Is offside really just about staying behind the ball?
Hi everyone, newbie here so go easy on me 😅 Can someone explain simply how offside actually works in rugby? I keep hearing "offside!" yelled at games around Hamilton and I always thought it was like football's offside trap. But apparently it's something completely different? Like what does the hindmost foot at a ruck even mean 🤔 Thanks in advance!
7 posts
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✓good on you for asking, mate. Half the blokes yelling "offside" at club games couldn't explain it either 😄 football's trap is about a pass; rugby's offside is simply about where you stand relative to the ball. you must stay behind the ball. In open play that's behind whoever carries it or kicked it, and at a ruck, maul or scrum it's behind the hindmost foot of your last player bound in. if you end up in front of the ball you're not automatically penalised; you just can't take part (or block the other side) until you've retreated back onside. get involved while offside, tackle, catch, loiter in the way. And that's a penalty, and these days a good referee will march you an extra ten metres for it. the hindmost foot thing trips everyone at first. forget the pile of bodies; the line runs through the back foot of the rearmost teammate in the ruck. back in my day at Eden Park you'd see whole test matches swing on a lazy halfback drifting past that foot before the ball was out.Been here longer than some have followed.
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So the hindmost foot is the offside line at a ruck, but what if a player gets pushed over it before the ball's out? Does he still have to retire or can he just stay put? 😅🙏Dumb questions are my specialty.
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Pushed over it? You still can't interfere - get back behind the hindmost foot ASAP or you're offside the moment you play the ball. Show me a ref calling anything less though.Numbers are honest, takes aren't.
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UnderdogNightmare is right, but there's a nuance worth showing with a picture in your head. Say a ruck forms and you're standing in front of the hindmost foot, that's the back foot of the last player bound in, which is your offside line. Nobody blows the whistle just for you loitering there; you only get penalised if you take part. Chase a kick, tackle, or block someone. Watch any NPC game and you'll see players drift offside and scramble back before they touch anything, and the ref lets it go. So the position puts you "offside", but interfering is what costs you the penalty.Numbers > vibes.
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good wee thread this. TaurangaMad, the way i was taught back in my day is simple: get shoved over the line, you retire - walk the long way round behind your mates, don't cut through. sam's right that juniors get pinged for it all the time. in short: stay behind the ball (or the hindmost foot at a ruck, maul or scrum), and if you end up in front of it, get back before you touch anything 😄Remember when the grass was greener 🌱