Who decided that you can't go to the video ref for a forward pass. We all know which are the 100% forward passes when we are watching a game on TV so why can't the video ref make a decision? If he isn't sure, then the try should stand, just like it does with a knock-on.
To me it's the emperor's new clothes. One person (in Australia) must have decided that this must be an exception in the video ref aspect of the game. Some fool in England agrees with this and the rest follow.
Also, this 'look at the hands of the passer' is also badly flawed. If he is running at an angle then the hands won't matter. Only if he is running on a line parallel with the touchline would the position of the hands count.
I just have to look at a pass to know it's forward. If it's borderline, then play on but too many blatant ones are missed.
How did we know that rugby union was littered with forward passes? Did we go to games? Did we heck. We watched them on television...and yet our video refs can't watch them on screen. The big taboo.

Crackers rule.

Good old Rugby league. The visionary sport.

Agree the forward pass should be looked at by the VR.
They look at kicks and whether the onrushing players are on side. Those are the same angles and same tv shots that would decide the forward pass.
The pitch now has whitewashed lines across the field every ten meters and so often a pass is thrown one side of the line and caught on the other side.
No good reason for not looking at forward passes.

Not this topic again! A forward pass is a pass thrown forward out the hands of a player and which travels forward in relation to passing player. The movement of the ball in relation to the pitch has no relevance and never has done.

Forward passes could be looked at in theory I guess. If you go to the screen for a forward pass and the passers hands cannot be seen then the try must be given. If the direction of the pass from the players hands isn't clear then benefit of the doubt should be given. If it's blatantly obvious like a few examples this year and like the example yesterday then it would be ruled out.

Over here the VR is useless IMO due to the fact we don't get it at every game every week!! 2 games a week get played under different rules than the others. Theres no consistency from them either.

Bingo. It always baffles me how few people understand the rules of our game.

I'm not being funny but any tool could see that pass from Hodgson to Monaghan was bare minimum 5 metres forward.

On one post it was 7 metres forward make your minds up

Hence 'bare minimum 5 metres forward'

HTH

But that doesn't mean it was forward. Read Cherry.Pie's post you have quoted.

It was forward. If you look at the replay - look at where the Hodgson was when he passes the ball and then where Joel Monaghan was when he caught it. How anyone can say that wasn't forward is beyond me.

Read what Cherry.Pie wrote! It explains it very well.

It does yes. The pass was still forward though

I agree - but it doesn't change the fact it was forward

I'll check it tomorrow and get back to you.