Argggghhhh!!! Now that I've had a couple of minutes to read through the actual offside rules through Fosse's link I'm more confused than ever. No wonder it all seemed so complicated!

Er, wez...bring on the hurling.

Izzi - (unlike Soccer) the rule is simply - If the ref blows his whistle and says your offside - you were offside - that's it!
Argue and your ten yards back towards your own goal.
It was (apart from captains making their points which they are entitled to do) a great tournament from the sporting point of view. Regardless of how silly the decision were - they just got on with it.

>>>Argue and your ten yards back towards your own goal.<<

I'm impressed with this clever little device, it must be quite effective in putting a stop to any dissent. I think that the use of video playbacks are a good idea too. Is it only the ref who can ask for a video ruling, or can the ref be overuled at the discretion of other officials?

I received this in my email today, it is captioned Spot the difference - how cruel!

yeah, I'm still confused by some of the minor details
but the overall picture seems OK.

american gridiron football
the reason why we wear pads and helmets is cause we don't wanna die.
you ever see someone lead a hit with their head?
that helmet can kill ya

I notice that in rugby...they tackle
they don't hit to kill.

maybe americans are just dumb or meaner or something

I don't know LordAndry, some might say wearing pads and helmets puts American Footballers in the pussycat class.

First off Lord Andry - let me say I'm a fan of Grid Iron and enjoy watching the games just as I do watching League, Aussie Rules, Gaelic football etc etc haven't a clue what the rules are in most cases but if the ref whistles (or throws the flag) for an infringement the TV replay usually shows why he's done it. All sports have their obscure rules (EG Gridiron - At the line of scrimmage (You Yanks could never spell! It's a SCRUM!) When can someone become an eligable receiver of a pass - if the ball goes backwards from the snap and is fumbled are all the offense players entitled to get hold of it or only the receivers and tight end, and if a forward pass is fumbled but doesn't touch the ground is another player from the same team entitled to catch it and carry on with the play?
Not serious questions just pointing out that not knowing all the ins and outs of the rules doesn't stop you enjoying a game. I've stopped watching the snooker and a lot of the Cricket coverage in the UK since they stopped the LIVE coverage and only showed highlights of the games - I enjoy watching half an hour of safety play in snooker or a couple of hours of spin bowling against defensive batting at the end of an innings - that's where the best players show how good they really are.

Great picture Sue. Thanks for posting it!!

Actually, Eraser, it's more than some.
I think it's a lot!

but I think that the helmet and pad thing is a circle.
cause of the way the players hit
if they didn't have the protection, they would get hurt every time.

Rugby is more skilled...sure there are injuries
but I think they teach them how to hit without really injuring players

now gridiron football
the players just hit with abandon.
I used to play full contact gridiron football
when I was young...this was stupid
I remember one guy actually having his collarbone broken on a hit when he ran up through the middle.

fosse,

when on offense only the five offensive lineman are not eligble to receive forward passes.

fumbles are different
at that point all the rules go out the window and whoever can get the ball can proceed with it.

LordAndry, I don't think you did, but just in case you may have taken my post the wrong way, I forgot to put this at the end Oh and if anybody thought I was joking about the NZ thing earlier:

Did you hear about the politician who was found dead in a
All Black jersey?

The police had to dress him up in women's underwear in order
to save his family from the embarrassment.

Thanks Lordandry - that does make sense to me - but then I do understand the Rugby Union Offside law