No. The ball has to touch the floor over the deadball line to be considered dead. if a player touches it before it touches the floor over the deadball line, regardless of where they are stood, then they are deemed to have taken it dead. so that would be a drop out if done by a defender

Do we know if this applies at kick off too? I'm assuming it does

Yep the wording is rubbish. It only clarifies 1 particular situation but not all.

Unfortunately it's not an isolated case in the rules. They could do with both updating (to get rid of archaic rules that don't apply anymore) and re-wording to be more specific.

Completely agree - you hear the ref calling 'milking', in those instances, it should be a penalty every time, and a sin bin for repeat offending.

I just posted the below on a similar thread on the Leeds board about the biggest change (not really a change, just applying the actual rules of the game) if like to see;;

The biggest change I'd like to see is how the ruck is policed. I'd get rid of the 'dominant tackle' interpretation and simply have a set time that the ruck is allowed to last - no advantage for dominant tackles, no advantage for finding your front in attack - just a consistent time for each tackle before held is called, and once the ref calls held, all defenders to release and clear the ruck area immediately.
For me, that's the way we minimise the importance of 'wrestle' and get back to the game being a contest of attacking rugby vs brutal defence, not a matter of who is the best at controlling the ruck.

only rule that should change and believed they trialled it in pre season a few years ago is a chragedown does not wipe the tackle count, currently it penalizes good defence and rewards poor attack

I've got to agree with that one. Also, I think that the play the ball needs to go back to playing it with the foot, and not just rolling it behind him. This one is maybe just me, but it annoys me on the 20 metre restart when a player taps the ball either a) in the wrong place; or b) with his own players stood in an offside position, and the referee makes them play it again. To me it should be a penalty to the opposition. Offside is offside, regardless, and they all know the rules that there own players have to be behind the 20 for play to commence. I agree with the free play to a degree, but I would like to see it tweeked slightly. ie; as soon as you pass or kick the ball you are deemed to have accepted possession and it's play on from there.

So a player catches the ball a yard or two behind the deadball line but before it bounces, that becomes a goal-line drop out?

But if a player leaves that ball to bounce and it goes to a ballboy or touches someone in the crowd he cannot have a quick tap. So we have pretty much just gotten rid of the quick tap from the twenty?