Can you lift the legs when clearing out the ruck and?

Simon JonesCoach, England

Andy

If you go to the IRB Laws website: irblaws.com and look at the section on rucking you will find all the info you need plus film to help you:

16.3 RUCKING

(a) Players in a ruck must endeavour to stay on their feet. Penalty: Penalty Kick

(b) A player must not intentionally fall or kneel in a ruck. This is dangerous play. Penalty: Penalty Kick

(c) A player must not intentionally collapse a ruck. This is dangerous play. Penalty: Penalty Kick

(d) A player must not jump on top of a ruck. Penalty: Penalty Kick

(e) Players must have their heads and shoulders no lower than their hips. Penalty: Free Kick

(f) A player rucking for the ball must not intentionally ruck players on the ground. A player rucking for the ball tries to step over players on the ground and must not intentionally step on them. A player rucking must do so near the ball. Penalty: Penalty Kick for dangerous play

I hope this helps.

Simon

Rugby CoachCoach

Andy, you have now entered the murky world of what the law says v what happens in practice Destabilising a player by lifting 'a leg' is likely to be seen as a dangerous action, the reality is that you often see it 'unpenalised' especially at the higher end of the game, because the 'materialness' of the offence doesn't warrant much action. As with most refereeing decisions it's a question of judgement and interpretation as to whether sanction is required. The current trend is to coach 'wrap & roll'or 'hook & drive', but when you examine the laws forensically then you'll see that even these can be interpreted as offences.......... i love this sport sometimes !