IIRC in a Warrington v St Helens game a few years back at Knowsley Road, Warrington were denied a try scoring opportunity when the attacking player was tackled just before the line by Leon Pryce who was in an offside position. Ref awarded a penalty, no penalty try or even sinbinning.

Not that I'm still bitter about it ........

I've known about this rule for years but never seen it happen. I don't see the point of it to be fair. All it would do is confuse and anger players and spectators for no real reason.

The point of it is that the ball isn't actually in play until the attacker 'plays the ball' hence stepping into touch after the tackle has been completed isn't an issue, so long as when the ball is played the player is within the field of play.

But as has been said, if a player drops the ball after being tackled it's a knock on. If he drops the ball before a tap restart, it isn't a knock on. A tackle isn't a stoppage in play, so a play the ball after a tackle isn't a restart in play it's a continuation.
If a player goes into touch after a tackle and before the play the ball, it should be a turnover IMO (unless the referee has stopped play), just like if a player drops the ball after the tackle and before the play the ball.

It is given as a knock-on as the player has dropped the ball and failed to bring the ball back into play in the prescribed manner. If this was a deliberate act then it would be a penalty for that offence but as it is accidental then the same as for a forward pass the scrum is given.

Why is that different to him "accidentally" failing to keep in the field of play after the tackle has been made?

Andy Farrell used to play the ball similar to this quite a bit dropping the ball down and playing it back in one motion.


Just another quick question about rules that i never understood.

When a player is half tackled and lands on the floor but it is play on as no one has completed the tackle, the attacking player then stands up and plays the ball as if he had been tackled and its a penalty to the opposition, how come?

I mean its his choice if he wants to place the ball on the floor and roll it back isnt it, going to an extreme if a player went the length of the field with no one chasing him and got near the line and did this it wouldnt be a penalty would it?

It is a voluntary tackle.

When someone is tackled, it means defenders have to get back 10m. If you get a quick play the ball, it means you can catch them offside. If you play the ball before you're even tackled, it is an attempt at getting the other team to be offside. That's not the point of the play the ball, so it's cheating.

You don't get the choice to move the players back 10m. You have to be tackled for that to happen.

According to the laws, 11.10 "Regain feet (b) The tackled player shall without delay regain his feet where he was tackled, lift the ball clear of the ground, face his opponent’s goal line and drop or place the ball on the ground in front of his foremost foot."

So the laws still allow a player to drop the ball and in front of his front foot. Watch the old tapes and this was quite common. How come that without exception a referee in today's game will invariably award a knock-on?

Because the dropping of the ball in order to play it has to be a deliberate act and not accidental. If the player made a show of deliberately dropping the ball to play it then he should be allowed to continue. However if he's lost possession (ie accidentally dropped it) it should be given as a knock on.

So i guess as long as he dosnt touch the ball with his foot or make an action of playing the ball then it would be play on?

Well yes, he's just rolled the ball through his legs in a backwards direction. It's not a play the ball, so he's not pretending to be tackled in order to con the ref. But why would he?!

You are Ben Thaler

Team A is playing against Hull Kingston Rovers


Team A gets the ball on the 7th tackle, throws 3 forward passes to the centre who then kicks ahead. The ball is regathered by Team A's winger who was in an offside position, he cuts back across field running behind several team mates before throwing another forward pass to the winger on the other side who drops the ball forward, regathers and is halted just short by the Rovers fullback. The winger proceeds to reach out double movement style and drop the ball on the try line

What do you do?


Obviously wipe the tackle count and award a try before sending off the closest Rovers player to you for incorrect wearing of the mouth guard

You ignore everything any Rovers fan says as they only have one eye, and watch out for the full back who is trying to break your leg