I think the VR should be allowed to judge on forward passes, with the suggested BOD to attacking side if it's not clear. We see the pictures every week on SKY and some camera angles are decieving, but there are some instances where the pass looks forward on EVERY angle they have. You can also often judge the direction the players hands move in (which is the criteria referees are told to use when judging a forward pass) from the replay. I think the blanket ban on putting forward passes to the VR is wrong and leads to some obviously wrong decisions being made.

No rule changes are required, but it would be nice if all RL commentators where obliged to go on a course and prove they know the laws before being unleashed on the general public.

because they were behind or level when the ball was passed

Think for a moment about putting together a computer simulation to adjudge forward passes. It would be advantageous to project the path and velocity of the passer taken from his path and velocity at the time of making the pass - seeing as a forward pass is only judged entirely RELATIVE TO THE PLAYER MAKING IT. Therefore, for the purposes of using computers to adjudge a forward pass (and crucially, making it visually simple for the viewer - a little like the YouTube forward pass video) could be relevant to project their path in order to rule whether the ball moves forward of the passer at any point. I simply suggest it as one method of using the VR to rule of forward passes.

Another method is to simply measure velocity. If it is seen that the player is moving towards the opposition's goal-line at 25kph at the time of passing, yet the ball moves towards the goal-line at 28kph relative to the ground, the pass is forward.

No, there is no momentum rule (I never said there was!), but momentum is the crucial factor when the ball can travel forwards but still be a legal pass, as the Laws state: "A player running towards his opponents’ goal line may throw the ball towards a colleague who is behind him but because of the thrower’s own [size=130momentum [/sizethe ball travels forward relative to the ground." As in, it is the MOMENTUM of the man passing the ball that means a legal pass actually travels forward relative to the ground. If you don't think momentum is involved, I would suggest it's you who doesn't quite understand.

Just a minor point: Irrelevant. As long as it's traveling backwards when the passing player releases it, the ball's subsequent flight is not a factor (again see the weekend's play-off game)

But for the purposes of visualising for a VR replay - and making it simple for the viewer, it could be a useful tool. It's simply a suggestion - I'm not saying for a second the pass should be judged from creating a projection and visualising this in a graphic. Factors such as this are another reason passing forward passes to the VR is a dangerous step.

Of course, by "travelling backwards", you mean relevant to the player and not the ground? And to be pedantic, the Laws only mention the ball can travel forwards after being passed backwards if they are "blown by the wind" or bounce. If the ball is spun and consequently curves forward through the air, should this be adjudged foward? After all, the player making the pass has caused it to move forward.

That unusual but exact type of pass (from Graham Holroyd) occurred in the Halifax V Sheffield play-off game last Thursday. Robert Hicks was unsure what he'd witnessed and handed it on to the video official (Stuart Cummings) looking for a potential 'knock on' and the try correctly (IMO) was awarded.