Let’s look at two incidents from the match between England and France.

a. A line-out in the England 22 becomes a driven maul. The ball goes back to Charlie Hodgson who kicks a long way downfield. Jimmy Marlu of France catches the ball just inside his half and decides to run. At about the England 10-metre line there is Jérôme Thion standing. Next to him is Joe Worsley. Marlu takes evasive action and runs behind Thion. Worsley bumps into Thion in a vain attempt to get to Marlu.

b. England are under pressure at a scrum, but they drive the ball up. Graham Rowntree picks and drives further. When he is tackled Phil Vickery and Steve Thompson are in a position to ruck. The ball comes back behind them. Danny Grewcock picks up and drives forward low. Sébastien Bruno of France dives forward to tackle Grewcock and tackles Thompson instead.

Both instances were penalised.

Let’s look to the law:

10.1 OBSTRUCTION

(c) Blocking the tackler. A player must not intentionally move or stand in a position that prevents an opponent from tackling a ball-carrier.Penalty: Penalty Kick

There used to be a cause in Law 10.1 which said: (g) A player carrying the ball cannot be penalised for obstruction under any circumstances.

That clause has been dumped.

The players penalised in these incidents were Thion and Thompson.

It is harsh law indeed. By no stretch of the imagination did either of those players obstruct - Worsley or Bruno - intentionally. They were quite entitled to stand where they were standing - till the ball-carrier arrived. Neither player had anything to do with the ball-carrier’s movements or intentions. Neither player could evaporate. Neither of them went to stand where they did in order to prevent Worsley or Bruno from getting to Marlu or Grewcock.

If Marlu or Grewcock had bumped into Thion or Thompson, the decision would have been a scrum for accidental off-side, but that law requires contact:

Law 11.6 ACCIDENTAL OFF-SIDE

(a) When an off-side player cannot avoid being touched by the ball or by a team-mate carrying it, the player is accidentally off-side. If the player’s team gains no advantage from this, play continues. If the player’s team gains an advantage, a scrum is formed with the opposing team throwing in the ball.

Cannot the accidental off-side law not be extended to the Thion/Thompson case? It hardly seems right that what Thompson did should be worth three points!

3. Up early at a scrum