Sitting in Slattery’s pub on Grand Canal Street Dublin 4, I thought Leinster looked comfortable against Wasps. That was until Wasps’ number eight Nathan Hughes sprung through a ruck and scored a try to give his outhalf Andy Goode a chance to convert; he did and out of nowhere the score stood 20 all. How did this happen?

On first viewing, my reaction was immediate; Hughes played the ball illegally from a ruck and hence the try should not have been allowed; no conversion; penalty for Leinster to clear their lines and the score still 13-20. Should Leinster have been in this position is an argument for later – they were. The score stood and that gave Goode a cracking chance to drop a goal on full time to win the match to leave Leinster with a losing bonus point and an away quarter-final in France.

Why is playing the ball from a ruck illegal? A ruck is formed when two opposing players engage over a ball, such as occurs when a tackler and a tackled player are lying on the deck post-tackle. Winding back, should a third player, ie first in over the ball, engage the ball, he is entitled to remain engaged even after the referee calls “ruck formed”. This often irks spectators, especially when the attack is thwarted by a butty openside or centre’s excellent poaching.

Beyond that, as the ruck is formed, a clear distinction must be made as to whether the player is in the ruck. If he is, he can’t handle the ball but can elect to kick, which is why we witness so many fly kicks through the ruck (a dangerous activity). The only person who can handle the ball (beyond the tackled player placing the ball) is the player playing as scrumhalf at that moment in time.

Insist on perfection

Conscious of a referee’s split-second opportunity to assess a player’s behaviour before ruling one way or another, it is unfair to insist on perfection in managing the multitude of goings-on at any given moment. Having said that, there is a trend that must be addressed.

So, with my anger still boiling, I went back to the video and this is what I saw. With 68 minutes and seven seconds on the clock, substitute Wasps hooker Carlo Festuccia threw into a lineout 10 metres from the Leinster line following a Goode penalty. The score was 13-20 with 12 minutes remaining. Wasps lineout setup is telling, with sub tighthead Jake Cooper-Woolley at the front and a pod of Hughes and James Haskell lifting beanpole secondrow sub Kearnan Myall. Wasps dropped scrumhalf Joe Simpson back, placing wing forward Ashley Johnson at scrumhalf. Leinster match up likewise, with Isaac Boss in the tram tracks.

Myall rose highest and secured the ball from Festuccia. Leinster’s Kane Douglas got a great lift from Jack Conan but Dominic Ryan didn’t hit Douglas from behind, so Douglas couldn’t get high enough to test Myall. When Myall hit the deck, there was a violent engagement from Cooper-Woolley targeting Tadhg Furlong at the front. In piled Johnson over the ball as Wasps secondrow Bradley Davies joined Johnson, with loosehead Matt Mullan getting on the ball. This is an old school rolling maul at its best. It was so good because the clockwise rotation left Leinster’s Ryan, Michael Bent, Douglas, Devin Toner and Conan in no-man’s land. Hence 64 stone and four pounds for Leinster’s tighthead Furlong to handle down the tram tracks. But in fairness to him and his own safety, he pulled it all down, with winger Fergus McFadden stopping the home side three metres from home.

Bridging over the ball

On 68 minutes and 20 seconds, scrumhalf Simpson steps in to the scrumhalf role and pops to the waiting Myall on the openside of the fallen maul. He has Haskell on his inside and Cooper-Woolley on his outside. Myall engages the Leinster fringe defence and goes to ground, with Haskell bridging over the ball (off his feet). Leinster don’t pile in as Cooper-Woolley steps in as dummy scrumhalf, picks and goes left, two from home and three off the touchline. Again he’s met with a wall defence and, as he hits the deck, his hooker Festuccia gets over the ball. With Festuccia and Toner engaging over the ball, the ruck is formed.

What happens next is crucial – both in fact and in interpretation. Referees do not have screenshots to play with and neither did I in Slattery’s. But he has a TMO.

Hughes was immediately in to engage over the ball with Festuccia in support of Cooper-Woolley on the deck. Ryan, supported by Boss, binds on Hughes, who is now intent on securing the ball, with Davies and Mullan piling in behind Hughes (who is now in the centre of the maul).

With Davies going off his feet, Mullan plants his left shoulder on Hughes’ right buttock; Hughes is now even more committed to the ruck, with Ryan still bear hugging him. Hughes puts his hands on the ball and picks it off the deck as Mullan continues to drive from behind.

Then, in the middle of the ruck, Hughes, with extreme upper body strength, notices that Leinster have no dummy half behind the ruck and simply raises his upper body, ball in his grasp, and pounces through the ruck to touchdown.

So, did Hughes detach from the ruck before picking up the ball. I say no. What do you say?

liamtoland@yahoo.com