Munster Association of Referees IRFU
Touch Judge Manual 2009/2010
Touch Judging – Guidelines
For certain matches Touch Judges are appointed officially. The referee and touch judges must work together as a “team of three”, so that the match benefits from their combined input. The Touch Judge should aim to arrive at the ground at least an hour before any All Ireland League match or a match of similar importance such as an underage interprovincial. For any other game the touch judge should be at the ground no later than 40 minutes before kickoff. Before the match the referee and touch judges should discuss their responsibilities for the day so as to avoid any confusion or ambiguity that may arise during the game. In general the touch judge’s responsibility will be:
Basic Duties The touch judge is responsible for touch and touch in-goal. He/She will operate from dead ball line to dead ball line. The touch judge will signal clearly when the ball or a player carrying it is in touch. The touch judge should be aware that the ball having crossed the touch line in the air may be blown back into the field of play. No signal should be given until the touch judge is certain that the ball is in touch. When the ball is in touch the touch judge should immediately raise his/her flag directly above his/her head, mark the line of touch and indicate with other arm pointing towards the team who will throw in the ball. The signal must be clear and look decisive. The touch judge should assist the referee in adjudicating if the ball was kicked from inside or outside the 22 and must be fully familiar with the current ELV rulings with regards to touch and lineout.
ELV 2008 – Law 19 Touch and Lineout If a team puts the ball back into its own 22, and the ball is subsequently kicked directly into touch, there is no gain in ground.
However if a team put the ball back into their own 22 and a tackle, ruck or maul occurs, and then kick the ball directly into touch, there is a gain in ground.
Quick throw-ins The touch judge must be very alert when a quick throw-in occurs and must ensure that it complies with Law: It must be the same ball It must only be handled by the thrower or the player who took the ball into touch It must be thrown in by the right team The thrower must be behind the touch line Under current ELV ruling the quick throw can be thrown backwards
If any of the above are infringed the touch judge should keep his/her flag raised. The referee will generally decide if the quick throw in has been taken from the correct place, or if a formed line-out is in place. The referee may however ask the touch judge for assistance in these areas.
Touch in Goal / Try Scoring & Touch down situations The touch judge’s primary duty in this situation is touch, touch and goal and foul play. However where possible the touch judge should also look to assist the referee if necessary with regards to the grounding of the ball. Generally the referee will expect eye contact with the touch judge if there is doubt about the grounding. Kicks at goal When judging kicks at goal one touch judge should stand close to the posts while the other stands further back. Both should move into the line of flight of the ball and “talk-in” the attempted kick. Both touch judges need to agree. Best practice is to make eye contact after the kick and agree “yes” or “no”. As a rule it’s both flags up or no flags up. After a failed attempt at goal both touch judges need to remain alert as the ball or a player carrying the ball may make contact with them.
Flagging Foul Play The touch judge signals a foul play offence by pointing his/her flag into the field of play, parallel to the goal line. The touch judge must continue his/her basic duties until the referee consults with him/her. At the next stoppage in play the touch judge may enter the field of play to consult with the referee. Only Foul Play as outlined in Law 10 should be flagged by the touch judge. Under no circumstances should any other type of offence be flagged by the touch judge. The referee should lead the conversation and the protocol in giving the information to the referee should be as follows:
Flag Number & Team of Player Offence (Concise & Precise Description) Sanction (Only if asked by referee): Severe Reprimand Formal Caution (Yellow Card) Send Off Position of offence
Referee should repeat back to confirm Touch judge then confirms In these flagging situations the touch judge must give the referee accurate and proper advise. If the referee has not seen the incident he/she is totally dependent on the touch judge and will act according to his/her advise. Therefore it is critical that the touch judge neither overreacts nor plays down the offence. The touch judge should ensure that the incident is dealt with as he/she would wish if he/she were the referee. Replacements & Time Keeping The touch judge will help the referee in ensuring that the replacements and sin bin duration are properly monitored: All replacements should enter the playing area via the touch judge The touch judge should ensure that the each replacement or substitution conforms with Law 3 The touch judge should take note and time of players sin binned The touch judge should also keep time and score in order to assist the referee
Positioning It is important that the touch judge does not “ball watch”. The touch judge should keep an eye on players who just kicked or passed the ball in case they are tackled or obstructed late. Similarly after the ball has been moved from scrums, rucks, mauls, lineouts and tackles the near side touch judge should be particularly vigilant to spot foul play in these areas as the referee will have moved to follow the ball and may have his/her back turned to an offence. The far side touch judge will move away with play. This is known as leading and trailing. Kick off & Restarts – Unless otherwise asked by the referee one touch judge should remain roughly in line with where the forwards generally stand on the receiving side at a kick off or 22 drop off. The touch judge on the other side should move further down field. Penalties & Free Kicks – Both touch judges should work to get the offending team back 10 meters from the mark of each penalty and free kick. Lineout – The touch judge on the far side of the pitch to the throw in should stand 10 meters from the line of touch on the non-throwing in side to ensure that team are back the required distance of 10 meters. Scrum – The touch judges should ensure that the backlines are back 5 metres from the scrum at the set up. They should then position themselves to best judge any acts of foul play.