Law discussion: Was the Stormers’ NFL-inspired try against Zebre Parma legal?
Stormers director of rugby John Dobson.
The Stormers grabbed their first win of the season with a 36-5 victory over Zebre in Parma, scoring four tries, one of which was a sensationally worked strike play but it has come with a burning question, was the try legal?
Let’s set the scene, the Stormers are leading 9-0, it’s the last play in the first half and the visitors have a line-out on the left-hand side of the field on the 22-metre line. The throw goes to the back and the Capetonians shape to form a maul. As they set, number eight Keke Morabe simulates as if he has ripped the ball and is making a run to the openside in a move akin to some of the deception that can be seen in NFL set plays.
This attracts the attention of defenders next to the maul where the ball still remains until it is passed to scrum-half Paul de Wet who scythes through the gap on the inside created by Morabe’s dummy run and goes on to play an easy pass inside to Leolin Zas who scores the try.
The Stormers getting away with a nice dummy move from the maul against Zebre. 🧠#URCGO #URC @URCOfficial pic.twitter.com/4HAZZ9Wn14
— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) October 8, 2024
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The discussion
The whole debate boils down to the deceptive run of number eight Morabe that created the space for the try, was the dummy run legal?
The key technicality has to do with law 16.11 which states, “Players must not: c. Take any action to make opponents believe that the maul has ended when it has not.”
This means that, in this context, if the maul has indeed been formed then Morabe’s deceptive dummy run would be illegal as he is conveying the image that the maul has ended.
The decision now hinges on whether or not a maul had been set at the time of the number eight’s run so let’s recall what constitutes a maul: “16.2: It consists of a ball carrier and at least one player from each team, bound together and on their feet. A player ripping the ball from the ball carrier must stay in contact with that player until they have transferred the ball.”
In the footage, it is clear to see there is more than one player from each team bound together and on their feet meaning a maul has been formed. As a result, the try should have been disallowed and Zebre should have been given a free kick.