Why ping-pong?

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by bellnier

I'll ask my referee friends if they know. The current law allowing tacklers to pick up the ball even whilst they are on the wrong side certainly leads to ping-pong kicking, for obvious reasons, in open play.

That's the current law? Then that's no more than the repeal of the provision that came in about a decade ago, requiring a player to come from onside to be first to play the ball after a tackle, and requiring that it be done from directly on that side. Under that rule, if you were tackled and placed the ball behind you, an opponent had to step directly over you to get to the ball legally. And if you were the fullback with no help behind you, your teammates also had to step over you to be first to play the ball!

[bellnier]

15.4.c allows tackler to pick up ball from either side. As such, ball carrier may elect to kick away versus being tackled and ball being turned over. It has been suggested that that is the reason for the increase in ping-pong kicking. Of course, better support would mitigate this.

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by bellnier

15.4.c allows tackler to pick up ball from either side.

But I see 15.6 still has those "from directly behind" provisions applicable to everyone else. So you're saying all they did was liberalize that one little bit -- when it had been the case until just a few years ago that any player on his feet could play the ball from any direction after a tackle, if no offside line had formed for some reason -- and now people are complaining the ball's being kicked away too often? Why don't they go watch RL, American, or Canadian football? Are their complaints exaggerated, or is it really ping-pong because of some more important factor?

[bellnier]

Here's a site I just now found addressing the ping-pong issue:

contraversial tackle law - The Rugby Referees' Forum

Note that it starts with a quote similar to what I and others have suggested:

Quote:
The IRB council meets in Dublin, where the Rugby Football Union, among others, will raise the issue of clarifying the tackle law which was passed at the council meeting in July. This states that the tackler is allowed to play the ball from any direction if he is on his feet, increasing the risk of the attacking team losing possession in dangerous areas.