Ireland were wrongfully denied their Hail Mary shot at beating Scotland.
With 80 seconds to go, Ireland were two points behind in their Six Nations opener against the Scots when they conceded a penalty.
At this point Ireland were in desperation mode.
A loss in the first game, particularly against a team that hasn’t been competing for the Grand Slam in recent years, would set the wrong tone for the rest of the campaign. With that one defeat the Six Nations may not be gone out of their grasp, but the Triple Crown and Grand Slam certainly would be.
They'll want nothing to do with it https://t.co/9ILsHI3JPZ
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) February 5, 2017
So when Greig Laidlaw took his time taking that crucial penalty in the final seconds, Rory Best just had to say something to referee Romain Poite. That’s how much this game meant to him, that’s how much he valued the rules of the sport.
“They’ve only got a minute to take it [the penalty],” says Best.
Poite dismissed this query and told the Ulster man, “No. There’s no rule about that.” in an exchange that was picked up very clearly on the live broadcast.
If there was no such rule as Poite claimed then Scotland would be given carte blanche to run down the clock and use timewasting techniques to ensure the win. Laidlaw took roughly 90 seconds meaning Ireland weren’t afforded the opportunity to somehow steal a win and overturn the five-point deficit in the 11th hour.
The only problem is, Best is actually right. There is a time limit for kicking penalties. According to the official rules,
“If a kicker indicates to the referee the intention to kick a penalty kick at goal, the kick must be taken within one minute from the time the player indicates the intention to kick at goal. The intention to kick is signalled by the arrival of the kicking tee or sand, or when the player makes a mark on the ground.
“The player must complete the kick within one minute even if the ball rolls over and has to be placed again. If the one minute is exceeded, the kick is disallowed, a scrum is ordered at the place of the mark and the opponents throw in the ball. For any other type of kick, the kick must be taken without undue delay.”
There you have it, folks. Best was right. Not that we’re too surprised at all.
