Wynne Gray: The death knell to rucking

Rucking: RIP March 22, 2005

That inscription may as well have been delivered with the Sanzar judgment on Tuesday which banned Blues trio Ali Williams, David Gibson and Sam Tuitupou for trampling.

It confirmed the suspicions which travelled with the All Blacks when they went to the last World Cup in 2003.

After reading those tournament rules, the All Blacks decided they had to abandon rucking, otherwise they were too vulnerable to the interpretations of referees or judiciaries.

That danger was underlined this week for every Super 12 side, but specifically for the Blues when their trio was suspended for what they claimed was the legal rucking of Crusaders' captain Richie McCaw.

But the finding of the Sanzar judicial committee said all three were in clear breach of Law 10 which bans stamping or trampling opponents.

"The rucking of a player to remove him as an impediment to securing possession of the football has long been held to be illegal," a statement from the judiciary said.
The Blues trio admitted they had rucked McCaw to get at the ball.

A conversation yesterday with NZRFU referees director Keith Lawrence confirmed they had broken the rules - rucking was permitted only when players were attached to a ruck and attacked the ball. Nothing else.

There was no such thing as an unwritten law that players could peel opponents out of the way with their boots to get at the ball.

Not that Williams and Co made very effective attempts at rucking when they had a go at McCaw. Like many of the modern players they jumped up and down instead of dragging their boots back.

Williams was at best guilty of careless work, at worst dangerous, and deserved to be suspended, while his mates were probably guilty of cheap shots.

But it will be the demise of rucking and the consistency of the judiciary which will come under further scrutiny.

How a Sanzar committee, including one member who recently banned Reds flanker Daniel Heenan for three weeks for a similar offence, could then suspend Williams for six weeks is alarming.

Apparently, judicial panels are reluctant to compare video footage of incidents because they feel it would ask them to re-examine previous decisions.

They are loathe to deal with precedent, and perhaps that explains the discrepancies in sentence.

The judgment on the Blues has proclaimed that any player who puts his boots on an opponent's body is guilty of trampling.

So halfbacks such as Byron Kelleher, Steve Devine, Josh Valentine and Justin Marshall, who regularly hack and scrape away with their boots, are in breach.

Meanwhile, we have watched punches from Jono Gibbes, Carlos Spencer, a high tackle from De Wet Barry and a spear tackle from Ma'a Nonu go unpunished this season.

Are we going to put up with players waving their arms in exasperation at the breakdown, imploring referees to award them a penalty rather than putting their job and wages in jeopardy by trying to ruck?

All we can deduce is that officials have tried to sanitise the game. They may as well have outlawed rucking entirely and told players, as long as they are on their feet, to scavenge for the ball with their hands at the breakdown.

* The Blues will announce today whether they are going to appeal against any of the suspensions.