Legally, they must first release the tackled player and the ball before attempting to then go for it.
Having done so, they can then put their hands on the ball as soon as the tackled player hits the deck.
However, what I often see is these arriving players wrapping their arms around the tackled player on the ground.
While they may appear to be trying to gain possession in the eyes of the rugby laws, what in fact is happening is they are preventing the tackled player from releasing.
They have no intention of going for the ball because it is almost impossible to gain possession when you have both arms wrapped around the body of the carrier – how can they lift the ball in that situation?
Also, if their arms are wrapped around the tackled player's body, the ball is likely to be in contact with the ground, so there is every chance their hands are on the ground too – therefore not supporting their own body weight.
Another observation is a lot of these players going for the ball at a tackle actually have a hand, arm or elbow on the ground beyond the ball, while trying to gain possession.
As such, they are also not supporting their own body weight and should be penalised.
To get it right, the player needs to get his hands on the ball immediately when the tackle is executed, otherwise as soon as an opponent arrives and makes contact with him, a ruck has been formed.
Only players who are on their feet and have their hands on the ball at a tackle, before the ruck commences, can then keep their hands on the ball.
It is not just the actions of some tacklers that concern me.
There are two or three actions taken by tackled players that to my mind are illegal, or at least unfair play.
The first concerns not held tackled players releasing the ball, as they should, and getting to their feet and picking up to go again.
This is in fact good play, especially if they can do it and then escape from the opposition.
However, to quote the law book, "any player who gains possession of the ball at a tackle must remain on their feet and not go to ground at or near a tackle unless tackled by the opposition".
If there are several opponents around and not much support from players of their team, what often happens is they go to ground with the ball after only a couple of steps and wait for support players to arrive, so their team can secure it.
It is worth noting that opponents of the ball-carrier, who gain possession of the ball at a tackle, cannot then go to ground in an attempt to seal off the ball and prevent the other side from re-gaining it.
This also happens regularly on the rugby field.
The second issue is tackled players "crawling" along the ground with the ball after being taken down.
Any player on the ground is out of the game until they get back on their feet.
Thirdly, and this happens in almost all games these days, we have players rolling several times with the ball.
Again, by the time they stop rolling, they are likely to have several support players arriving to make sure their team retains possession.
Admittedly, this is more likely to occur after a player has been ankle-tapped and not actually held by an opponent when they go to ground.
Most referees would allow the ball-carrier one roll (and maybe another half-roll) in order to set themselves facing back towards their own goal line and therefore their own arriving players.
These observations may seem like hair-splitting to some readers, but one of the key principles of the game of rugby is having a fair contest for the possession of the ball.
In these days of wall-to-wall televised rugby, the coaches and teams are always looking to be one step ahead of the opposition.
Sometimes these steps are steps away from fair play.
