The global trend of referees ignoring players not supporting weight

Worldwide referees are failing to police the breakdown properly, creating a free for all that is regularly going to the benefit of defending teams allowing them to spoil possession, and also bringing in some other unwanted consequences.

The key issue is law 15.6 (a) being either inconsistently enforced or simply just ignored, as players regularly get away with not supporting their weight at rucks when they contest for the ball.

The common misconception by some is that the 'on feet' law means merely keeping boots on the ground. As long as a player has his boots on the ground, commentators will laud a turnover as 'super technique', even if it's actually illegal.

In actual fact though, the law is that you need to be on your feet with 'no other part of the body supported by the ground or players on the ground'.

The lacklustre enforcement of this law is pervasive and been completely disastrous for quick ball and attacking rugby through phase play.

Numerous players have taken advantage, with perhaps the most well known being Ireland's Peter O'Mahony, who's stock has risen sharply in the past 18 months following the 2014 Six Nations where he was the leading turnover winner.

Only thing is that the vast majority of his 'jackals' were also so glaringly obviously illegal. For instance, these are a couple of the penalties O'Mahony won from what was his signature man of the match performance against Wales, hailed as 'a masterclass in the art of dominating the breakdown'.

In the first example, O'Mahony plants his hands way beyond the ball, basically doing a 'downward dog' yoga pose, and clearly not supporting his weight. Just look at his feet on his tiptoes.

I challenge anyone to go on tiptoes, lean forward with legs at that angle, and then manage to stop themselves toppling over without using any hands to support weight. It's impossible for everyone bar maybe some freakish contortionist.

In the second GIF, O'Mahony reverts from the 'downward dog' yoga pose, to more of a 'dolphin plank' yoga pose, and an example as to why he has earned himself a reputation amongst some as the 'forearm jackal'. Again blatantly not supporting weight. In this particular instance both elbows are lying flat on the floor.

It also should be noted that isn't just breaking law 15.6 (a), but also technically against the ever so rarely enforced law 16.2 (a). A law that was put in for purposes of player safety, which states all players taking part in a ruck 'must have their heads and shoulders no lower than their hips'.

This is happening globally. With the numerous signs of a player not supporting weight, including going beyond the ball with hands, forearms, elbows on the floor, chest, quadriceps or knees on a player in a ruck, plus heel raised and on tiptoes all being ignored.

Referee Wayne Barnes (who was ironically also the official who let O'Mahony get away his yoga poses) actually gave a demo on the hands beyond the ball turnover.

Not only has the failure to enforce the laws properly been utterly toxic for attacking rugby, it's reduced the skill and talent in jackling, and also brought more unwelcome things into the game as sides try and counter it.

As most should be able to work out, clearing out a player not supporting their weight and clamped into a ruck is substantially harder than one supporting their weight. 

For example, see this holding on penalty during the recent French Barbarians vs Argentina match. Nicolás Sánchez won a penalty clamping into a ruck (if you look closely you will see also he's also a mile ahead of the ball too). 

It simply fails logic that a 5'10", 83kg fly half, is hardly moved an inch by a succession of a prop, a lock, then another prop all attempting to clear him out.

There wasn't a front on view of this, but given we can still see that (i) player's quadriceps leaning on tackled player, (ii) head tucked down near floor, (iii) feet on tiptoes, (iv) barely moved after contact with men over 30kgs heavier and (v) clearly gone ahead of the ball. It all strongly suggests this was an illegal jackal on a POM-level.

Or alternatively see this one. Where the Dragons Nic Cudd, going backwards, does the downward dog hands on floor clearly beyond the ball not supporting his weight. And he can withstand several players, all with forward momentum trying to clear him out, to win a turnover and 3 points. 

Teams have worked out this area of the game isn't being policed properly. As two time Super Rugby winning Chiefs coach Dave Rennie references here.

"Look, be honest, I encourage our boys to use to use our knees. The reason is refs don't look at your knees and it gives you balance. I'm not really supporting my weight but it looks like I am".

