May 6th Society Meeting

Recap from Tim

Last Tuesday we held our society meeting at the home of the Chicago Riot. Thank you to Dan Matuz for securing us meeting space inside, and then providing his players for some hands on interaction out on the field after. We discussed several topics:

We then moved out to the pitch and worked with the scrum to review some concepts. We then refereed a short scrimmage with the Riot with a rotating host of referees.

Injury Protocols

Serious Injury
1. Stop play and call in trainer immediately
2. Don’t move player
3. Call 911
4. If there is ability to move the match to another field, do so
Concussions and Not Too Serious
1. Reacquaint yourself with USA Rugby’s Player Welfare Guidelines ( Player Welfare | USA Rugby )
2. Allow trainer to assess the player – stop play if it approaches injured player
3. If player goes off the pitch injured (not a blood sub), they cannot return to play in any position, including front row
4. If they suffered a head trauma, you should remove the player from the game

Language

Aggressive language can escalate to a physical response. For this reason you should ensure that players remain respectful during the match.

You should not tolerate racist or abusive language – direction from CARFU and RIL was that the official should issue a yellow card
On the day, the pitch is yours. You are welcome to manage the language on the pitch. As we discussed in our meeting, Marques Plummer of CARFU/Midwest Disciplinary Committee said any player can check their language for 80 minutes. It’s yours to manage.

Disciplinary – RIL & CARFU

Thank you to both Sal Carfagno of Rugby Illinois (RIL) and Marques Plummer of CARFU/Midwest for talking to us about their disciplinary processes.

RIL – Sal asks that all cards provide as much detail as possible. Red cards get a full review by the committee, but yellow cards are also monitored so that if there is a repeat offender they have clear documentation. This is especially true for any referee abuse. While it may not escalate to anything serious in your game, RIL needs to know so that they can build an appropriate record of poor behavior. It’s hard for them to effectively discipline someone for bad actions in one game.
CARFU – Marques stressed the need to have all card reports submitted within 24 hours – especially in the competitive fall season. A disciplinary committee must be assembled to review these ASAP to determine player eligibility before the next match.

Cadence

There is none. Wait until there is balance before moving to bind or set

Bind – per Game Management Guidelines “There must be a clear gap between teams, no pre-engagement. FK”
1. Set the gap by having the props bind up on the back on top of the opposing prop’s shoulder
2. Then have the props lock out their arms (hold the other prop away) – this key to maintaining the gap should the second rows come in heavy
Set – props pull the other prop into a tight engagement. This will create a solid platform and avoid “mushy” or “twisty” scrums as a result of a weak engagement.
1. Be sure to watch that the props keep their elbows up. If they pull down and collapse the scrum, PK.

No. 9 Law

Can’t go past center
May retreat to the back foot – he does not need to stay close to the scrum
Can’t play No. 9 in “act of playing the ball out” – if he stands or runs with the ball he has become a ball carrier and is fair game

Once again, thank you to the Riot for working with us. They also appreciated having us out there to answer questions. I encourage you to work with local teams to referee their scrimmages for practice. A great way to work on your own game.