Anyone wanting to copy Pita Gus Sowakula’s stunning hurdling try is out of luck, with World Rugby ruling that jumping over opponents will now be deemed illegal.
The Chiefs No 8 scored an athletic five-pointer in his side’s opening-round Super Rugby Pacific win over the Highlanders in Queenstown, leaping above the attempted tackle of Aaron Smith on his way to the line.
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Former top referee Nigel Owens has weighed on the Super Rugby try by Pita Gus Sowakula which was allowed to stand despite the Chiefs No.8 hurdling Highlanders halfback Aaron Smith.
From a 5-metre attacking scrum close to the left-hand touchline, Sowakula broke off and headed to the blindside where he was met by All Blacks halfback Aaron Smith in the first round of the Super Rugby Pacific matches.
Read the rest of this entry »ANALYSIS: It was perhaps the most breathtaking try of the weekend, but should it have been awarded?
New Zealand Rugby’s referee team aren’t even sure, so are this week seeking clarity from World Rugby over whether Pita Gus Sowakula’s stunning hurdling act of Aaron Smith was indeed legal or not.
During his side’s 26-16 Super Rugby Pacific opening-round win over the Highlanders in Queenstown on Saturday, No 8 Sowakula produced a genius, yet also potentially dangerous, piece of athleticism in scoring the Chiefs’ second try.
Carrying off the back of a five-metre scrum, the 1.95m, 110kg back-rower thundered down the narrow short side, and with just Smith to beat, opted for the rather unorthodox aerial approach to cleverly evade the low tackle of the veteran All Blacks halfback.
Referee Paul Williams had no hesitation in awarding the try, with close-by assistant referee Marcus Playle also having no issue. But Sowakula’s freakish effort caused plenty of online debate as to its legitimacy.
And that’s because the laws of the game don’t have a black and white ruling for such acts.
In World Rugby’s law book, the closest it comes is here:
9.11 Foul play – Dangerous play: Players must not do anything that is reckless or dangerous to others including leading with the elbow or forearm.
That means it is instead all down to the interpretation of the match officials.
But New Zealand Rugby referee manager Bryce Lawrence revealed his troops were actually a little in the dark on which way they should be leaning for incidents like this.
“At the moment we’re a little bit unclear on that,” he admitted to Stuff.
And so it will make for a big talking point on his weekly World Rugby call with head of match officials Joel Jutge and other countries’ refs’ bosses, as Lawrence seeks some answers.
“It’s something that happens very rarely, but it could become a trend, so we also need to understand how it should be ruled… to bring clear understanding for players, coaches and referees.”
The Highlanders hadn’t raised the issue with Lawrence, as of Monday morning, while Smith saw the funny side of it all, on Sunday tweeting a photo of it, with the words: “Now I know how NFL players feel getting jumped,” in reference to the action being common in American football.
The hurdle isn’t exactly unprecedented in rugby, though. Former All Blacks flanker Vaea Fifita pulled out a remarkable one in a 2016 NPC match for Wellington, when he soared over the top of Counties Manukau’s Piers Francis.
Glen Jackson was the referee that night and issued no penalty.
But just where do you draw the line in terms of dangerous play?
In the clip below there is an even more extreme example, in a community game, which led to a try.
Just last year, England winger Johnny May’s acrobatic effort to score against Italy in a Six Nations clash against Italy had top former refs in disagreement over whether it should have stood.
Though different to the other hurdle incidents in that May’s feet didn’t re-hit the ground, Nigel Owens felt he was jumping to avoid a tackle as opposed to diving for the line, and therefore should be penalised, while Jonathan Kaplan didn’t see any issue, and also noted that if Luca Sperandio had made a tackle on the air-borne May, that should have been fine as well.
That is the other issue with the jumping – how does that allow a defender a proper chance, when they are not allowed to contact a player in the air (Law 9.17: A player must not tackle, charge, pull, push or grasp an opponent whose feet are off the ground)?
It brings back memories of the penalty Jerome Garces awarded against All Blacks prop Charlie Faumuina, which ultimately decided the second test against the British and Irish Lions in 2017, for his tackle on a jumping Kyle Sinckler.
As it is, players have had it drummed into them in recent years to lower the tackle height in order to guard against head injuries, so there is indeed the potential for attacking players to try and take advantage via a jump.
Meanwhile, Lawrence was mostly pleased with how his officials went in week one with their mandate of trying to speed the game up, despite one glaring incident.
Referees across both countries are trying to have scrums bound ready to set within 30 seconds, look to play on if there are minor injuries, and limit the involvement of the TMO – who is only to come in on try decisions if they are asked to, or if the on-field officials are “clearly” wrong, and for serious acts of foul play that get missed.
However, Mike Fraser appeared to contradict the guidelines in Saturday night’s game between the Crusaders and Hurricanes (won 42-32 by the Crusaders), getting in the ear of referee Brendon Pickerill to eventually scratch out a try to Canes captain Ardie Savea for what was not exactly the clearest of knock-ons by Ben May.
Lawrence said it was perfect timing so early in the season for such an incident to arise and that they would critique both the decision, and process, at their weekly Tuesday morning referees meeting.
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