And in response to the illegal jackal sometimes being so difficult to clear out quickly and legally they have had to find ways to counter it.

These include committing multiple players fast to the breakdown. However that also comes with the obvious downside of the attacking side losing numbers as they engage into a ruck. For example, now it's not just high class opensides or centres who jackal, props and locks have become valuable jacklers at the breakdown too even if they don't get the ball.

They can get away without supporting weight, often slow down ball, or at worst result draw in players needed to clear them out.

In this example, the tackler plants his forearms way beyond the ball, then goes for the ball, and although doesn't quite manage to win the turnover, by the end has single handedly taken out three players to one on the floor at the ruck and slowed the ball down.

Notably this also includes players charging in to a ruck to try and quickly blast a player away before they can clamp in. And also the so called 'crocodile roll' (or 'body roll' as defined by WR).

The 'crocodile' or 'body roll', as Sam Warburton explains in this video, is a technique often used when the defending team's player has got so low, the player clearing out knows they will just slide off them rucking orthodoxly, so try and twist them out instead.

Legendary openside, George Smith, also references this method in this video.

However what was also demonstrated by the later clips in that video, is how in the pace of the game the 'body roll' often slips into a 'neck roll'. Which is illegal, as WR noted it during their recent 'law application guideline' that 'cleanouts around the neck must be penalised'.

Worcester actually released footage earlier this year of a training session. That involved a player kneeling on a tackle bag, replicating the cheat Rennie referenced, and then a player coming in and clearing him out with 'neck roll'.

This has been a common way of guarding and combating the scourge of players not supporting their weight. In fact Irish analyst Murray Kinsella, actually wrote a piece last week pointing out how the Hurricanes tried to negate the Brumbies breakdown threat illustrating exactly that.

The GIFS below show, James Broadhurst charging into a ruck straight off his feet, and Ben Franks clearing out with a neck roll. Both are actually penalties ignored by Glen Jackson, but it all connects to the initial failure to police players not supporting weight.

Both are technically illegal plays (referees have tended to be loose on them as well), but could also be potentially dangerous. Especially with the mixture of players heads so low in some of these POM-style downward dog yoga pose jackals, combined with heavy players charging into rucks.

The method Broadhurst uses was termed by Grenoble coach Bernard Jackman as 'the missile' clearout.

Again that players are coached to fly in straight off their feet against the laws tells you something about how referees are loose on numerous ruck offences, with the exception of holding on. Law 16.3 (a): 'Players must endeavour to stay on their feet'. Law 16.4 (b): 'Players must not intentionally fall or kneel in a ruck'.

A similar thing also happened in the Scotland vs Wales match in this year's Six Nations. When Stuart Hogg planted his hands on the floor ahead of the ball, and players knowing he's unlikely to be penalised for an illegal jackal, so charge in to try and shift him away. Illegal play, stemming from illegal play. On that occasion neither was penalised.

It was also notably the method of twisting a player out a ruck, that caused the horrific injury to Jean de Villiers last November. An incident you've probably seen so no need repeating, and caused anger from some

In a game that had featured several jackals and turnovers, De Villiers going for another one, and had got so low again, that the player twisted him out and his knee got stuck and severely damaged. Whilst it must be stressed, there was nothing illegal in that play by the player clearing out, it stems from the player getting in such a low position, as can be seen here before the clear out.

The 'croc/body roll' is not illegal. But on occasions it has gone wrong, and resulted in some nasty injuries. James Horwill notably missed the entire 2012 international season through another incident. But the need for the 'body roll' could be lessened to a degree, if referees enforced the laws properly, stopped players getting their heads so low, and not supporting weight.

Much like the way referees have ignored the 'feed' at the scrum, which was cited by scrum experts as vital to the way a safe scrum works, for the way it connects onto other elements of the scrum.

This breakdown law is also being ignored, as referees petrified of being called 'pedantic' led by the Nigel Owens idea that actually applying the law book would lead to just endless whistle, and claim it must be only applied selectively. When that's not true, as players learn after a couple of offences and then back off.