Let 'em play on, within reason

I well remember a conversation I was involved in after a rugby match in Ohakune some 40 years ago when I first came into the Northern Wanganui sub-union area.

The referee of the main game was a schoolmaster at Collegiate School, John Ivory, while the captain of the local side was well-known local Tom Spry, who also played representative rugby for Wanganui for several years.

Tom's opening remarks were, "I didn't think you played the advantage law very well today".

As you can imagine, when a referee is challenged in such a direct way, quite a lively, but civilised, discussion followed.

I was reminded of this exchange when I was assistant refereeing at the same ground a couple of weeks ago when one of the coaches became very agitated as the referee played a long advantage to the opposing team who were attacking inside his team's 22m area.

A penalty kick was finally awarded to Ruapehu for the original offside infringement and resulted in three points — fortunately the difference between the two teams' final scores was more than the three points.

Both these stories illustrate the contentious nature of Law 7, Advantage.

It is the only law where the referee can exercise some discretion on how he referees the game.

All other laws, by and large, are cut and dry.

A forward pass is always a forward pass, although some may dispute that at times, and a knock on is always a knock on.

Advantage is defined as "a clear tactical or territorial benefit to a team arising from an infringement by the opposing team".

If a team gains an advantage following an infringement from the opposing team the referee may allow the game to continue in an effort to keep the gain flowing.

Notice the words "may allow". Inexperienced referees often play a very short advantage until they can get a feel of how the law can be applied more liberally.

Experienced referees tend to better judge just when the advantage can be applied judiciously.

Advantage is not left completely up to the referee's discretion though.

There are some clear guidelines within which he must work.

The advantage must either be a clear tactical or territorial advantage, or a combination of both.

Tactical advantage is having the freedom to use the ball as a team wishes, while territorial means play has moved towards the opposing team's dead ball line.

The advantage must be clear and real, not a mere opportunity to gain an advantage.

This is important because a team may in fact lose ground while they have the ball after an infringement by the opposition but by retaining the ball they may eventually move forward and indeed score a try.

The advantage can end when the referee decides the non-infringing team has gained sufficient advantage from the infringement.

For an offence where a scrum would be the result a much shorter advantage is usually applied — once the ball has passed through at least two pairs of hands is the usual criteria.

But, as I have illustrated earlier, an infringement that would result in a penalty kick to the non-offenders usually results in a much longer time before the referee has to make a decision, one way of the other.

Or the advantage can end when the non-offending team is unlikely to gain an advantage, perhaps because there are too many opposing players around or when a kick down-field goes straight into the arms of a Ben Smith or Damien McKenzie.

Often the team receiving the advantage infringe themselves shortly after, so there is obviously no advantage to them from the first infringement.

If a team commits multiple offences, the referee will ask the opposing captain to choose the most advantageous place where an infringement occurred to get the sanction.

However, there are a few situations where the referee cannot play advantage.

If the ball or a player carrying it touches the referee and the team gains clear advantage from that contact, then the referee must stop play immediately and put down a scrum, with the feed going to the team in possession.

At a scrum there are three situations where advantage cannot be applied, including if the ball comes out either end of the tunnel, or if the scrum wheels around more than 90 degrees.

The most important one at a scrum is when a player is lifted so that his feet are no longer on the ground because he has been forced up in the air — in this situation the referee must blow the whistle immediately due to the danger of the situation.

If the ball is thrown in incorrectly during a quick throw-in, or if a free kick or penalty is taken incorrectly, the referee must stop play.

Likewise, advantage cannot be played when the ball is dead, or out of play, because carrying on playing would be dangerous, or when a player is seriously injured.

In saying that, I do know of a game at Hunterville a few seasons ago when a player from the local team was tackled dangerously near the opponent's goal line, but the team captain yelled at the referee that they wanted the advantage played and ended up scoring a converted try.

Strictly speaking, it can be problematic playing advantage from an act of foul play, such as a dangerous tackle, as tempers can flare and the situation turn ugly in a very short time.

When the advantage law works favourably for the non-infringing team, especially if it results in a try being scored, it is a very satisfying feeling for a referee, and for that team as well.