What constitutes "time" no one knows. It is reported that the Stormers, who will play under the same interpretation in Super 14, have been trialling a new scheme of clapping their hands over their prey to show officials they have given the tackled player a chance to play the ball. That's how farcical the situation has become.

Not so long ago the law was simple - the tackler simply had to roll away or be penalised - no ifs, no buts. Everyone knew exactly where they stood. Thanks to the seemingly unaccountable buffoons at the IRB, however, players and refs now pretty much have to cope with laws which appear to shift in emphasis from week to week.

You really couldn't make it up, although that is exactly what the IRB appear to be doing.