In the England v France rugby match, why was the 3rd penalty awarded to France?

Question

The commentator said that it was because the England player went in at the side, but it looked to me as if the ball was out. It was about 18 inches to the side of any of the players. I know that if the ball is in the middle of a ruck you can't go into the side, but it did look like the ball was free. Please can somebody explain it to me.

Answer 1

am living abroad and so I see the match different to you but it was not a penalty as our cameras did a replay but the referee can not always see everything so he has to make a choice on what HE saw. and any way we won and it was a good game from both sides so why are you complaining.

Answer 2

I m French and we don't understand any more

Answer 3

The ref spotted angry shoebuck with a loaded pair of nines in his muscle pouch.

Answer 4

Hey don't worry about Blous Poo - anyone with a minimum of brain power knew you were asking a question and had fessed up to not understanding the rules - I thought it was a pretty decent questiona nd you'll see that you got some pretty decent replies.  Never trust a man who does blou poos!

Answer 5

From the Referee's point of view..if it's a maul then treat it as such!

You must always 'hit' the pack from the last leg of defence!

Answer 6

Is this a practice run on ref bashing, just in case things go sour for your team on Saturday?