Tackle in the air

[jgriffin]

It is a bit of a nonsense to me, I recall Alesana Tuilagi was cited and banned for raising his knee while being tackled during the word cup as it was judged dangerous, but a player jumping full tilt with a raised forward knee is given a penalty if he contacts one of the opposition! explain that in a rational world!
It is gaining an unfair advantage through a dangerous tactic so should be discouraged.
Malouf to the letter of the law should have been carded but was saved by the partially sighted man with the whistle with his inconsistent incompetence, but that is another thread!

Have fulminated about this ever since the Welsh and Irish started the knees/feet up some years ago. Players receiving feet or knees in the chest have then received red cards - one I believe was a Scot (Barclay? Ross?) in an international. The other trick is to leap up and then fall on the back theatrically despite minimal contact.

[mol2]

Jumping with your knees up also greatly increases the chances of lending on your head simply by making rotation easier and should be banned both for the risk to the challenging player and the risk to yourself as you are more likely to get a serious (neck/shoulder injury).

The jumping knees up thing I think originated in Aussie rules where it is the norm and if you don't jump knees up you get your ribs broken by the opponents knees.

There is no sound reason for it - indeed if you will jump higher if you don't lift your legs too high (basic physics) and the sooner it is banned and some sort of limit as to how far forward you jump applied the better for player safety. Then the worst that can happen from the collision is a possible clash of heads or a bit of gut barging! Being flipped would be very unlikely from a legitimate act of competition.

[Cardiff Tig]

Jumping with your knees up also greatly increases the chances of lending on your head simply by making rotation easier and should be banned both for the risk to the challenging player and the risk to yourself as you are more likely to get a serious (neck/shoulder injury).

The jumping knees up thing I think originated in Aussie rules where it is the norm and if you don't jump knees up you get your ribs broken by the opponents knees.

There is no sound reason for it - indeed if you will jump higher if you don't lift your legs too high (basic physics) and the sooner it is banned and some sort of limit as to how far forward you jump applied the better for player safety. Then the worst that can happen from the collision is a possible clash of heads or a bit of gut barging! Being flipped would be very unlikely from a legitimate act of competition.

It's nearly impossible to not raise your legs when you jump at least slightly though if you are running towards the ball. So unless you happen to be exactly where the ball is going to land this isn't going to work very well as it will become another judgment call by the ref.

I think the current rules work quite well. If a player is standing under the ball ready to catch it and someone jumps into them with the knee/foot raised then the penalty should be awarded to the player who has been hit. But when was the last time you saw that happen exactly?

[mightymouse]

The scot as I said earlier was Doctor Geoff Cross .. carried out on a stretcher unable to register he was recieving a card due to the fact he was unconcious!!! The flying player was Lee Byrne who got away with ... absolute farce. It was the 1st minute of poor Cross's first cap.

[L Smith]

.. the partially sighted man with the whistle with his inconsistent incompetence, but that is another thread!

Now there's the subject of a thread that'll attract loads of comment!!!

Anyone watching Quins v Sale would realise that Carly's incompetence is completely consistent

[mol2]

I concur that raising your legs a bit is part of jumping but what we are seeing is players wth a knee beside their chin in what gymnasts would call a tuck.

[Cardiff Tig]

The scot as I said earlier was Doctor Geoff Cross .. carried out on a stretcher unable to register he was recieving a card due to the fact he was unconcious!!! The flying player was Lee Byrne who got away with ... absolute farce. It was the 1st minute of poor Cross's first cap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32LJBXOPB_A

About 50 seconds in.

I think your view on this is slightly biased! Yes, the Scottish player got knocked out, but even if Lee Byrne hadn't raised his knee (and IMO the fact Byrne had was running to catch the ball meant he was always going to raise his knee) he would still have taken him out in the air in a very dangerous way.

[Grimlish]

And don’t rely on Jonathan ‘Haven’t You Realised I’m a Welshman?’ Davies’ commentary on that clip. There’s no way that by the time Cross sees Byrne he can pull out of any collision.