Technically they could put a GPS chip in the ball which would calculate initial velocity and final velocity over start and finish position. This could trigger a heat sensor in the ball which if forward, this would make the rugby ball too hot to handle and the receiver would drop the ball. This converts a forward pass into a knock on which the ref and video ref can confirm.........easy.

You do know that GPS isn't a pin point accurate system don't you?

No they don’t unfortunately.

With a kick, you can roughly see where the kick is taken, and where the player receiving the ball is at the time of the kick.

With a pass, if the player delivers the ball with the hands pointing towards his own team, due to physics, the ball could travel in a forwards trajectory, depending on the speed the player is moving at.

Momentum, physics, call it what you want, it’s very difficult to police, unless they just say, if the ball ends up in front of where it was passed, it’s forwards, only then could you use the same system as the kick.

But to be honest, there’s a number of try’s scored from kicks where the referee doesn’t bother using the technology, when perhaps he should.

Hmmm I'll give you the benefit of doubt.

Yes, but it's accurate in the UK to around 5 metres, and for forward passes, that beats most refs, and all touchies.

Good to see level of debate, I say put blatent forward passes to the vid ref.

True, true.

Which chap put my wind up idea about the GPS on the BBC Manchester Radio, it was read out more or less word for word, the rugby radio commentators had a right good life but was unsure if it was possible.

So I,ve developed the idea a bit further for accuracy, to get it accurate to 600mm (2 feet) instead of using the intersection of 7 satellites we could put some GPS responders high up on each corner of the ground , cross hairing 4 signals will give us this accuracy, also I,ve developed a soft alloy which would be integrated into the ball this would have the heat sensor and emitter so that the forward pass receiver would drop the ball within 2 seconds, just to speed the game up.

Do you think we should patent this idea under rugby league fans research and developments before other sports catch on to its potential.

I'm sure when I proposed this about 3 years ago, you said it wouldn't be possible.

That is only relevant if a forward pass was judged in relation to the pitch, which it is not.
However, I suppose in theory you could use the information from this to calculate the rest. If you know where the player is when he's passed the ball, and what speed he is going at (just take an average of the distance he's moved over a short time or something if need be), then you know what the forward velocity is of the ball.

If you know the forward velocity of the ball added by the player before the pass, then you could just have an imaginary line perpenicular to the touchline that travels forward at the speed the player was running at at the time of the pass, and if the ball travels in front of this line then it is forward.

The only problem would be accuracy. Measuring the velocity is essential. It would be easy to dictate when a player has passed the ball if you're using a video and slowing it down frame by frame. Would you start the moving line at the feet of the player and judge it in relation to the catching players feet? Or would you do it in relation to the ball (which would be harder)?

I think even if it's out by upto a metre (which is a pretty large inaccuracy range!) it would be better than the situation we have now.


Fantastic. Although I feel that is a little harsh on the player that receives as it's not his fault! A fairer system would obviously see the ball explode within half a second so that the passer is killed.

Apart from the fact that one decision is based on the absolute position of the players and the ball and the other is based on the relative position of the players and the ball, you are right, they are exactly the same

Good quality ones are. They use them in geology to measure land movement of millimetres over long periods of time.

No I said the system you proposed wouldnt be possible. To avoid confusion i mentioned Hawkeye the company, not hawkeye the system.

Even for you Smokey, that's a poor attempt to wriggle out of something you've said!

Its not really complex to say there may be an engineering solution for accurate judgement of forward passes, but your's wasnt it.