Possession is more important in football, I agree. But I'm saying I suspect the risk of a lateral pass can be much lower than generally accepted because you ca

Possession is more important in football, I agree. But I'm saying I suspect the risk of a lateral pass can be much lower than generally accepted because you can almost guarantee a pass completion by doing it right. In rugby, in open play, it's also very risky to loose the ball when attempting a lateral pass. The opponents can then gain possession and attack while your defensive line is not in place properly. So dropping the lateral pass is also very risky. But rugby solves that risk by making sure lateral passes are dropped very seldom (watch a top level game and see. Around 5 turnovers per team are because of a lateral pass that's dropped, if that much).