Section 2: Equipment
The ball is governed by Section 3. It shall be oval in shape and inflated with an approved bladder, to the specification set out in that Section (Section 3).
The player and players’ equipment are dealt with together (Section 4), covering the jersey, shorts, socks and boots a player wears, and the standards those items must meet.
Items likely to cause injury are not permitted, and the referee has authority over what a player may wear on the field (Section 4). Enforcement during a match falls to the referee and touch judges (Section 16).
- Oval, air-inflated, with an outer casing of leather or other material approved by the IRL Board (Section 3).
- Nothing may be used in its construction which might prove dangerous to players (Section 3).
- The dimensions of the ball are not fixed in the Laws themselves — they are those approved by the IRL Board (Section 3). Published match-ball figures come from the approved supplier specification rather than from the Laws, and are not reproduced here as if they were.
- In senior competitions the ball shall be light in colour so that it can more easily be seen by spectators (Section 3, Notes).
- If the size or shape of the ball ceases to comply, the referee blows the whistle immediately (Section 3).