish below a treatise upon offside play, and trust it will be of value to Rugby players and enthusiasts in this district.

The rule states that a player is offside if he is in front of the last player on his own side who played the ball. It will therefore be seen that no man can be i put offside by his opponents. He is not offside merely because he is in front of the ball, unless the ball is in the scrummage. Thus we' sometimes see the ball, landing on its end, bounce backwards and the opponents who arc in front of the spot where it bounced seize it and rush up the field. Players and . spectators yell “offside!” But where was the player in their own. team that placed them offsidp? The next point to remember is that a player is not penalised for being offside, unless he does certain things. These arp:

(a). Approaching of wilfully remaining within ten yards of an opponent waiting to receive .the ball.

(b) Playing the ball. (c) Actively or passively obstructing an opponent. (d) Entering the scrum from his opponents ’ side. (e) Bping in front of the ball while it is in the,scrum.

Lot us deal with each of these points in turn.

Under (a) he must not approach or wilfully remain within ten yards of an opponent waiting to receive ( the ball. This opponent has therefore a circle with a radius of ten yards all round him, and any offside player within that circle should be penalised. The presence of these offside players certainly deles hamper the player waiting to receive the ball, and so the law provides that they shall give him “elbow room/” as it were. Therefore thev cannot wait within the ton yards’ circle for the mpiribcr of their team who last played tke ball to put them onside. This will explain the resolution passed at the recent Referees ’ Conference to the effect that these offside players within the ten yards’ circle cannot be put onside by any act of their own side or of their opponents. Under (b) a.n offside player may not play the ball. If he interferes with it in any way before he is put onside he is aj; once penalised. In New Zealand wc penalise the player who accepts a forward pass from a member of his own side if at the time of that pass being made he was in front of the passer. In G'feat Britain they rule for the pass forward, and a scrum is ordered.

Under (c) an offside player may not actively or passively obstruct an opponent. The latter may perhaps be running back to support the player Waiting to receive the ball, or he may actually be running to field a high kick. So long as a player is offside he must allow his opponents a clear run, and not 'impede them by any action, or stand in their path. . >• The last two breaches (d) and (e) deal with the scrum, and wte must remember that the ball is always the centre of the scrum, no fnatter where it may be, whether it is in the middle or hovering about the feet of the back rankers. Therefore a player must be behind the ball when he enters the scrummage. He is not penalised for ovier-running the ball while it is in the scrum, but he must make an immediate attempt to get back onside. If he waits in front of the ball a free kick is given against him. It. will be seen from this that the duty of a wing-forward is to keep bfchind the ball while it is still in the scrum, and not to stand still in order to prevent his opponent following it through. Once the ball is out of the scrum, however, all those on the side who have lost possession are onside, and cannot bte put offside until one of their own team again handles the ball. Now let us consider the ways and meqns by which an offside player can be put onside.

v lt cannot be too strongly stressed that only the player who' last handled the ball can put his men onside. Let us suppose the full-back takes the ball and punts high down the field. One of the three-quarters has come behind to support the full-back in case of a mishap. The three-quarter is onside, and can at once follow up the kick, but he cannot put the forwards onside. In this particular case only *Bhe full-back can do so.

Ignorance on this point is prevalent even among our senior players, and we find fellows, like the three-quarter in the above example, who being onside themselves,, think they can put the others onside. When in. front they call “all on,” and are astonishod at tbie crass ignorance (f) of the referee for penalising them. There is one more point in this 'connection that needs attention. A player putting his men onside must be in the field of play at the moment of doing so. Let us suppose a wing-three-quarter has punted high'from a spot close to the touehline. He may, to get quickly round some opponents, start running up in touch, but he must step into the field of play before he can put his men onside.

Now we come to the ways and means by which an offside player can be put onside “by his opponents,” and there are two.

(1) By an opponent running 5 yards with the ball in any direction. (2) By the ball touching an opponent.

