Player Misconduct

What is Misconduct?

• Misconduct occurs when any player does not adhere to the laws of the game either

- intentionally

- carelessly

- recklessly

• A player is not in breach of conduct if he makes the best effort to stay out of play

Occurrences

• Trips, kicks & punching

• Head contact• Dropping the knees• Obstruction • Dangerous throw

• Delay restart• Re-enter field illegally• Offensive or obscene

language• Professional foul• Not in the spirit of the

game

Trips, Kicks & Punching

• Players are not allowed to use their feet or legs to trip an opponent– It is not deemed a trip if a player is thrown

over the tacklers legs, providing the tackler has a hand in contact with the player being tackled

• Players are never allowed to kick or strike any other player

Head Contact

‘Usually occurs in defence’• Players are not allowed to come into

contact with an opponents head. Depending on the intention, recklessness and carelessness will depend upon the severity of the referee’s actions– An intentional high tackle of an opponent

warrants a red card. The consequences of a red card is not the problem of the referee but that of the tackler

Dropping the Knees

‘Usually occurs in defence’

• No player shall drop his knees first into the body of a player who is on the ground

Obstruction

‘Usually occurs in attack’

• Players are not allowed to restrict an opponent from tackling/supporting the player with the ball

Dangerous Throw

‘Usually occurs in defence’

• No player is allowed to throw an opponent in a dangerous manner. This includes throws that will subject the thrown players head to come in contact with the ground first.

Deliberate, Continuous Breach Of The Laws

• If a player or team is continually breaking the laws, the referee should call timeout at the penalty and speak to the captain.

‘The referee should make it clear to the captain that he is aware of the continual breaches, and it

is up to the captain to prevent this happening again before other measures are taken by the

referee to prevent reoccurrences’

Foul & Abusive Language

• No player is allowed to use obscene, abusive or offensive language.

• No player shall dispute the decision of any match official in an aggressive manner.

• The captain is allowed to approach the referee to ask about a decision, but must do so in a respectful manner.

Re-Entering the Field of Play

• A player may only re-enter the field with the permission of the Touch Judge, Referee, Interchange or 4th Official .

• A substitute may not be made once a referee has signalled for a scrum until the scrum is completed.

• A player sent to the blood bin may not re-enter the field until the blood has been cleaned and bleeding has stopped. If the player has been replaced, this counts as a substitution.

Delay Restart

• A player is in breach if they are deliberately delaying a restart in play.

• Instead of issuing a penalty, the referee should call ‘time off’ and ask that the player quickly restarts play.

Spirit of the Game

• No player shall act in an unsporting manner

• This includes instances such as throwing or kicking the ball away, spitting and swearing.

QUIZ1. What should the referee do if the captain

disputes the decision of the Touch Judge aggressively?

a) Tell the Touch Judge to take care with decisions

b) Penalise the playerc) Play ond) Speak to the coach

QUIZ2. The tackler’s arm bounces off the players

chest and comes into contact with the player above the shoulder. The tackled player knocks-on and the defender dives on the ball

a) Penalise the tackler

b) Play on

c) Warn the captain

d) Award a scrum

QUIZ

3. Two players from ‘Rovers’ turn a player over the horizontal, then released the tackled player to prevent him/her from being turned any more. The tackled player then passes back to a team-mate who then knocks-on

a) Play onb) Scrum Bluec) Penalty ‘Rovers’d) Play on

QUIZ

4. ‘Warriors’ player drops the ball backwards on the last tackle. A ‘Rovers’ player then dives for the ball but knocks on after the knees of a ‘Warriors’ player who’s also attempting to gather the ball, hit him in the side. ‘Warriors’ re-gathers

a) Play onb) Penalty ‘Rovers’ c) Scrum ‘Rovers’ d) Play the ball ‘Warriors’