What is a knock on?

What is a knock on?

Mike Schmid (Director of Rugby, Esher RFC) gives expert video advice on: What is a foul or penalty?; What is a penalty goal?; Why would someone get sin binned? and more...

A knock on occurs when the player either receiving the ball or has the ball in his hands loses that ball forward. So if the ball moves forward from his hands either towards another player or on contact with the ground, the referee will call that a forward pass or a knock on.