Continuing Education

TRRA Referees to attend South Africa Referee Academy

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The TRRA would like to congratulate Joey Swatzell and Cole Jones on being selected to attend the South Africa REFS Academy in Stellenbosch, South Africa

Both Joey Swatzell and Cole Jones will spend three months at the SARefs Academy which is one of the worlds premiere rugby referees training academies. The SARefs Academy endeavors to train young referees to attain a very high standard of refereeing, creating young, competent referees who will serve the game of rugby proudly.

This is the only institution where a referee can expect to have their pick of 26 hostel games per week, not to mention WP League and school games on weekends as well as enjoying access to the University’s Gym, Vision lab, and a curriculum developed specifically for referees.

“This is an incredibly historic moment for Texas and the entire United States. Texas becomes the first Local Referee Society to send referees to South Africa for the best training on the planet” said TRRA Chairman Butch Neuenschwander.

The TRRA would like to acknowledge both the Texas Rugby Union and Houston Youth Rugby Association for making significant contributions to the TRRA Ref Academy Fund as well as the SWC, LSC, Rugby Texas conferences and our sponsor Ruck Science . In addition to this generous support, we would also like to recognize the TRRA referees that have been donating their match fees to the TRRA Development Fund.

The TRRA Ref Academy was set up to provide young referees with the highest level of training and to ensure that our partners in the Texas Rugby community have access to quality match officials for years to come. It is through the continued support of the Texas rugby community that this effort of raising the level of rugby match officials in Texas will continue to be a success.

National Panel Referee Scott Green explains “The training and development of referees is a long and somewhat difficult process that requires a considerable amount of time and resources. With most referees already busy doing their own matches on Saturdays it becomes near impossible to provide our referees with the level of coaching needed to improve in a timely manner. Attending the SARefs Academy addresses this by allowing the TRRA to expose it’s referees to the number of matches and training that would normally take 3 years in Texas effectively cutting their development time by more than half. Its a win win for everyone in the rugby community”.

If you would like more information on how to be considered for SA Refs Academy or if you want to support the TRRA Ref Academy Fund by donating please contact the TRRA Chairman.

World Rugby announces new measures to limit contact with the head

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New measures to limit contact with the head announced

  • New law application guideline will codify zero-tolerance to contact with the head
  • Approach informed by largest-ever study identifying most common situations leading to head injuries
  • Players, coaches and match officials urged to be proactive in changing culture
  • Latest step in proactive, evidence-driven approach to injury reduction
  • Head is a no-go area

World Rugby has further strengthened its commitment to injury prevention by announcing details of a zero-tolerance approach to reckless and accidental head contact in the sport.

While injuries in the game are not on the rise, the federation continues to be proactive in furthering evidence-based strategies to reduce injury risk for all players.

In a change to law, World Rugby has redefined illegal (high) tackle categories and increased sanctions to deter high tackles via a law application guideline. This will apply at all levels of the game from 3 January 2017 introducing minimum on-field sanctions for reckless and accidental contact with the head, effectively lowering the acceptable height of the tackle.The guideline will be supported with a global education programme.

The approach, approved by the World Rugby Council after extensive expert, independent and union evaluation, combines with new disciplinary sanctions and a re-focus of match officials on dangerous play. It will provide a package of measures that aims to change culture in the sport to ensure that the head is a no-go area.

World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont said: “World Rugby continues to be proactive in aligning with the latest evidence-based recommendations in this priority player welfare area to ensure players and coaches at all levels of the game are appropriately educated, managed and protected when it comes to head impacts and injury within the environment of a contact sport.

“We believe that we are playing a leading role in terms of the development and implementation of best-practice interventions and this important study further reflects our commitment to an evidence-based approach to player welfare. We believe that the invaluable data from this study will inform the law review process and lead to changes in playing or training practices.”

Ireland prop Tadhg Furlong said: “When it comes to protecting the head and neck of players, everyone is rightly very cautious now. The culture around concussion has completely changed and it’s no longer acceptable for players to continue in a game if they’re even suspected of having a concussion. When it comes to dealing effectively with concussion in sport, rugby is at the forefront. The International Rugby Players’ Association (IRPA) supports any measure that protects our welfare and we are in favour of this initiative, which we believe will help further to reduce head and neck injuries at all levels of the game. Rugby is a physical sport and there will always be a level of injury risk associated with it but the sport is doing as much as it can to make it as safe as possible.”

