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Originally Posted by JugglingReferee
CANADIAN PESPECTIVE:
This is a true statement!
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Interesting you should say that, because for a long time, about a century after the principle had been adopted in American football of fouls not killing the play, the Canadian am & pro rules books still had an obscure provision (tucked away in the section on officials' responsibilities) that allowed the referee to kill a ball in play if no benefit could accrue to the non-offending side by continuing, as is the case in rugby. Unfortunately the rule as written literally would give an immense advantage to the defence (as they spell it) on fouls by the offence, so it was ignored. FAIK it may still be in one or another of the contemporary Canadian rule books.
What that rule
would be good for is situations where the team in possession of the ball, were they to realize the situation, would be best advised to kill it themselves, because a penalty is sure to be accepted or offset.
Interesting that an illegal kick kills the play in NCAA, but not an illegal forward pass. Seems the same principles would apply to both.
Robert