Enforcing the play-the-ball Law : Wed Oct 10, 2018 5:39 pm
Shall we start on Saturday as we mean to go on in 2019?1. At the play the ball, require the ball to be played backwards by the foot (as is done in the NRL). Penalise any player propelling the ball backwards with the hand.
2. The law is that, once the tackle has been completed and called “held” by the referee, the tackler has to immediately release the tackled player and move or roll away. If a defender on the same team deliberately contacts a tackler after “held” has been called (thereby slowing down the play the ball), he should be penalised.
Simple.