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New scrum process approved for global trial

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About bloody time is all I can say. This was trialled in a couple of competitions already.

http://www.irb.com/newsmedia/mediazone/pressrelease/newsid=2066642.html

The International Rugby Board Council has announced the implementation of a global trial of the “crouch, bind, set†scrum engagement sequence, which is aimed at enhancing player welfare by reducing impact on engagement by up to 25 per cent in elite competition.

Approval of the sequence on player welfare grounds, is coupled with a call for Game-wide commitment from law-makers, match officials, coaches and players to ensure a fair and positive attitude is applied to deal with scrum issues facing the elite level of the Game.

Implementation will begin at the start of the next season in both hemispheres and follows extensive evaluation of the sequence during the recent IRB Pacific Rugby Cup, which indicated the possible delivery of a more stable platform leading to fewer resets and more successful scrums.

In a revision of the 'crouch, touch, set' engagement sequence currently being trialled, props will be expected to bind using their outside arm after the referee has called "bind" in the sequence.

The front rows will maintain the bind until the referee calls “setâ€. At that point, the two packs will engage.
The process was overseen and recommended to IRB Council by the specialist IRB Scrum Steering Group (featuring Union scrum experts) as a potential enhancement to the scrum mechanics after an extensive process of testing and analysis at all levels of the Game within the unprecedented IRB funded Scrum Forces Project run by the University of Bath in conjunction with the RFU.

Referees will be stricter

IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: “The scrum is a fundamental and dynamic part of our Game. It is important that we continue to promote the best possible player welfare standards and this trial process is about putting players first and delivering a reduction of the forces on engagement at elite level, which could have significant positive effects on long-term player welfare.â€

“The global implementation of this trial is a forward step, which will be subject to continual monitoring and evaluation. I would like to thank all Unions for their support and enthusiasm throughout this process.â€

Coupled with the process, the IRB will instruct referees to ensure that the ball does not enter the tunnel unless the scrum is square and stationary and that a straight throw-in is strictly policed.

Lapasset added: “The implementation of the revised sequence alone is not about overcoming all the challenges of the elite scrum but it is a forward step. There is a collective responsibility for coaches, players and administrators to make the scrum a positive, fair and, above all, safe contest. Match officials will be stricter when refereeing the existing law.â€

International Rugby Players’ Association Executive Director Rob Nichol said “It is our hope that through this trial, players and officials are able to implement the new sequence in a manner that maintains the scrum as a contest and central feature of the Game, delivers on improved short and long-term player safety and welfare objectives and goes some way towards eliminating the frustrations associated with resets. We appreciate the work undertaken by all involved to get the project to this stage.â€

Positive move to improve the scrum

Scrum expert and Wales’ head coach for the upcoming tour to Japan, Robin McBryde, said: “We welcome the positive move to tackle the scrum, as it plays a significant part in the game, and must be preserved as a safe and fair contest. We look forward to getting to grips with the new sequence and playing our part in addressing the issues for a successful outcome.â€

Chairman of the IRB Match Officials Selection Panel and Interim Chairman of the IRB Rugby Committee John Jeffrey said: “There is a collective responsibility to ensure the scrums are improved at elite level. Everyone must play their part and the referees are very much part of the solution.â€

In collaboration with Member Unions and key stakeholders, a Game-wide educational process featuring coach and match official workshops will be rolled out ahead of the trial.

The five perspective Law changes currently being trialled and the trial change to television match official protocols will be considered by IRB Council at its annual meeting in 2014. This new scrum engagement trial will be before Council at its interim meeting the same year. As such, any amendments that are approved will be in place a year ahead of Rugby World Cup 2015.

As part of the new engagement sequence, the referee will call ‘crouch’ and then ‘bind’. The front rows crouch and using their outside arm each prop must bind. A loosehead prop must bind on the opposing tighthead prop by placing the left arm inside the right arm of the tighthead and gripping the tighthead prop’s jersey on the back or side. A tighthead prop must bind on the opposing loosehead prop by placing the right arm outside the left upper arm of the opposing loosehead prop and gripping the loosehead prop’s jersey with the right hand only on the back or side.

'Crouch, bind, set' will be the call

The props must not grip the opponent’s chest, arm, sleeve or collar. Following a pause, the referee will then call ‘set’ when the front rows are ready. The front rows may then engage. The “set†call is not a command but an indication that the front rows may come together when ready. The sanction for any infringement will be a free kick.

A crouched position is the extension of the normal stance by bending the knees sufficiently to move into the engagement without a charge. A front row must not form at a distance from its opponents and rush against them or pull them. The sanction for ‘charging’ will be a penalty kick.

The 25 per cent reduction of compression forces is based on peak compression forces under the current sequence averaging 16,500 newtons for elite men’s packs and 8,700 newtons for women’s international packs.

The research was based on two phases of examination under the University of Bath Scrum Forces Project: Phase one included six levels of the Game from international to under-18 with six teams at each level and six different engagement processes. The packs scrummaged with an instrumented scrum machine which measured the forces on engagement and the secondary shove post-engagement.

