Menu
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
Latest activity
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles and first posts only
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Help Support The Rugby Forum :
Forums
Rugby Union
General Rugby Union
Dysfunctional scrums - the agony continues
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="smartcooky" data-source="post: 826694" data-attributes="member: 20605"><p>Bent feeding can also be a consequence of an unfair situation in the scrum & tunnel. </p><p></p><p>In days of yore (guys like Dunhookin' will remember them well) BOTH Hookers hooked for the ball. You had a 7 v 7 pushing contest at feeding time, and the SH fed the ball <u>straight</u>, partly because a squint feed was a penalty kick not a free kick.</p><p></p><p>Then, some teams started ignoring the hook on the opposition feed, and instead, had the hooker put his feet back and push. The Pumas were particularly good at this (in Argentina, this technique was known as "Bajada"). The teams were attempting to use their 8 v 7 weight advantage to push the feeding team off their own ball, and it often succeeded. Even if it didn't, the feeding team's scrum would still be going backwards while the SH is trying to clear the ball.</p><p></p><p>To counter this, the feeding team would have their hooker also put his feet back and push, resulting in hookers no longer hooking, and ultimately, the squint feed was born.</p><p></p><p>Now, if you force the SH to feed straight, you effectively take away part of the solution to the 7 v 8 disadvantage problem. Perhaps one solution to this could be to make it mandatory for both hookers to strike (so that they cannot push). Another solution might be to penalise squint feeds only if the non-feeding team's hooker strikes for the ball. If he chooses not to, then allow the squint feed to go unpenalised on the grounds that it was immaterial. If a non-feeding hooker wants to force the opposition SH to feed straight, all he has to do is a make a genuine attempt to strike.</p><p></p><p>IMO, whatever they end up doing, until the 7 v 8 pushing disadvantage for the feeding team is addressed, I'm afraid the problems with feeding at elite level are going to remain.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="smartcooky, post: 826694, member: 20605"] Bent feeding can also be a consequence of an unfair situation in the scrum & tunnel. In days of yore (guys like Dunhookin' will remember them well) BOTH Hookers hooked for the ball. You had a 7 v 7 pushing contest at feeding time, and the SH fed the ball [U]straight[/U], partly because a squint feed was a penalty kick not a free kick. Then, some teams started ignoring the hook on the opposition feed, and instead, had the hooker put his feet back and push. The Pumas were particularly good at this (in Argentina, this technique was known as "Bajada"). The teams were attempting to use their 8 v 7 weight advantage to push the feeding team off their own ball, and it often succeeded. Even if it didn't, the feeding team's scrum would still be going backwards while the SH is trying to clear the ball. To counter this, the feeding team would have their hooker also put his feet back and push, resulting in hookers no longer hooking, and ultimately, the squint feed was born. Now, if you force the SH to feed straight, you effectively take away part of the solution to the 7 v 8 disadvantage problem. Perhaps one solution to this could be to make it mandatory for both hookers to strike (so that they cannot push). Another solution might be to penalise squint feeds only if the non-feeding team's hooker strikes for the ball. If he chooses not to, then allow the squint feed to go unpenalised on the grounds that it was immaterial. If a non-feeding hooker wants to force the opposition SH to feed straight, all he has to do is a make a genuine attempt to strike. IMO, whatever they end up doing, until the 7 v 8 pushing disadvantage for the feeding team is addressed, I'm afraid the problems with feeding at elite level are going to remain. [/QUOTE]
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Rugby Union
General Rugby Union
Dysfunctional scrums - the agony continues
Top