World Rugby Chief Medical Officer Dr Martin Raftery added: “The findings of this important research study will also be prepared into a series of scientific articles that we aim to have published in peer-reviewed journals. We continue to welcome and facilitate all quality research for the betterment of the game in this priority area.

“World Rugby is committed to playing a leading role in the sporting head injury agenda and continues to drive forward evidence-based strategies in education, prevention, management and research that are proving successful in protecting players at all levels of the sport.”

From 3 January, 2017, two new categories of dangerous tackles will carry penalty offences to deter and eradicate high tackles:

Reckless tackle
A player is deemed to have made reckless contact during a tackle or attempted tackle or during other phases of the game if in making contact, the player knew or should have known that there was a risk of making contact with the head of an opponent, but did so anyway. This sanction applies even if the tackle starts below the line of the shoulders. This type of contact also applies to grabbing and rolling or twisting around the head/neck area even if the contact starts below the line of the shoulders.

Minimum sanction: Yellow card
Maximum sanction: Red card

Accidental tackle
When making contact with another player during a tackle or attempted tackle or during other phases of the game, if a player makes accidental contact with an opponent’s head, either directly or where the contact starts below the line of the shoulders, the player may still be sanctioned. This includes situations where the ball-carrier slips into the tackle.

Minimum sanction: Penalty

VIEW THE EXPLANATORY VIDEO HERE >>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6SKgwx7syo&utm_source=World+Rugby+Press+List&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=161205+DR+Head+Injury+Prevention

VIEW THE RELEVANT LAW APPLICATION GUIDELINE HERE >>
https://laws.worldrugby.org/guidelines?utm_source=World+Rugby+Press+List&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=161205+DR+Head+Injury+Prevention

VIEW PLAYER WELFARE EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS HERE >>
https://playerwelfare.worldrugby.org/?utm_source=World+Rugby+Press+List&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=161205+DR+Head+Injury+Prevention

Global education programme
World Rugby will support this initiative with a global awareness and education programme aimed at:

  • Reinforcing the zero-tolerance culture regarding head contact in the game at all levels using practical advice and visual educational materials
  • Educating that illegal tackles are not necessarily defined by where they start as they can slip up from a legal position to make contact with the neck/head
  • Educating that “bent at the waist” while tackling and entering into contact is the optimal position for injury prevention
  • Promoting best-possible technique to protect the head – expert advice will be obtained from elite defence coaches to identify the best tackle technique and the best impact position for the ball-carrier, including guidelines on double and treble tackling.

World Rugby is also investigating the practicality of a closed trial of a lowered tackle height at community age-grade level in 2017.

Extensive research programme
This ground-breaking programme is entirely evidence-based and these interventions have been developed by game experts following extensive research examining videos of more than 600 incidents leading to head injury assessments (HIA)* occurring across 1,516 elite-level matches globally between 2012 and 2015.

Specifically, World Rugby investigated circumstantial and law factors that may contribute to head injury events to enable the international federation’s game expert group to determine whether potential law amendments or other interventions are indicated.

The study focused on tackle injuries and considered a number of conditions associated with the tackle including: The presence of foul play; what happened at the preceding event; the nature and angle of contact; body positions at the point of impact; the tackle height; the relative velocity at the time of impact; the number of tacklers involved; the type of tackle; and other variables.

The data confirmed that 76 per cent of all head injuries occur in the tackle, that the incidence of injury for the tackler is more than two and a half times greater than the ball-carrier and that tackle height is a contributing factor.

Headline findings:

  • 611 HIA incidents were reviewed from 1,516 elite matches
  • 76 per cent of HIA incidents occur in the tackle
  • 72 per cent of HIA incidents in the tackle occur to the tackler
  • Body position, speed and direction of tackle all influence risk

A specialist multi-disciplinary injury prevention group of game experts, comprising elite coaches and individuals with playing and match officiating experience at the elite and community levels was tasked with reviewing the data. The group then made recommendations to World Rugby’s Law Review Group and education departments for consideration with the following injury prevention interventions proposed to and approved by World Rugby’s Rugby and Executive Committees.

Ball Carrier Hurdling Tackler Guideline

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USA RugbyWe have been asked many times if this is Dangerous Play. This is not specified in Law 10.4, and the question cannot be answered with a simple yes or no because there are so many possible variations on the situation.

