Marking a lineout does the thrower count.

[Ciaran Trainor]

Had a few QTI on Saturday but one got me thinking.
Had the usual one man chasing the kick a few times, I'm marking it sir shouts, no your not you need two from each side, play on.
One time had one chasing red calling its marked sir, I was on 5M line and there were at least 2 blues at line of touch ball was thrown in and I call play on.
Red hooker says I was there so there was 2 of us so that shouldn't be allowed.
Now this got me thinking as he was clearly a participating player, should I have called line is formed?

 

[Ian_Cook]

Had a few QTI on Saturday but one got me thinking.
Had the usual one man chasing the kick a few times, I'm marking it sir shouts, no your not you need two from each side, play on.
One time had one chasing red calling its marked sir, I was on 5M line and there were at least 2 blues at line of touch ball was thrown in and I call play on.
Red hooker says I was there so there was 2 of us so that shouldn't be allowed.
Now this got me thinking as he was clearly a participating player, should I have called line is formed?

First thing I would ask is what do you define as being "at the LoT"?

IMO, they first have to be there for the purpose of forming a line-out - Law 19.8(d) every player who approaches the line of touch is presumed to do so to form a lineout. - Two fullbacks, a fly half and a centre at the LoT are not there to form a line-out (although we do see an increasing number of teams using backs in the line-out so maybe that doesn't necessarily hold). If we use the Law definition "near" as a guideline, then players are at the LoT when they are within 1m either side of it.

Second thing keep in mind is that while the LoT runs from the touchline to touchline, the line-out can only be formed between the 5m line and the 15m line. Any player outside the touchline cannot be at the LoT, and it seems reasonable to me that any player further than 15m from the touchline cannot be there form a lineout at that point, so I would not count them either. (to those who disagree with this, do you think that two outside backs on the LoT 70m away on the opposite side of the field are there for the purpose of forming a line-out and should be counted when deciding if a QTi is allowed or not?)

 

[Pegleg]

Agreed.

 

[SimonSmith]

IMO, they first have to be there for the purpose of forming a line-out - Law 19.8(d) every player who approaches the line of touch is presumed to do so to form a lineout. - Two fullbacks, a fly half and a centre at the LoT are not there to form a line-out (although we do see an increasing number of teams using backs in the line-out so maybe that doesn't necessarily hold). If we use the Law definition "near" as a guideline, then players are at the LoT when they are within 1m either side of it.

Y'know, I've always known that law but never really thought about it that way.

 

[Camquin]

If he is actually marking the throw - that is standing just more than 5m in field tracking the ball carrier, then the throwing side probably will not risk the quick throw.
If he stands on the LOT like a lemon - well he is being a lemon.

 

[Ciaran Trainor]

Just to clarify the ball was thrown in 5m back from the LoT by blue winger who had recovered the kick. I had noticed the red hooker more or less I n a standard non throwing position but decided he was not part of the line out.