Phase two was live scrummaging with players in both front rows wearing pads which measured the forces on engagement. The results from the elite teams showed that, averaged across all teams, the 'crouch, bind, set' condition generated lower peak forces during the engagement phase, demonstrating a 25 per cent reduction compared with the ‘crouch, touch, set’ or ‘crouch, touch, pause, engage’ sequence.

The Scrum Steering Group comprises: David Barnes (IRPA), Mike Cron (NZRU), Didier Retière (FFR), Brian O'Shea (ARU), Norm Mottram (USA Rugby), Richie Dixon (GRU), Ken Quarrie (NZRU), Graham Mourie (IRB Rugby Committee member), John Jeffrey (IRB Council Member, SRU and Chairman of IRB Rugby Committee), Gavin Williams (RFU), Dr Martin Raftery (IRB Chief Medical Officer), Joël Jutge (IRB High Performance Match Official Manager).

The group is supported by Dr Grant Trewartha, Dr Mike England and Dr Keith Stokes, members of the University of Bath research team.
 
Cian Healy reaction:
Cian Healy ‏<s style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(187, 187, 187);">@</s>ProperChurch<small class="time" style="font-size: 12px; color: rgb(187, 187, 187); position: relative; float: right; margin-top: 1px;">1h</small>
“<s style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 181, 210);">@</s>ultimaterugby: IRB approve new scrum trial, focus on player safety - http://bit.ly/ZPKQhS †goodbye props, hello 2 new flankers...

And Mike Ross':
Mike Ross ‏<s style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(187, 187, 187);">@</s>MikeRoss03<small class="time" style="font-size: 12px; color: rgb(187, 187, 187); position: relative; float: right; margin-top: 1px;">12m</small>
<s style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 181, 210);">@</s>ProperChurch <s style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 181, 210);">@</s>ultimaterugby if they just got rid of the 90 degree rule it'd probably eliminate half their problems
 
One nice thing about all of these ongoing changes is that when you watch rugby clips on youtube, you can always tell the year of the game even without looking at the screen because of the scrum call. :)


das
 
Thank Poseidon above. So many problems come from the engage, it allows one set of forwards to get a platform by engaging illegally, or early and getting a shove on. I really don't think the continuation of Prop porn is worth the ammount of time it wastes.
 
Must resist urge... Irish props... aghh... ;)

Healy...........better.......................than.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Jenkins :eek: ahh can breathe easy now.
 
So will this see a complete re-evaluation of who the top props are?

Could we next season we could see Tony Buckley emerge as one of the best under the new calls.

I don't know why they didn't just change back to the old calls that they had before. In the old times the top scrummagers like Os du Randt for example were rewarded for their skill and the scrum and could profit from it, but equally it didn't take up so much time and didn't award points for occasions where teams just flop on the ground and the referee is essentially just guessing the infringement and the audience has no clue.

I don't like the idea that under new rules you could get away with just playing flankers and the scrummaging prop dies. It will be sad if the scrum gets so bad we just get to Rugby League scrums.

I also hope the changes have been made because of the problem about the time it takes, the bad spectacle for viewing, and the fact too many penalties result from it.
 
I'd only heard about these trials today with this news....

Seems as if old school props are slowly being dissolved over time with rule changes. Scrums do take a huge chunk out of the game when being reset etc but is this right. I guess you could argue that there will be less emphasis now on hit timing and more on leg power and pack cohesiveness to gain upper hand.

Still think the biggest problem is squiffy put ins from scrum halves. Dont think they know how to "throw" it in straight anymore
 
I'd only heard about these trials today with this news....

Seems as if old school props are slowly being dissolved over time with rule changes. Scrums do take a huge chunk out of the game when being reset etc but is this right. I guess you could argue that there will be less emphasis now on hit timing and more on leg power and pack cohesiveness to gain upper hand.

Still think the biggest problem is squiffy put ins from scrum halves. Dont think they know how to "throw" it in straight anymore

Some of us are "old school" enough to remember that this "new scrum process" is a case of back to the future.

This new process is very much like scrummaging used to be, before some fool decided to introduce the hit. Its about about front rows having good technique and physical strength, not about their ability at timing a crash to get an advantage.
 
Some of us are "old school" enough to remember that this "new scrum process" is a case of back to the future.

This new process is very much like scrummaging used to be, before some fool decided to introduce the hit. Its about about front rows having good technique and physical strength, not about their ability at timing a crash to get an advantage.

I agree sir. Almost a throw back to the old days when the front rows came together, then the second row, etc. Then after the ball was thrown in straight by the half back a contest could begin with all the pushing and shoving and hooking and all that!
 
I agree with Cooky.

This is the only thing that matters:

The IRB will instruct referees to ensure that the ball does not enter the tunnel unless the scrum is square and stationary and that a straight throw-in is strictly policed.

They have chucked that in there, hoping it will go under the radar... they know that this is the real issue that needed to be adressed.
They couldn't just come out and admit that they had sanctioned refs to ignore these fundamental rules, the embarrassment would be too great... admitting that it is an issue that they, themselves have created.
 
So will this see a complete re-evaluation of who the top props are?

Could we next season we could see Tony Buckley emerge as one of the best under the new calls.

