World Rugby have moved to clarify the law around the Springboks’ deliberate short kick-off at the opening of the second Test against Italy, a move touted as head coach Rassie Erasmus’ latest attempt at innovation.
Many presumed that the kick-off, which was short and went straight to an offside Andre Esterhuizen, was an attempt to manufacture an immediate set-piece for the home side. The tactic backfired when Thomas du Toit gave away a free-kick for an early push at the subsequent scrum.
Erasmus later admitted it was an attempt to start the game with a scrum.
Italy head coach Gonzalo Quesada was not a fan of the tactic: “I was really surprised, and I didn’t take it very well. I think they can beat us without resorting to these kinds of tactics.”
A request was made to World Rugby for clarification of the incident under Law 9.7(a), which states: “A player must not intentionally infringe any law of the game.”
World Rugby have now said that it should in fact have been a penalty to Italy for a deliberate failure on the part of the Springboks.
The governing body said: “The actions seen in this example show an intentional violation of the kick-off and restart laws.
“Laws 12.5 and 12.6 set out the sanctions where the ball unintentionally fails to go 10m or a player overruns their teammate at the kick-off/restart. However, if match officials believe this is done deliberately, then Law 9.7(a) should be applied.”
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