ADVERTISEMENT
RugbyDump
REGISTER
LOGIN
ADVERTISEMENT
RugbyDump
Friday Jan 29, 2021

Referee Wayne Barnes uses Ninja Turtles to clarify heavily-debated law

The Laws of rugby have been under close scrutiny this past week after a collision between Cardiff Blues prop Dmitri Arhip and Scarlets No8 Sione Kalamafoni last Friday in the Guinness PRO14. 

ADVERTISEMENT

The incident saw Kalamafoni immediately collapse to the floor when the elbow of Arhip’s non ball carrying arm connected with his jaw. The Moldovan went unpunished in the match, and has since not been cited. 

Referee Wayne Barnes has provided a video in his Throw The Book series to help clarify the Law and explain what a ball carrier can, or cannot, do when bracing for contact. The Law is illustrated with the help of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle toys, with Michelangelo playing the role of the ball carrier and Raphael the tackler. 

“We often see a ball carrier when they’re about to be tackled, lower their height and brace themselves for contact,” he said.  

“Here we see Michelangelo bracing, ready for Raphael to tackle him using either his arm, his bicep, or even his shoulder to make sure that tackle is more difficult. That’s perfectly legal. 

“What Michaelangel can’t do is lift his arm just before the contact and smack Raphael in the head. That’s illegal, that’s foul play and that will probably mean a card to the Turtle here [the tackler]. 

“So feel free to drop your height, keep your arm next to your body, but don’t raise it at the last moment. And that’s why you’ll hear referees talking to their TMOs and saying ‘at the point of contact, where was the arm? Against the body or away from the body?’

ADVERTISEMENT

“What is fine though, is after that initial contact, with the arm against the body is to push the player away. So what we’re looking for, arm against the body on contact and then arm pushing away after contact. All of that is perfectly legal.”

The Moldovan’s carry has been a keenly discussed issue online this past week. Some see it as an undeniable red card, some see it as perfectly legal. 

The reason this has received such vastly different judgements is because there is no agreement as to whether Arhip’s non ball carrying arm was tucked into his body or whether he led with it. That subtle difference has caused people to sit on either side of the fence. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Barnes’ colleague Nigel Owens gave his perspective, but he was coy about providing his verdict. He instead refuted the claims that Kalamafoni’s tackle technique was a mitigating factor in this situation. Though the Tongan sought to make contact with Arhip’s upper body, the tackle was still likely to be legal. 

“All I’ll say is that you cannot take the tackler technique as part of the decision process. You have to judge has there been foul play by ball carrier, ie has he lead with the forearm? Whether you think the tackle is bad technique or not is irrelevant.”

A similar incident that caused a huge stir in 2014 was when Canadian Jebb Sinclair was red carded for leading with the elbow.

You can watch it below and read more about it here.

Related Articles

  • 34 WEEKS AGO

    New Zealand Rugby Brawl

  • 34 WEEKS AGO

    Must see all in brawl

  • 35 WEEKS AGO

    Shocking head shot in Ireland game sparks...



ADVERTISEMENT

Great Tries

  • 1 DAY AGO

    Heart Breaking Six Nations Ending For Italy As Scotland Score Long Range Try

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Montpellier Number Eight Zach Mercer Outlandish Attacking Skill

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Damian Penaud Pulls Off a "van der Merwe" in Outrageous French Try

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Ireland Winger James Lowe With World Class Finish In Titanic Battle With France

  • 6 WEEKS AGO

    Sonny-Bill Williams Gives Irish U20 Star A Shoutout For Classy Offload

View All

Big Hits & Dirty Play

  • 1 DAY AGO

    England and Ireland fans express disappointment in grand slam refereeing decisions

  • 2 DAYS AGO

    England Fullback Shown Red For Collision With Opposite Number

  • 4 DAYS AGO

    Springbok Flyhalf Back With A Bang In Huge Development For World Champions

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    Shocking Scenes As Rugby Players Attacked Following Rivalry Clash In South Africa

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    A Look Back At Rugby’s Greatest Ever Film

View All

See It To Believe It

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Ardie Savea Moment Of Magic In Super Rugby Aotearoa

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    'Armchair athletes' berate Arundell's seriously impressive bench press

  • 6 WEEKS AGO

    Worcester Warriors - The End

  • 7 WEEKS AGO

    Sevens magic as 'headed' try brings stadium to its feet

  • 8 WEEKS AGO

    Almost 35,000 have now signed petition to reverse new grassroots tackle laws

View All

Funnies

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    Jonathan Sexton Fantastic Comeback Caught On Ref Mic

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Hilarious Footage Of English Players Post Leg Day Workout

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Mack Hansen leaves viewers in stitches with hilarious post-match interview mistake

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    A Look Back At Rugby’s Greatest Ever Film

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    "Talk Is Cheap" - Jamie Ritchie Responds To Dan Biggar's Pre-Match Comments

View All

Amateur

  • 10 WEEKS AGO

    You Won’t See Many Better Than This Silky-Smooth Try From Llandovery RFC

  • 10 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Scenes As Caldy RFC Hand Ealing First Championship Defeat Of The Season

  • 33 WEEKS AGO

    Dubious Score Decides Result Of Rugby's Biggest Schools Fixture

  • 33 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Scenes At School Boys Rugby Match

  • 33 WEEKS AGO

    The Next Dominant Backrow?

View All

Player Features

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    Youth and experience combine in an effort to repeat Six Nations upset

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Wales international releases emotional statement after being offered contract that isn’t enough to feed family

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Ardie Savea causes outrage with ‘throat slitting’ gesture

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Smith, Marchant and Murley released from England camp to take part in 'Big Game 14'

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Mack Hansen leaves viewers in stitches with hilarious post-match interview mistake

View All