June 2009 News
People News
Bob Webb – recovering at home after having his appendix removed
Jon Butcher – nominated by TDRRS to membership on the ORRS Promising List
Stephen Gasparak – nominated by TDRRS to membership on the ORRS Promising List
Nathan Robb – selected to the newly formed Rugby Ontario Development Squad
Karen Lozada - appointed to two women's Nation Cup test matches at Appleby College (Oakville) in August.
Karen Lozada - also attending the National Women's League Finals in Edmonton in July
Rod McCormick - taking over TDSB (Toronto High Schools) appointments for 2010 from Daniel Gana.
Congratulations to all. Bob is feeling fine without his missing parts.
Next TDRRS Workshop
The next TDRRS referee workshop is tentatively scheduled as follows:
Date: Tuesday, 04 August 2009
Time: 7pm - 8:30pm
Activity: Managing the Tackle, Video Analysis & Law Exam feedback and discussion.
Location: TBA
Junior Rugby
For 2009 Rugby Ontario will be running Juniors in Under 20, Under 16 and Under 14 groups.The U-20 (Junior A) games have already started and are being held on Monday evenings. Congratulations are due to the following TDRRS referees who have been selected to the ORRS Junior A Panel - Jon Butcher, Steve Gasparek, Costa Nicolaides, Joel Symons and John Woolley. Remember that Rugby Ontario requires every referee who referees an age grade game at Under-16 level or younger (within the jurisdiction of Rugby Ontario) to have completed a Police Records Check.
Toronto Rugby will be running Juniors in an Under 18 group, mostly on Wednesday evenings. The Girls schedule does include Sunday night (5pm) games as well. The TDRRS Appointments Secretary Stephen Gasperek is looking for referees who are available to referee the U-18 Juniors (Girls and Boys) for the summer. Please confirm your availability Stephen at (sgasparek@rogers.com) or on his mobile (416) 648-9358.
English Referee Exchange
The ORRS are inviting three referees from the Northumberland Referee Society to come to Ontario in August. If you can help out with the billeting please contact Breanne Freeman, ORRS Secretary at (breanneff@yahoo.ca).
IRB 2009 Laws Web Site
The IRB have announced an exciting new web based product at www.irblaws.com. The new site is an interactive website which teaches and tests the Laws of the game. Features include:
- All compliant with 2009 Laws as approved by IRB Council on the 13th May.
- Hundreds of video clips to illustrate the laws
- Animations to support learning
- Videos to illustrate all Referee and Assistant Referee signals
- Self-test capability
IRB Law Ruling No 4
The IRB have issued an important ruling, which is effective immediately in Ontario, regarding handling the ball in the ruck, namely:
“Providing a player from either side on their feet after a tackle comply with all aspects of Law 15 and have the ball in their hands prior to contact with an opposition player on his feet those players may continue with possession of the ball even if a player from the opposition makes contact with those players in possession of the ball. Any other players joining the two players contesting the ball must not handle the ball in accordance with Law 16.4 (b). If the ball is not in possession of any player after a tackle and a ruck is formed players may not use their hands in accordance with Law 16.4 (b)”. The full narrative of Law Ruling No 4 dated 11May2009 can be found on the IRB web site at http://www.irb.com/mm/document/lawsregs/0/090608sgirbrulings2009_8205.pdf
IRB Notice on Dangerous Tackles
In a recent incident in Super 14 Rugby in South Africa, a tackler lifted the ball carrier from the ground and subsequently let the ball carrier fall to ground. Two top International referees - one the referee and one the touch judge - decided the offence deserved a yellow card. The Judicial Officer decided that this was insufficient. Based on video evidence, he decided that the tackler should have been sent off and suspended him for three weeks. The IRB agreed and has issued guidelines for scenarios when a tackler horizontally lifts a player off the ground:
- The player is lifted and then forced or “speared” into the ground. A red card should be issued for this type of tackle.
- The lifted player is dropped to the ground from a height with no regard to the player’s safety. A red card should be issued for this type of tackle.
- For all other types of dangerous lifting tackles, it may be considered a penalty or yellow card is sufficient.
|