We have seen already that if an opponjsnt is waiting to receive the ball, all offside players must keep at least, ten.yards off. If he fields the ball cleanly, he can go for five yards in any direction and thon all the other team

ai}3 onside. That is a very important point. Providing nobody was waiting within the ten yards' circle no player can be offside when an opponent has run 5 yards with the ball. Note also that the five yards are taken as being in any direction.

The spcond way by which offside players may be put onside by their opponents ig by the ball touching one of the latter. This is the part of the ( rule that “causes all the bother” I to referees, players, and spectators. I Yet there it is. - If the ball has touched i an opponent all offside players are at I once onside. Thus a long kick goes I down thp field and the bali in its flight} just touches an opponent; at once all j the. kicker's side may play the ball.) The crowd will at once yell “offside!” and the silence of the referee's whistle seems to indicate to them the incompetence of that unfortunate official, but in actual reality he is right. The point is this:. If a player fields the ball direct from, a kick, offside opponents must give him 10 yards .find wait till ho has run five. If he mulls it they are at once -on side. Thus, supposing he fields it cleanly, and after running two yards passes to another on his own side, the act of passing puts all his opponents onside. Therefore they are all at liberty to tackle the other, player who receives the ball. It is said that an offside player can intercept a pass, but the fact is that “the act of passing ” puts him onside. It will be seen from this brief account of the rule that it is bristling with difficulties, and a very dear head is necessary to interpret it. correctly. We have set out the main facts, and if players and public will grasp these essentials, we shall have less useless appealing on. the; part of players, and less ‘'booing” from the authorities on .the side lines. It is rather amusing to the refpree at times to see players, waiting about under the impression that they arc offside when some act of their opponents has already put them onside, and players would do well to make themselves thoroughly conversant with this rule.

FOOTBALL NOTES

On Easter Monday the Petonc first fifteen will play a match at Otaki. Instead of journeying to' this town by rail, it is their intention to trek from Woodsidc to Kaitokp across the Tararuas. .It sounds almost like an old time taua of the Ngatiawas raiding the The leaders of the Petone party will be W. H. Wilson . and Clem Green. How different is this method of training to this chap who jumps into a car and lands at the gate in time for a match every Saturday —not having seen even a. photo of a football in between. Notwithstanding that the Wairarapa Rugby Union paid out £ll4 Is to local players, £9 to Otago players, £4 10s to the Hospital Board, and £2 2s to a doctor frpm the accident insurance company, they start the season with a credit of £lB3 17s 4d to the fund.

At a'recent club meeting in the Wairarapa it' was reported that two more men .would be available if the* club would .arrange for their transport to and from the various games. No action jwas taken which was probably the best ,thing that could have been.done. Should the club have agreed to the proposal, a precedent would have been established, and there's no telling where it. wbuld end. Years ago I. knew a player who used to ride 50 miles to play’for his team, and back again on the 'Sunday—loo miles on horseback and a game thrown in. Judging by the attendance at the annual; meeting of the Otaki Club, it augurs well for this season's doings in the Rugby arena —members are (enthusiastic. But there was “a fly in the ointment'' to my mind, and that is as regards subscriptions. The sooner members recognise that no club can run smoothly without finance the sooner will they see they are financial on the books. The fees charged are much below those in City clubs, and it might be as w?U for the management committee to fbllow in the steps of other clubs, i.e., no member is chosen for a championship game until*his subscription is paid. To my idea of thinking no coach or captain should have to ask a man for his sub—it should be paid without being asked for. If a chap gops to the pictures or a dance he pays at the door —‘then why not pay his club dues as soon as he joins up.--Mail.

Thus the Wairarapa Staqdard: "Again the Union’s colours all white, are useless in such a climate as ours. The sum of £23 was spent last year for washing, to turn our representatives, out respectably.. We trust these and other minor > causes will be remedied in the ensuing year. ’ ’ Fancy a player handing his jersey back without giving it a rinse even in a water-race. Really, its a case of seeing every Monday (that’s washing day of course): — Rub a dub rub a dub, Fifteen jerseys all in a tub. Once they were white, now dirty brown, Not .fit to be seen in any town The dirtiest of jerseys e’er to be found, Each for its washing cost us a pound.