1. Paul Bretz National Panel Referee USA Rugby APPLYING ADVANTAGE WHILE CONSIDERING MATERIALITY

2. Paul Bretz National Panel Referee USA Rugby Is materiality important?

3. Paul Bretz National Panel Referee USA Rugby Does size matter?

4. Paul Bretz National Panel Referee USA Rugby CAVEAT The content and opinions within this presentation is solely that of the presenter and may not necessarily be the views of USA Rugby

5. Paul Bretz National Panel Referee USA Rugby What does the law say about advantage? Purpose is to make play more continuous with fewer stoppages for infringements No immediate whistle if as a result of one team’s infringement, the opponent may gain an advantage.

6. Paul Bretz National Panel Referee USA Rugby What else does the law say about advantage? The referee is the sole judge of when advantage is gained Advantage can either be territorial or tactical

7. Paul Bretz National Panel Referee USA Rugby When isn’t advantage applied? –Referee contact –Ball out of tunnel –Wheeled scrum –Collapsed scrum –Scrum player lifted in the air

8. Paul Bretz National Panel Referee USA Rugby Advantage as Opportunity (1) Advantage, simply put, gives teams the opportunity to play to their strength, what ever that strength is, and provides the potential for a flowing experience for players, spectators, and officials alike.

9. Paul Bretz National Panel Referee USA Rugby Advantage as Opportunity (2) Advantage allows teams the opportunity to identify weaknesses in their opponent early in the game so that later in the game those weaknesses can be preyed upon.

10. Paul Bretz National Panel Referee USA Rugby Advantage Can be Territorial or Tactical

11. Paul Bretz National Panel Referee USA Rugby Territorial advantage Attacking team advantageadvantage Very little advantage played when the team with advantage is being put under pressure or duress A broader view of “advantage gained” should be applied closer to scoring opportunities

12. Paul Bretz National Panel Referee USA Rugby Tactical advantage Attacking team Attacking teams want to create mismatches and may need time to set this up Remember, attacking means going forward. An attacking team does not necessarily have possession of the ball.

13. Paul Bretz National Panel Referee USA Rugby Why is materiality applied to advantage? Must consider materiality of the infringement to properly play advantage Does the infringement “matter?” If not, let it go (for now). –Fewer whistles –If ref plays advantage, ref must blow the whistle if no advantage gained.

14. Paul Bretz National Panel Referee USA Rugby How is materiality applied to advantage? If the offense changes possession, clearly no advantage should be played. Blow The Whistle If there is an identified offense but there is no material effect, advantage need not be applied. Manage it!! If the offense is material and a team’s attacking position has not diminished, advantage should be applied

15. Paul Bretz National Panel Referee USA Rugby Materiality materiality advantage A referee’s interpetation of materiality dictates the consequences

16. Paul Bretz National Panel Referee USA Rugby …One last thought We need to do a better job of making sure the punishment/reward is appropriate in context with the game.

17. Paul Bretz National Panel Referee USA Rugby Advantage? Red has possession and is hit at the gainline so that no one team has created go forward ball.

18. Paul Bretz National Panel Referee USA Rugby Advantage? You observe that the blue tackler failed to roll away.

19. Paul Bretz National Panel Referee USA Rugby Advantage? Slow recycled ball to red resulted.

20. Paul Bretz National Panel Referee USA Rugby Is the offense material? Is the penalty worth 3 points? Is the penalty worth 50 meters and possession of the ball at lineout?

21. Paul Bretz National Panel Referee USA Rugby Is it material?

22. Paul Bretz National Panel Referee USA Rugby Only when it’s put into context Buddhist symbol for good luck and fortune. The woman is Kwan yin, Goddess of mercy