Forward pass fiasco pushes game closer to rugby league abyss
NOT A LOT CAN BE DONE TO STOP THE BLURRING OF THE CODES
ISAAC NEWTON was a revolutionary thinker, a brilliant and brave scientist who made it his mission to challenge accepted scientific beliefs in the 17th century. His extraordinary discoveries in the areas of mathematics, optics, mechanics and gravitation mean his legacy can never be questioned – except in rugby, where Newton has a great deal to answer for.
Last weekend, Ireland saw off Scotland in an error-strewn match that had one outstanding highlight – Joey Carbery breaking through two would-be Scottish tacklers, streaking deep into opposition territory and flinging out a 15-metre pass to send Keith Earls over in the corner.
It was a stunning piece of individual brilliance by the young outhalf that had only one problem – the try should never have stood.
Watch the replays and Carbery’s pass travels at least three and a half metres forward – that’s the length of Devin Toner with Eddie O’Sullivan squatting on his shoulders – and yet it was not checked by officials, nor properly examined in post-match analysis when adulation was the order of the day.
Rugby’s laws are very clear – a forward pass occurs ‘when a player throws or passes the ball forward – ie towards the opposition’s dead ball line’, so why was Carbery’s deemed acceptable? Step forward, Isaac.
Newton’s ‘laws of motion’ state that ‘an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force’.
Thus, a pass can be directed backward but travel forwards due to the carrier’s velocity and referees are instructed to acknowledge this Newtonism and allow it – as long as the releasing hands are aimed backwards.
It is the definition of a grey area. There is no clear evidence Carbery’s hands were aimed backwards and the distance the ball travelled ahead strongly suggests forward propulsion.
And, even allowing for a degree of Newton-led latitude, three and a half surely pushes the boundaries too far.
Put it this way, if you threw invisible cloaks on all the players in that clip and just watch the flight of the ball, the pass looks ridiculously forward – Tom Brady stuff.
Yet, there are scores of these going unpoliced in the modern game (Henry Slade got away with his own Dan Marino impression the week before) as the desperate pursuit of entertainment washes away core principles.
It has become the norm and, with such obvious leniency in this area, players and coaches, constantly seeking an edge, are adjusting accordingly.
The old ‘hold your depth’ mantra that once existed from underage rugby up to senior appears to have been abandoned and it cost Scotland a try in the first half when Blair Kinghorn had to check for Huw Jones’ delivery when, if he had held his depth, he had a clear run to the line. ‘Flat’ passing is the modern way, players running adjacent support lines to increase their prospects of ground gain knowing that, even if the delivery is dubious, they are likely to get away with it. This flat-passing culture is well established in rugby league at a time when, bar lineouts and mauls, it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish the two codes.
The almost uniform move towards rush defence in union mirrors long-established league practices where flat-passing, and behind the back passing using shielding runners, are seen as the most effective ways of breaking onrushing lines.
With defences now so oppressive, it is no surprise attacking play in this Six Nations has been dominated by use of the kick through to exploit space behind – another league favourite – while union’s move away from its set-piece roots to a ruck-based existence has been further exaggerated.
There were 241 rucks in the Scotland-Ireland game and 220 in the Ireland-England clash – that’s 461 breakdowns where possession was only lost eight times as officials largely ignore another law which says players are not allowed to go off their feet at the ruck.
Their brief is to keep possession flowing and, as a result, less defenders are committing to the ruck, with the breakdown in union veering dangerously close to its league equivalent of the player being allowed put the ball back between his legs.
And so you end up with ‘you have a go, then we’ll have a go’ rugby, complete with relentless blitz defence, kick throughs and flat/forward passing.
In other words, rugby league … with two extra players (and there are growing calls to reduce union from 15 players to 13 to free up more space).
It is no coincidence Ireland have appointed a rugby league man, Andy Farrell, to succeed Joe Schmidt as their leader after the World Cup despite the fact no convert has succeeded to date as a head coach in union and if this blurring of the codes is the way the majority want to go, not a lot can be done to stop it.
However, there is a reason league has never come close to union in terms of global appeal and only flourishes in Australia and a few industrial enclaves in northern England.
The 15-man game has always been distinguished by its greater nuance and diversity and abandoning those qualities represents backward thinking.
The current forward pass indulgence is a symptom of a greater ill and, just as when that apple famously fell on Newton’s head, the gravity of this descent cannot be overlooked.