This past Saturday’s match between Ireland and New Zealand, which New Zealand won 22-3, featured a moment that underscored one key law difference between the rugby codes. In rugby league, it’s extremely common to see players slapping the loose footballs into touch, especially in their own try zone, to prevent others from scoring.
In rugby union, though, Law 10.2(c) tells us that knocking, throwing, or placing the ball out of play can get you in trouble, as we see in the punishment doled out to Tommy Bowe in the clip of highlights below (incident happens just after 1:30 has elapsed in the clip, and the replays and deliberations last until about four minutes in):
