Editing Forward pass (section)

==Rugby football==
In the two codes of rugby ([[rugby union|union]] and [[rugby league|league]]), a forward pass is against the rules. Normally this results in a [[Scrum (rugby)|scrum]] to the opposing team, but on rare occasions a penalty may be awarded if the referee is of the belief that the ball was deliberately thrown forward.<ref name="australianrugbyleague.com.au"/>

In both codes of rugby the direction of the pass is relative to the player making the pass and not to the actual path relative to the ground. A forward pass occurs when the player passes the ball forward in relation to himself.<ref name="australianrugbyleague.com.au">[http://www.nrl.com/portals/nrl/RadEditor/Documents/NRL%20Rules%20book%202013FINAL.pdf "RUGBY LEAGUE LAWS OF THE GAME INTERNATIONAL LEVEL WITH NOTES ON THE LAWS AND NRL TELSTRA PREMIERSHIP INTERPRETATIONS"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150412225718/http://www.nrl.com/portals/nrl/RadEditor/Documents/NRL%20Rules%20book%202013FINAL.pdf |date=April 12, 2015 }} Retrieved 28 April 2015.</ref> (This applies only to the movement of the player, not to the direction in which the passer is facing, i.e. if the player is facing backwards and passes toward their team's goal area, it is not forward; and conversely, if the player passes toward the opponent's goal area, it is forward.) In rugby league, the [[video referee]] may not make judgements on whether a pass is forward.<ref>{{cite news|last=Alston|first=Josh|title=Henry queries benefit of the doubt|url=http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2009/08/31/75515_cowboys.html|access-date=18 July 2012|newspaper=[[Townsville Bulletin]]|date=31 August 2009}}</ref>

The [[bomb (kick)|garryowen]], as well as the cross-field kick, while not as reliable as the forward pass and more difficult to execute successfully, can provide some of the function that a forward pass does in American and Canadian football.