The short answer is that sometimes it is dangerous and other times it is not, depending on the circumstances. Each play must be judged on its own merit by the referee. Here are some factors to consider when viewing this sort of play:

  1. Dangerous Play is not restricted to the specific actions listed in 10.4. That is a list of many of the most common occurrences of Dangerous Play, but the fact that an action isn’t listed does not mean the referee cannot penalize for something deemed dangerous when seen in a game. Here are some actions that aren’t listed in 10.4, but which definitely could be called dangerous:
    1. biting an opponent
    2. spitting on an opponent
    3. punching a teammate
  2. There is general agreement that if the defender is directly in front of the ball carrier and standing in a normal tackling position, and the ball carrier goes over the defender like clearing the high hurdles, this is dangerous. There are two reasons:
      1. It is dangerous to the opponent because that action brings boots into close proximity of a players face/head.
      2. It is dangerous to the ball carrier because if the defender manages to make contact while attempting to tackle, the ball carrier could get flipped and land on his head/neck.
      3. Also remember that there are many examples that could be called “hurdling” that are just fine and we see them in almost every game:
        1. Jumping over a player who is lying on the ground
        2. Jumping to avoid the outstretched arms of a diving tackle attempt from the side.

        VIDEO EXAMPLE OF DANGEROUS PLAY – SHOULD BE PENALTY KICK

    In conclusion, if it is hurdling a standing (or crouched) defender directly in front of the ball carrier, it is dangerous. If it is something from paragraph three it is most likely fine. For the middle range, the referee needs to judge based on what is presented at the moment.

    Regards,

    Richard Every
    High Performance Referee Manager

September 2016 – USA Rugby Game Management Guidelines

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USA RugbyThe New Game Management Guidelines, September 2016, are here: USA Rugby Game Management Guidelines – September 2016

Below are some key focus areas for match officials:

  1. Establish Behavior:
    1. Lineout:
      1. Set up & maintain a large gap (allows more room for the throw)
      2. Defensive hooker in position in the 5m area
      3. Manage numbers
      4. Sack has to be immediate
    2. Maul:
      1. Correct formation – handing the ball to a player that is not bound who then joins the maul is obstruction
      2. Ball carrier may not slide to the back – obstruction
      3. Players may not join in front of the ball carrier
      4. Defenders not to swim/slide up the side
      5. Do not allow collapsing or defenders falling to the ground to stop a driving maul
    3. Tackle:
      1. Set your standards early, rather than debate:
        1. Tacklers not rolling should be penalized early
        2. Tackler assist has to clearly release and join through the gate
        3. The key to refereeing the tackle well is positioning – work to be on the attacking side, 45º, north/south body position
    4. Space:
      1. Manage offside lines
      2. Hands on ground have to be behind the offside line
      3. Kicks in general play – offside players may not move forward – referee to instruct them to “stop”. Look across the field on both sides
    5. Scrum:
      1. Teams to form the scrum within 30 seconds: FK
      2. Three calls, three actions
      3. Ensure both teams are stationary before proceeding to the next call
      4. Props to bind on their opponents body on the side or back, not under the body or on the arm
      5. Wait for the scrum to be square and stationary before instructing the scrum half to put the ball in
      6. If the scrum is stationary (3-5s) and the ball is available to be played, instruct the scrum half to “use it”
    6. Foul Play:
      1. Do not debate foul play, put the onus on the players to keep it clean
  2. Advantage:
      1. Set standards early rather than playing excessive advantage
      2. Remember that a Penalty Kick has major benefits to a team, I.e. Kick for touch 30m+, kick at goal, etc.
      3. Do not referee advantage like you do in Sevens
  3. Referee abuse:
    1. Verbal abuse by team coaches, team staff or team substitutes directed at match officials or players should not be tolerated and the following process should be followed:
      1. The referee will ask the identified person to refrain from their behavior
      2. On the second occasion the referee will EJECT the person from the grounds
      3. Zero tolerance approach should be applied and if the person refuses to leave the referee should request that team’s captain to assist
      4. Failing compliance the referee may abandon the match
      5. The referee must restart the game according to the latest stoppage and must NOT award a penalty due to the sideline behavior
    2. It is essential that we, as a community, stand together and work together to develop rugby in the United States. It will be through mutual respect and support that we grow the game. As referees, we need to ensure that we follow the above process regarding abuse as to eliminate it from the game.

NOTE: If time expires and a team is awarded a PK, they may kick to touch to end the game, but they do not get to take the lineout. That was a trial Law approved by World Rugby for PRO Rugby and Super Rugby only.

If you have any questions or need clarifications please feel free to contact me.

