Team moving forward?

[Flish]

Blue vs Green, Blue Scrum, ball comes out blue side and we end up in an unplayable mess about 5m further back, no team in real possession (Junior Game). So restart is scrum to the team going forward, which arguably is green.

No complaints, but got me thinking as to whether going forward is literal position on pitch or does it imply possession? Even if you step back to ‘attacking team’ which was Blue, they weren’t at the time it all went wrong. Is there a correct answer here’s?

[OB..]

Blue vs Green, Blue Scrum, ball comes out blue side and we end up in an unplayable mess about 5m further back, no team in real possession (Junior Game). So restart is scrum to the team going forward, which arguably is green.

No complaints, but got me thinking as to whether going forward is literal position on pitch or does it imply possession? Even if you step back to ‘attacking team’ which was Blue, they weren’t at the time it all went wrong. Is there a correct answer here’s?

19.1

The referee awards a scrum for any other reason not covered in law.

In the scrum zone at the point closest to the place of stoppage.

The team that was last moving forward or, if neither team was moving forward, the attacking team.

No mention of possession (even if you could decide it).

[Flish]

Yeah, that was my thinking, but I didn’t convince myself!

[Decorily]

Yeah, that was my thinking, but I didn’t convince myself!

That's irrelevant....did you convince the players?

[Flish]

Oh yeah, no complaints there, if I’m good at anything it’s sounding confident!

[Decorily]

Oh yeah, no complaints there, if I’m good at anything it’s sounding confident!

50% of the battle!

[Dickie E]

this can be tricky. Anyone ever seen an unplayable mess and, as you bring the whistle to your lips, one team gets a bit of a shove on? Not enough to move the mess, but enough to make it lurch a bit. Does this meet the definition of 'moving forward'?

[Flish]

this can be tricky. Anyone ever seen an unplayable mess and, as you bring the whistle to your lips, one team gets a bit of a shove on? Not enough to move the mess, but enough to make it lurch a bit. Does this meet the definition of 'moving forward'?

I tend to ignore the mess itself, and consider movement before the mess, maybe your messes have moved more than mine! Of course none of this is helped as most players / supporters think it goes to 'in possession' which is not always the same

[Lee Lifeson-Peart]

Unfortunately the attacking team equates with possession in most players' minds - in my experience.

I've awarded a few scrums/lineouts to the attacking team where it wasn't clear who was moving forward/put the ball out and the players are clearly baffled.

I seem to remember a bit of Law clarification on the lineout a few years ago talked about the "attacking team" rather than the team in possession and that's the Law Makers coming up with that.

It's one of those things where actually knowing what the definition means makes you come across like a jobsworth.

[mcroker]

It's one of those things where actually knowing what the definition means makes you come across like a jobsworth.

Well the way the definition is phrased doesn't help... and you've now made me look it up - so I can also appear a jobsworth next time the situation demands.

Attacking team: The opposition to the team in whose half play is taking place.