"Double movement"

Western Province win a line-out against the Free State Cheetahs and form a maul. From the edge of the maul Duane Vermeulen with the ball breaks away with Brok Harris in front of him and holding onto him as they move towards the Free State goal-line. Kabamba Floors (19) is ahead of them and Adriaan Strauss (2) comes across.

They manage to bring the Harris-Vermeulen duo down.

Vermeulen lands on the ground and then goes into in-goal.

The referee consults his assistant about the grounding. She assures him that the ball is correctly grounded and he awards the try.

All OK?

There are some things to discuss. A commentator speaks of the possibility of obstruction. Harris is in front of the ball carrier and he blocks Strauss from getting to Vermeulen.

There is a good case for obstruction.

Is Vermeulen a tackled player?

No. He gets out of Floors's grasp before he hits the ground. He is not held when he comes to ground. In other words he is not tackled.

Vermeulen becomes a player on the ground with the ball in his possession.

Law 14.1 PLAYERS ON THE GROUND
(a) A player with the ball must immediately do one of three things:
• Get up with the ball
• Pass the ball
• Release the ball.
Sanction: Penalty kick

Does Vermeulen do any of those?

Certainly not the last two, but does he get up off the ground. He certainly raises his body from the ground and propels it forward. He certainly does it immediately. Unfortunately there is no clear definition of getting up.

Is the referee right to consult his assistant?

Yes.

It would be better not to use this double movement/second movement so beloved of commentators. One is not clear what the single or first movement is.

If Vermeulen had been held, then propelling his body forward would have been a penalty infringement. There is a difference between stretching to score and propelling your body forward to score. This was also not a case of momentum.