Owen Doyle: Clarity needed on lineout and maul rule prior to Ireland v South Africa

Double banking. Problematic, but not as bad as what went on back in the day of the so-called Celtic Tiger.

In the early 1960s, having formed a lineout, teams would drop men out of it to form a second parallel line, hence the phrase “double banking”. When the scrumhalf received the ball he had total protection, and plenty of time to choose his next option, which was often to kick it straight back into touch, the gain in ground being allowed at that time.

In 1963, against Scotland, the recently much lamented Welsh scrumhalf Clive Rowlands kicked for touch so often that the spectators were treated to 111 lineouts. In a typically high-scoring match of that era Wales won 6-3, Rowlands contributing a drop goal. It was, incidentally, the great man’s only score for Wales during a 14-cap career, all earned as captain.

This long-outlawed tactic has been making something of a comeback in recent times, used nowadays for a different reason, with perhaps the clearest example actioned by Australia recently, against France.

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So, why can’t players drop out? Well, the laws tell us that nobody’s allowed to leave the lineout until it is over

Australia threw in the ball, and the two lifters put up their man. At the same time, the remaining four lineout players dropped out, moving quickly to form a phalanx in the receiver position, 2m back. They were thus perfectly positioned to rejoin the lineout by driving into their own catcher as he landed, giving them significant advantageous go-forward as the maul formed. That’s just one option, when a group of receivers is allowed.

So, why can’t players drop out? Well, the laws tell us that nobody’s allowed to leave the lineout until it is over, the solitary exception being a player going in a peeling move where the ball is usually tapped down to him. Forming a maul does not qualify as “over”.

Neither should it matter a jot if the offenders move before or after the ball is thrown, that is the beginning of the lineout, not the end.

With this extra impetus, driving mauls become even harder to stop legally. Defenders may then take the risk of collapsing, for which they’ll be sanctioned, including perhaps a sin-binning; that’d be a hard swallow.

Referees, always keen to ensure that there is only one receiver, have seemed, for whatever reason, reluctant to sanction this manoeuvre, so a re-think is needed. Ben O’Keefe (NZ) is refereeing Ireland v South Africa, and it will be interesting to see how he approaches it. Pre-match clarity is needed.

Maybe the refs don’t want to be seen as pedantic, but both the lineout and the maul are key characteristics of the game, and must be reffed accurately and correctly, to ensure a fair contest. That is enshrined in the game’s own charter, and, while the maul as it currently stands is barely a fair contest, with this little addition it certainly is not.

The old adage of rugby being akin to chess, not draughts, holds true. The latter is an easy game, whereas chess has certain jobs for certain pieces. For example, a knight cannot move along a bishop’s diagonal squares, even if it would be mightily convenient to do so. Same with lineout players, they remain just that, until the lineout is over.

In Ireland v England, Ireland copped a few lineout penalties when the lifters moved into a position between their catcher and the opposition which was a definite obstruction. This at present is blipping high on the referees’ radar, and it was distinctly unlike Paul O’Connell not to have this set-up properly, or so I thought.

However, James Ryan explained later that Ireland’s back lifter was spun around into that position, not by his own volition, but pulled there by the opposition. That is either cheating, or everything’s fair in love and war? Whichever, I can assure you that, at ground level, it’s hard for the referee to see both the actions of the lifters, and also of the opposition. Looking down on it, via the TV feed, the television match official will have a better view — I wonder should he advise on it. A really good functioning lineout is key to Ireland’s success, and this sharp practice needs high levels of match official awareness.

The match officials will be under huge pressure in the coming weeks, it’s far from a French holiday they’ve packed their bags for

The loss of Cian Healy can’t be underestimated, scrum time definitely just got a lot harder. Referees have quite a penchant for rewarding, with a penalty, the scrum who get some forward momentum, while they may well be the ones who are responsible for what happens next. Once momentum is achieved, they can change the angle of their drive, to either upwards, forcing the opposition to stand up; or drive across, so turning the scrum. Ireland will be well aware, and this applies particularly against South Africa, they will need the ref’s full attention.

The match officials will be under huge pressure in the coming weeks, it’s far from a French holiday they’ve packed their bags for — and World Rugby have stated how they want to see it officiated. Safety comes first, then speed of ball from the breakdown and space, which means keeping everybody onside — three mantras.

All commendable, provided the overarching principle of refereeing only the “clear and obvious” is maintained. Marginal calls are to be avoided, as are referees demonstrating just how fast they can be on the whistle.

PS: Ronan O’Gara spent a lot of last season suspended under disciplinary orders. It was not a good look for him, but despite it all he masterminded the European Cup win. On Saturday last he was absolutely blameless for an incident in the technical zone — which looked very crowded to me, the Top 14 often sees problems arising by allowing coaches into the zone.

But credit where it’s due, despite significant provocation, some of it physical, by Clermont’s Benjamin Urdapilleta, O’Gara refused to get involved. He did well. Maybe the lessons of last year have been learned.