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A
Cavalry Charge is defined in Law 10.4 (n). It
usually happens near the goal line when the
attacking team is awarded a penalty or free kick.
Attacking players line up a couple of meters apart
across the field some distance behind the kicker.
At a signal from the kicker they charge forward.
When they get near, the kicker tap-kicks the ball
and passes it to one of them. Until the ball is
kicked, the defending players must stay at least
10 meters from the mark or behind their goal line,
if that is nearer.
Near
the goal line, with stationary defending players
perhaps only 5 meters from the charging attacking
players, the Cavalry Charge is potentially
dangerous. Thus, the Cavalry Charge is considered
an unlawful maneuver if it is executed at or
within 10 meters of the opponents' goal line. At
or within 10 meters, a referee may use preventive
refereeing to preclude it from being taken and
should penalize it if it is taken.
The
Cavalry Charge is clearly dangerous near the goal
line. But what about the rest of the playing area?
As far as we can tell there has never been any
formal position taken by USA Rugby on the matter.
Indeed, discussions among the members of the Laws
Subcommittee, The Referee Development Officer and
the A-panel revealed a divergence of opinion, with
some believing that the prohibition was to be
applied only near the goal line, and others
believing that it was prohibited throughout the
playing area. I think that the prevailing opinions
was probably that the Cavalry Charge was
prohibited everywhere. However, we needed to reach
agreement and have consistent interpretation and
application across the country.
We
sought input from other Rugby playing countries,
and found that, even among those countries, there
was a divergence of opinion. Of those that replied
the International Rugby Board (IRB), the RFU
(England) and Canada fell into the
"prohibited only near the goal line"
camp, while Argentina, Australia and France fell
into the "prohibited everywhere" camp.
If
we were to have consistency across the USA we had
to choose one or the other. We decided that we
should follow the lead of the IRB, as the ultimate
world authority on the sport of Rugby. Thus, for
matches played within the USA, while a Cavalry
Charge is an unlawful maneuver at or within 10
meters of the opponents' goal line, a Cavalry
Charge is a lawful maneuver if it is executed more
than 10 meters from the opponents' goal line. The
referee should neither prevent nor penalize it.
A
team that is awarded a penalty or free kick at or
within 10 meters of the opponents' goal line may
take the kick at the mark or anywhere behind it on
the line through the mark. If the place so
selected is more than 10 meters from the
opponents' goal line, the Cavalry Charge is a
lawful maneuver.
January
7, 2001
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