Offside at the kick off

[wasps]

I know we all love complaining about offsides not being given when we're at a game.... And then we watch it back and the defender wasn't actually 3 yards offside, instead at best, their big toe nail might just have been in front of the back foot.

It's hard for the officials to get offsides right. I get that, I really do. The referee has too much to do and is too close to see offsides. The assistant is looking along the line so is in a good position, but he's also having to judge when the scrum half lifts the ball then look back at the line. If it's the far side winger being 6 inches offside, he's not gonna call it, so he has a judgement to make. He's probably also looking at other offences in the ruck and keeping his eye open for foul play.
It's a damn hard job


However, looking for offside at the kick off isn't. It's pretty easy really. There's nothing going on. An assistant stands on the half way line looking across and if someone is in front of the ball when it's kicked they're offside

Against Toulouse, Elliott was at least a yard offside on every single kickoff, and on one occasion, at least 3 yards offside.
I'm obviously not complaining cos he plays for us.
But when you've got someone with his speed constantly a yard offside and already running at pace, he's gonna close down the ball catcher very quickly.
It's not just Daly, you see it happen all the time.


Given how easy it is to police, why do teams get away with it so often?
Some things in the game I can understand being ignored whether I agree with them or not, but even if it was just a quiet word with the player offside to say it's been spotted and to adjust the timing off their run would be sufficient

[Vespula Vulgaris]

Yeah, I've seen this a lot and it never gets picked up on.  I guess it's just one of those things that noone really cares about, like stepping sideways before throwing into a lineout, or putting in straight at a scrum.

[BG]

Don't get me started as to when a ball is out from the base of a ruck.. the rear players at the ruck not bound

[NellyWellyWaspy]

Lacey asked if the TJ on the East wing if Daly was offside on the first Wasps KO. He didn't answer. He didn't ask again. I don't think the TJ was looking. At least a metre, maybe two. Every KO/restart.

[jamestaylor002]

Can someone clarify the laws around the hooker throwing the ball into a lineout? I always thought you had to throw in with your feet on the outside of the touchline. Something seems amiss when I see the ball being thrown in with the hooker's feet being planted on the line with the hooker's toes inside the field of play?

[BG]

The line is deemed to be in touch so I'm guessing its ok as long as the boots are on it, not completely over it. My bugbear is when the hooker steps to one side just before they throw in (Hartley was the first person I remember doing this).. so the throw looks straight but it goes down their line of players and not down the middle. The lineout and scrum are a reset to start the game again but there should be a fair competition for the ball. Despite the governing bodies best efforts 9's still feed into their own side of the scrum

[Vespula Vulgaris]

The line is deemed to be in touch so I'm guessing its ok as long as the boots are on it, not completely over it. My bugbear is when the hooker steps to one side just before they throw in (Hartley was the first person I remember doing this).. so the throw looks straight but it goes down their line of players and not down the middle. The lineout and scrum are a reset to start the game again but their should be a fair competition for the ball. Despite the governing bodies best efforts 9's still feed into their own side of the scrum

Couldn't agree more!

It always make me cross, even when we're the ones doing it.

[jamestaylor002]

The line is deemed to be in touch so I'm guessing its ok as long as the boots are on it, not completely over it. My bugbear is when the hooker steps to one side just before they throw in (Hartley was the first person I remember doing this).. so the throw looks straight but it goes down their line of players and not down the middle. The lineout and scrum are a reset to start the game again but their should be a fair competition for the ball. Despite the governing bodies best efforts 9's still feed into their own side of the scrum

That makes sense to me. Marginal gains maybe? Agree with your other points too.

[BG]

Some hookers in the past used to step forward with one foot (normally left) as they threw the ball (I'm guessing to give themselves more purchase).. normally that would be over the line which should be deemed illegal.

As a slight aside.. I thought Owens in the Leic match was pretty poor and his fitness is questionable now. At one point the front rows were ready to pack down but waited for him to get his breath back

He's a great character and comes out with some cracking one liners though

[Raggs]

Nigel apparently had done the varsity match on the Thursday before this one, perhaps stretching himself a bit too thin there.