Re: Forward passes : Fri Apr 29, 2011 8:23 pm
BackrowSaint wrote:
Ermmm, the Watkins one against us is the only other that springs to mind for me. Out the back door which more like sneaked through the living room window.
There were three by Webb in that game but they were actually called. The Bradford-Leeds derby last Thursday night had about three tries scored involving uncalled forward passes, I think two of them were for Leeds. Jon Wilkin commented about them on Twitter because they were so obvious to everyone bar the touchie. Remembering specific examples is becoming increasingly difficult due to their being numerous forward passes in almost every match on the TV this season.
The worst one so far was undoubtedly the Watkins one against us at Headingley.
Jon Wilkin suggested using the video ref to judge them and if the decision couldn't be made by video ref then give benefit of the doubt and let the try stand. On the one hand I think that is a good idea because clearly the touch judges and referees are not up to the job, so teams are winning by obviously breaking the rules. More teams will do that if they believe they can get away with it and before we know it rugby league matches become farcical. However, the problem with relying upon the video ref for yet another decision is that, based on how often referees go to the video ref anyway, every try would end up being referred and touch judges and referees would be no better at spotting a forward pass than they were before the video ref could intercede. Also, of course, all the games without a video ref present would still be subject to the vagaries of the touch judges and referee's ability to spot a forward pass.