From here, where there is also a thorough explanation of it. www.theaftermatter.com/2012/05/p ... s-and.html There's also a good video explanation if you type "Rugby Union "Forward Pass" video" in to the usual place.

From here, where there is also a thorough explanation of it. www.theaftermatter.com/2012/05/p ... s-and.html There's also a good video explanation if you type "Rugby Union "Forward Pass" video" in to the usual place.

Dead simple, it's so Cummins ( the RFL) still have some control over a way of influencing results.

So in theory no pass is forward if the passing player continues to run, arrr I get it now, actually its simples

Most people appear to be accepting the fact that the ball must travel backwards in relation to the player who passed the ball.

Now bearing this in mind, watch the try again, especially the replay, and concentrate more on the players (particularly Hodgson) and see where Hodgson (who is running at an angle and certainly not speeding up) is in relation to Monaghan when he (Monaghan) recieves the ball. This may help


The pass looks to be ridiculously forward because the the camera angle where the ball appears to be clearly travelling forward and straight at the camera. But in relation to Hodgson the ball does appear to go backwards!

The last time I laughed this much was watching Les Boyd playing for the Wires

Not as funny as watching Finch spit his dummy at the time though!

Which wasn't as funny as Atkins getting selected for England

Sorry but black is black and white is white; your explanation is like the picture, blurred and out of focus. The pass was forward, Wire won well, we lost. Why does it matter so much to Wire fans? I don’t know any Pie who thinks it would have made any difference.

I think the problem I have with this pass is that Hodgson was running at and angle, and not flat out. So we have a ball that 100% traveled forward over the ground and in my opinion also forward when taken relative to Hodgson's speed towards the try line v's the travel over the ground. I simply don't see that Hodgson would covered the same distance towards the Wigan line before the ball got to where it is shown in the photo.

The easiest way I found watching the pass on tv was that Hodgson passes the ball two meters one side of the line and Monaghan catches it two meters in front of the line.
Why the TJ's can't see this I don't know, perhaps he did, then told Ganson who ignored him.

The forward pass should be judged by the VR.

But it could still go backwards relative to the player which is the ruling not the ground.

I'm Sorry, but as has been explained pretty clearly earlier in this thread, this has nothing to do with whether or not a pass is forward.
Imagine Usain Bolt was a rugby player and when running flat out covers 10m every second. On the 20m line he passes the ball to Yohan Blake inside him and the ball travels backwards at 1m per second compared to Bolt (a perfectly legitimate pass). The ball is still travelling forwards over the ground at 9m per second, so if the ball is in the air for half a second before Blake catches it, he will receive the ball 4.5m in front of where Bolt passed the ball.

In all honesty, does anyone really care anymore? Forward or not (which it definately was ) we would of still lost the game, rather convincingly as well.