THE PUBLICATION of the above photograph, taken by Cyril Byrne, in last Monday's sports supplement provoked a blizzard of penned and faxed communication from the world of Leinster schools rugby. When 'Rock captain Tom O'Donoghue stretched to get his fingertips to the ball for a crucial try, little did he realise the havoc he was about to create for An Post. The image and quotation of Law 11 (A try is scored by first grounding the ball in the opponents in-goal area) within the caption gave rise to all sorts of arguments both for and against the try. While it was never the intention to in any way blemish Blackrock's victory over Clongowes, the picture was worth dwelling on if only because it offered yet another example of the difficulty for umpires and referees when it comes to determining legitimate scores. In GAA games nowadays, it seems virtually de rigeur for officials to wave wide at least one valid score per game. Soccer also has its share of phantom areas, from Mark Overmars's perfectly legitimate goal being overruled because it clashed with tradition, to Nicolas Anelka's thundering effort against England at Wembley which whacked off the underside of the crossbar in a moment spookily reminiscent of Geoff Hurst's still-debated goal against the Germans in the 1966 World Cup Final. In relation to Blackrock's try, the publication of Law 12 only served to underline the alertness and positional precision required by officials of the modern game. The section of Law 12 applicable to this case pertains to grounding the ball on the goal line. "If the player grounds the ball on his opponents' goal line, he scores a try." The photograph is the last in a succession of frames charting Tom's drive for the line. And the question remains - is the ball grounded on the line? Answers on a postcard . . .