I don't know why they didn't just change back to the old calls that they had before. In the old times the top scrummagers like Os du Randt for example were rewarded for their skill and the scrum and could profit from it, but equally it didn't take up so much time and didn't award points for occasions where teams just flop on the ground and the referee is essentially just guessing the infringement and the audience has no clue.

I don't like the idea that under new rules you could get away with just playing flankers and the scrummaging prop dies. It will be sad if the scrum gets so bad we just get to Rugby League scrums.

I also hope the changes have been made because of the problem about the time it takes, the bad spectacle for viewing, and the fact too many penalties result from it.
Yeah that was one of my main gripes with this system. A lot of refs really just can't judge the scrums because it's so vague, and if it looks like one side is winning a lot of decisions will go their way.
 
Straight put in? Hookers having to hook the ball. Now that is a lost art trying to push on one leg. Lots of balls straight out the other side it is then.
 
Im very intrigued to see how this will all turn out. Despite being an ex front row forward, I do get extremely frustrated and bored with huge chunks of the game being eaten up by reset, collapsed scrums. Hope this helps the system.

For the record I didn't mean any offense with old school comment, was just trying to differentiate the pre Professional props and modern day.

I guess the new rules should bring back an emphasis on strength with props, not that its been lacking!
 
I don't think this will change the physical requirements of props at all.
Don't know how Cian Healy of all people can be ruing the decline of fat-boys!
 
Straight put in? Hookers having to hook the ball. Now that is a lost art trying to push on one leg. Lots of balls straight out the other side it is then.

Like when Willem Alberts picked it up and scored against England LAST YEAR June?
 
I also hope the changes have been made because of the problem about the time it takes, the bad spectacle for viewing, and the fact too many penalties result from it.

I agree with the penalties point. Too many called from the scrum...the scrum should remain rugby union like, take up some space and time during the game and give some advantage to the team with a better once; but it shouldn't help dictate the outcome of an entire match so much.
So your side has smaller forwards, or just as big but they just can't scrummage like the opponents'...wtf, as a back you just stand there and see your team lose by a score divisible by 3 ? If one scrum *dominates* the other for 80min, it's just impossible to still win it.

As for the time it takes, I dunno, I don't really see a big problem.
Everybody complains but, it's not THAT long and it's an exciting part of the game...it's always cool when there's the first knock-on of the game, esp. when it's relatively late, you're waiting for those two packs to rhino each other...and it's "not attractive" enough ppl say, well...if they don't like it, they don't have to watch rugby they can always switch to the music channel...and listen to Elton John.
 
For the record I didn't mean any offense with old school comment, was just trying to differentiate the pre Professional props and modern day.

No worries mate. When people call me "Old School", I consider it a compliment not an insult.


I agree with Cooky.

This is the only thing that matters:



They have chucked that in there, hoping it will go under the radar... they know that this is the real issue that needed to be adressed.
They couldn't just come out and admit that they had sanctioned refs to ignore these fundamental rules, the embarrassment would be too great... admitting that it is an issue that they, themselves have created.

Well, not quite.

So long as they kept allowing the front rows to compete with each other before the ball was put in, nothing was going to fix the problems. Simply making the scrummie throw the ball in straight is part of, but not the whole solution.

The problem was, and still is, the scrum Law with relation to stability and put in. These two laws...


[TEXTAREA]LAW 20.1 FORMING A SCRUM
(j) Stationary and parallel. Until the ball leaves the scrum half's hands, the scrum must be
stationary and the middle line must be parallel to the goal lines. A team must not shove the
scrum away from the mark before the ball is thrown in.
Sanction: Free Kick[/TEXTAREA]

and

[TEXTAREA]20.5 THROWING THE BALL INTO THE SCRUM
No Delay. As soon as the front rows have come together, the scrum half must throw in the
ball without delay. The scrum half must throw in the ball when told to do so by the referee.
The scrum half must throw in the ball from the side of the scrum first chosen.
Sanction: Free Kick[/TEXTAREA]

... are in direct conflict with each other.

On the one hand 20.1 says the scrum must be square and stable before the scrummie throws the ball in (and the referee is expected to ensure this) and on the other hand, 20.5 says the ball must be thrown in immediately the front rows come together. 20.5 has to either go or be re-worded to something like...


[TEXTAREA]20.5 THROWING THE BALL INTO THE SCRUM
No delay. The scrum half must throw in the ball as soon as the scrum is stationary, and stable. The scrum half must throw in the ball when told to do so by the referee.
The scrum half must throw in the ball from the side of the scrum first chosen.
Sanction: Free Kick[/TEXTAREA]


PS: For those wondering what the engage sequence looks like, here it is in use in this year's Pacific Rugby Championship.


 
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That looks a hell of a lot better than what we have now! Is it the start of next season that this will come in, or will it be around for the tours this summer?
 
That looks a hell of a lot better than what we have now! Is it the start of next season that this will come in, or will it be around for the tours this summer?

AIUI, ITM Cup, Rugby Championship then the NH season and Automn Intermnationals

NOT this year's June tours or the Lions Tour, as players would have to change, then change back for the remainder of Super Rugby
 

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