Law changes have made clear how far the ball must travel at a quick throw-in from touch.

Before it was allowed that the throw for a quick throw-in could travel backwards the ball was required to travel five metres before touching the ground. It was not clear whether a throw-n that travelled 15 metres down the tramlines was allowed or not.

Now the law has been made clear. The ball must travel at least as far as the five-metre line.

Law 19.2 (e) At a quick throw-in, if the player throws the ball in the direction of the opposition’s goal line or if the ball does not travel at least 5 metres to the 5-metre line along or behind the line of touch before it touches the ground or a player, or if the player steps into the field of play when the ball is thrown, then the quick throw-in is disallowed. The opposing team chooses to throw in at either a line-out where the quick throw-in was attempted, or a scrum on the 15-metre line at that place. If they too throw in the ball incorrectly at the line-out, a scrum is formed on the 15-metre line. The team that first threw in the ball throws in the ball at the scrum.

As a matter of interest, the five-metre line - that broken line parallel to the touch line on each side of the field, became law in 1926 to prevent clutter at the touch-line which would lead to another line-out. A throw back down the tramlines in fact gets the ball well away from the clutter.