Like the other Super 14 referees, Craig Joubert has one foot in the stirrup. In fact he is well on the way to mounting as on Friday night he will referee a pre-Super 14 match between the Sharks and the Stormers at Newlands. But first he answers readers' questions.

1. Name: Peter Shortell

Question: Law 14 says? The Game is to be played by players who are on their feet.  Is this to be taken as a general principle?

Scenario: the ball shoots out of the side of a ruck towards a Blue player who for some reason is on the ground (legally!) and onside.  He flips it up to a team-mate thereby preventing a Red player from getting to the ball first. 

Legal or not? Does the presence of the Red player matter?

Craig Joubert: Hi Peter,

A player who is not on his feet is out of the game. In your example the Blue player on the ground should be penalised.

Law 16.4 (d) Players on the ground in or near the ruck must try to move away from the ball. These players must not interfere with the ball in the ruck or as it comes out of the ruck.
Sanction: Penalty kick
(e) A player must not fall on or over a ball as it is coming out of a ruck.
Sanction: Penalty kick

Cheers, Craig

2. Name: Bunny Bolton

Question: I went up to Varsity this week and watched the Ikeys play Boland. More than once the Ikeys had a penalty and were going to kick for touch. Their hooker than moved downfield to wait - in touch - for the ball to arrive. He was a good 20 metres ahead of his kicker.

Is this legal?

Craig Joubert: Hi Bunny,

No, it's not legal. All players need to be behind the kicker at a penalty kick.

Cheers, Craig

3. Name: Bryan Combrinck

Question: Are you in favour of all these gadgets and gimmicks that refs are using these days?

It seems we are trying to make refereeing more technical and thereby taking out the human element which is the essence of Sport. The players remain human beings and have to catch and pass, kick and run, tackle and push without any technical devices to do so. Or is that next step - springs in boots to run faster, rocket-launchers on boots to kick further and stun guns for tackling - that sort of thing. Perhaps a net for catching that becomes a sling for passing. 

I know that that is a farce but I believe that all this referee technology is farcical as well. Let's all be human beings and get on with the game.

Craig Joubert: Hi Bryan,

Not sure what "gadgets and gimmicks" you're talking about. Let's run through a list of what "gadgets" we wear:

i. Radio system that links us with our Assistant Referees and TMO. Certainly this is a necessary gadget to allow the necessary communication between Referee and Assistant Referee and TMO to ensure that the game is officiated to the highest possible standard. Not to mention the necessary communication channel to allow teams to make tactical substitutions.

ii. TV mike and TV pack. Modern day rugby is characterised by the ability of the viewing audience to hear the referee and through the referees mike to hear some of the banter from the players that goes on on the field. This is clearly a necessary gadget to allow the significant TV audience the most enjoyable rugby experience.

iii. A GPS device. This is a new device that we'll be wearing this year. It's a GPS device that tracks information such as speed, distance, heart rate, sideways movement, backwards movement, body load, etc, etc. Clearly this device will enable referees at the elite level to track game conditions and ensure that they are training optimally and scientifically to replicate game conditions and thereby be better physically prepared to referee at the highest level. A very useful tool I think!?

Perhaps you are referring to the cameras which have been worn by the referees in the two Cape Town warm up games?

This is a progressive move towards experimenting as to whether a camera attached to the referee can successfully track what the ref is seeing. Most of the people I chat to express a strong interest in one day being able to watch a game "as the referee see's it" and this pre-season experiment is the first step in trying to provide the rugby public with an additional view which many would find interesting.

So my opinion would be that the "gadgets" currently worn are absolutely necessary and contribute towards the referee being able to competently officiate the game at the highest possible level. Pre season warm up games are a great opportunity to experiment to see whether we can use additional technology to enhance the rugby publics enjoyment of the game.

Cheers, Craig