Italian captain Michele Lamaro wouldn’t have been the only one perplexed by the events at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday.
Plenty of people watching on television would have been similarly baffled by the Azzurri having to go down to 13 men when the red card issued to hooker Hame Faiva resulted in the game against Ireland moving to uncontested scrums.
But, however farcical it may have seemed, that’s the law.
Here's the full story of exactly what happened out in Dublin and why.
So, what other little known rugby regulations might people not be aware of?
Here are some to chew over.
Read next: The latest Six Nations headlines are here.
Hurdling a tackler
Let’s start with another law that has been a big talking point this week, resulting in World Rugby issuing a clarification.
In round 1 of Super Rugby Pacific, the Chiefs’ Fijian No 8 Pita Gus Sowakula hurdled over an attempted tackle from All Blacks scrum-half Aaron Smith on his way to the try line against the Highlanders in Queenstown.
Referee Paul Williams awarded the score, provoking much controversy, with opinion divided on whether it was the right call.
There was nothing specific in the laws of the game to rule against it, so New Zealand Rugby national referee manager Bryce Lawrence sought clarification from World Rugby as to how such incidents should be ruled in future.
Now the governing body has delivered a response - it’s illegal.
The official statement reads: “Jumping to hurdle a potential tackler is dangerous play, as is the act of a ball carrier jumping into a tackle.
“Even if no contact is made, we believe this act is in clear contravention of law 9.11, and runs contrary to the game-wide focus on player welfare.
“If a player is deemed to have left the ground to avoid a tackle; or to jump, or hurdle a potential tackler, then this is dangerous play and should be sanctioned accordingly.
“In this specific case (of Sowakula) the sanction should be a penalty kick against the ball carrier.”
So now we know.
It’s no choke
Now we’ve all seen the choke tackle used to good effect in recent years.
The Irish, in particular, have become very adept at it.
You know the set-up. A player is tackled and kept in an upright position. Then in comes another defender to help hold him up, preventing him getting to ground.
The ball fails to emerge from the resulting maul, the referee blows up and it’s a scrum to the defending side.
But there’s one instance where the law is different.
Under law 16.18, if a maul is formed immediately after a player catches a kick from the opposition, then the subsequent scrum is awarded to his team.
So even if the catcher is held up in a choke tackle and can’t get to ground, his side still get possession in that particular situation.
Goal-line drop out
This is one that is taking a bit of time to get used to and will be new for some occasional watchers tuning in for the Six Nations.
Before this season, if a player in possession crossed the try-line but was held up and unable to get the ball down, his team would be awarded an attacking five-metre scrum.
But now, under a world-wide trial, a new law applies.
Now such a situation results in a goal-line drop out.
The change was brought in to dissuade teams from going through interminable pick-and-goes in search of a try, knowing the risk now involved when held up.
You can understand the thinking there and see the merits.
But you now also have a goal-line drop out, rather than a 22 drop out, when the defending team grounds the ball over their own line following a kick ahead by the opposition.
This has proved less popular as it has been viewed by some as unduly rewarding inaccurate or over-hit kicks through.
The corner flag
It used to be the case that if a player hit the corner flag in going for a try, the score would not be awarded even if he wasn’t in touch.
But, in 2014, the law was changed.
Now, if a player carrying the ball touches a flag or corner post without otherwise being in touch or touch-in-goal, the ball is not out of play.
So if a player gets the ball down over the whitewash while hitting the flag without any of his body going into touch, the try stands.
Calling a mark
All regular rugby watchers will know you can claim a mark when you catch a kick inside your own 22.
A free-kick results and you can clear your lines.
But what some people might know is that under law 17.2, a player can also claim a mark when the ball hits a goal post or crossbar before being caught.
You often see panic ensue in the opposition ranks when a penalty or drop goal attempt strikes the woodwork and bounces back into the field of play.
But if an alert defender can claim the rebound, he can also claim a mark to relieve the situation.
Scoring against the post
Players used to be able to score a try by grounding the ball against the base of the post protectors, where the padding and the ground met.
But, in 2020, the law was changed by World Rugby, who outlawed the practice because it gave an unfair advantage to the attacking side.
Teams defending their goal-line have to stay behind that line and, with post protectors now very chunky for player welfare reasons, it was becoming increasingly difficult for teams to legally defend this area, as they had to come out and around the pads.
So a change was made.
The amendment to Law 8 reads: “The post protector is no longer an extension of the goal-line and therefore Law 8.2 (a) now states ‘a try is scored when the attacking player is first to ground the ball in the opponents’ in-goal’.
The move to change the law was also motivated according to World Rugby by “in some extreme cases, post protectors have been lifted or moved by defending teams, leaving the posts exposed and therefore increasing the risk of injury”.
The flying wedge
Back in the day, this used to be a familiar sight.
You would have a tap penalty and a gang of forwards would bind together before one of their number actually had the ball.
With the ball then passed to the forward at the front from the tap, the gang of big lads would storm for the try-line in a collective flying wedge.
As I recall, the French were particularly fond of this tactic.
But it is now illegal.
As well as being virtually impossible to stop, it was also hugely dangerous for defenders attempting to halt the mass stampede.
So, under Law 9.22, teams must not use the “flying wedge”, with binding on before contact deemed dangerous and illegal.
Scoring a try while in touch
We all know a try won’t be allowed where a player’s feet go into touch before he gets the ball down over the try line.
But, under law 21. 9, a player can actually score a try when he is in touch or touch-in-goal.
As long as they are not holding the ball, they can reach out to ground it when it’s over the try line even if their feet are in touch.
That really is one for clued-up attackers to remember.
Ball over the try line
When the ball goes past the try-line, the normal offside rules do not apply.
So, if the ball is at the feet of the opposition over their own try-line, either at a scrum or in a ruck situation, an attacking player can dive in to get downward pressure and claim the score.
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