South West Rugby Referee Society

Refreshing an old post to the top of the feed because it has come up a couple of times so far this season.
In summary - look at the defender action first, then the attacker action.

Teams deciding not to engage the maul at lineout:
1. If the defenders in the line out choose to not engage the line out drive by leaving the line out as a group, then PK to attacking team (offside in the lineout).
2. If the defenders in the line out choose to not engage the line out drive by simply opening up a gap and creating space, and not leaving the line out (ie not offside), the following process should be followed:
a) The attacking team would need to keep the ball with the front player if they were to drive downfield (therefore play on, general play – defenders could either engage to form a maul, or tackle the ball carrier.)
b) If the attacking team immediately passes the ball back to a player behind the front player or at the rear of the group, the referee would tell them to "Use it" which they must do immediately.
c) If the team drives forward with the ball at the back (and ignores the referee’s call to “Use it”), the referee should award a scrum to the defending team for "accidental offside" (rather than PK for obstruction).

We had a great time at the CRAA Elite 8 collegiate women's playoffs on Friday. We're looking forward to Sunday's winners playoff matches at 9 & 11am.
GCU Soccer stadium, see you there!