Regards,

RICHARD EVERY  |  High Performance Referee Manager

7s Rolling Substitutions – New Law Variation

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usa_rugby_logoWorld Rugby is trialing a variation regarding substitutions in sevens. The USA Rugby Committee has approved the use of this Variation in all domestic competitions effective June 18, 2016.

The exact wording is copied below, but in essence it allows a player to return to the game after having been substituted off. The team is still restricted to a total of five substitutions during the game. [This includes any extra time – there are no additional substitutes permitted during additional playing time.]

The Exception that allows a replacement for a player with a blood injury remains, even after a team has made all five of its allowed substitutions.

The Law that allows a temporary replacement for head injury assessment (which is referenced in this Variation) IS NOT APPROVED FOR DOMESTIC USE.

Peter Watson
Chair, USA Rugby Law sub-committee

SEVENS LAW VARIATIONS

3.4 Players nominated as substitutes

  • A team may nominate up to five replacements/substitutes.
  • A team may substitute or replace up to five players.
  • A team may substitute the same player more than once as long as no more than 5 substitutions are made in total. See 3.13 for exception

3.13 Substituted players rejoining the match

If a player is substituted, that player may return to play in that match under the following circumstances:

  • Up to 5 tactical substitutions per game
  • In addition to which players may return to play when replacing:
    • a player with a blood injury in accordance with Law 3.11
    •  a player undertaking a Head Injury Assessment in accordance with Law 3.12. NOT IN EFFECT FOR DOMESTIC COMPETITIONS

2016 USA Rugby Game Management Guidelines

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USA RugbyPlease review the newly released Game Management Guidelines from USA Rugby for 2016. Though the material is developed for referees, it is applicable to all stakeholders of the game including players and coaches. Please download the file and read through the updates:

2016 Game Management Guidelines

Also available are the Protective Equipment and Clothing Guidelines:

Protective Equipment and Clothing Guidelines

Reminders for High School Season!

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Rugby TexasKurt Weaver, Director of Youth & High School Rugby provided these reminders for the high school season. We know you have heard this before, but it bears reminding as we have seen some matches played missing required items. Please let us know if you have questions around any item and enjoy your rugby.

  1. Medical Coverage is required for all HS matches in the USA, friendly and league play. Rugby Texas specifically requires a licensed trainer (LT). NOTE: Referee should not start match until medical is present.
  2. Technical Zones are required for all HS league matches in the USA. (see the TZ requirements at https://usarugby.org/youth-resources. Referee should not start match until TZ’s are present and in use and both teams are on the same side of the field)
  3. Squeeze Ball is illegal for all HS and Youth rugby.
  4. Fends to the head/neck/face are illegal for HS and Youth rugby. A legal fend used to be allowed if done correctly, but any contact with the head/neck/face is now liable for penalty.

Thank you for your consideration and enjoy the spring season!

Tweet Full Time Scores!

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This weekend the TRRA is launching the new Twitter campaign. Finally the Texas rugby community will be able to get live match results in one location @trrareferee. In order for this to be successful we need all referees to do their part. We need 100% buy in.

What we need you to do…..

  1. Grab your cell phone
  2. Sign up on Twitter if you have not already. https://support.twitter.com/articles/100990
  3. Follow Texas Rugby Referee.  https://twitter.com/trrareferee . You can enter @trrareferee in the search bar.
  4. At the end of your match grab your phone
  5. Tweet the score and a picture of yourself, your AR’s (if you have them) and the winning team captain.
  6. Add #trrareferee to your post. This is an important step.
  7. Again add #trrareferee to your post……………Click here to see how hash tags work. https://support.twitter.com/articles/49309?lang=en
  8. Sit back, relax and know that you are awesome.

We certainly appreciate your support. If you have any issues with this please reach out before Saturday so I can help you through the process

Cheers,
Scott Green


World Rugby Clarification 8 of 2015 – Law Reference 3 – Sevens Variations

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Clarification in Law by the Designated Members of Rugby Committee
Clarification 8 – 2015
Union Paddy O’Brien – HP Sevens Referee Manager
Law Reference 3 – Sevens Variations
Date December 8, 2015
Request: Paddy O’Brien has requested clarification on the minimum number of players needed to start a sevens match.
Clarification of the Designated Members of the Rugby Committee
The designated members have agreed that in exceptional circumstances a Union may authorise matches to be played with fewer than seven players in each team. When that happens, all the Laws of the Game apply except that each team must have a minimum of five players on the pitch (at least three players in the scrum at all times and a minimum of two backs).