New scrum process approved for global trial

[Crapspray]

One of the commentators (I think it was Horan) during the match said: "we don't want the ref to be pedantic about it".
Pedantic? The rules clearly state you have to put the ball in straight!

It's not as if the calls were marginal as well. They were blindingly obvious.

I love how Genia calls it 'a work in progress' in the article. Yes, I imagine it takes months of training and study to put a ball in straight. He tried it on and the ref pulled him up, as he did for Smith.

 

[ratsapprentice]

It's a bit like nuclear disarmament, once people have the weapon they they don't want to get rid of it for fear of other people retaining it.

 

[GazzaJAnimal]

I think that the new scrum engagement procedure, from what I've seen in the ITM Cup and the Rugby Championship, has worked thus far. I've really enjoyed the games I've seen and that's not something I have been able to say the last couple of seasons.

 

[dasNdanger]

I've only watched a couple matches with the new scrum process, but so far I'm liking it.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/w...-laws/story-e6frf4pu-1226699462965#mm-premium

I really don't understand this way of thinking regarding the scrum, it seems to be particularly prevalent among Aussies.
One of the commentators (I think it was Horan) during the match said: "we don't want the ref to be pedantic about it".
Pedantic? The rules clearly state you have to put the ball in straight!

I think maybe they're concerned that some refs will get too anal about it and slow down the game by resetting scrums and calling penalties when the ball is just a hair off the mark. My thoughts are this - crack down hard the first few games and the boys will soon learn they can't get away with crooked feeds, and they'll all soon start doing things the right way and that should help move the game along nicely.

Biggest fear? The refs will be tough at first, then slack off and start letting those tricksty #9s get away with murder again.


das

 

[smartcooky]

There is one part of this whole scrum issue that is really important. Some of the commentators are completely missing it (e.g. Horan and co, for whom the scrum is, and probably always has been, a complete mystery) This is that the straight feed MUST go hand in hand with a square, stable and stationary scrum. Too often in the the past, referees, especially at elite level, have focussed on Law 20.5

[TEXTAREA]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.[/TEXTAREA]

at the expense of 20.1 (j)

[TEXTAREA]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.[/TEXTAREA]

Now in the past, referees have allowed the ball to be shoved off the mark before the scrummie put the ball in, but because they have also permitted crooked throw-ins, these omissions had little impact.

All that has changed now, but if you watch the the 1st Bledisloe test, Craig Joubert, while he generally had an excellent game overall, was still falling into the old habit of trying to get the ball fed quickly, even when the scrum was still moving.

I cannot overstate the importance of the referees now ensuring that the scrum is not moving. Scrum stability compliance needs to come first and needs to be accorded greater material weight than whether or not the ball is fed straight, i.e., if the scrum is moving and the scrummie throws the ball in crooked, the "pushing early" offence is more material than the "crooked feed" offence. If the scrummie throws the ball in straight while his pack is being pushed backwards, he will be effectively be throwing the ball into his opponent's scrum.

I have prepared this simple gif animation to show how vital this aspect is.

The red line is the middle line of the scrum, which moves to the right with the scrum
The blue line (when it appears) is the path the ball takes when it is thrown in straight

As you can see, the moving scrum is all the time pushing the hooker of the team throwing in away from the strike zone.

If referees expect the scrummie to throw the ball in straight, they simply must understand that the scrum must not be moving at the time of the put in.

 

[dullonien]

Totally agree smartcooky.

The problem has always been that the two laws you state contradict each other slightly. It's also difficult to judge just how long the scrum has to be stationary before the scrum half must feed the ball. Using the Wales v England game as an example, where Youngs was penalised a couple of times for delaying the feed. I thought the scrum was sufficiently stationary for long enough for Youngs to feed the ball in those situations, even if it was only for a second or so, but others would argue that Wales pushed before the ball was fed. It's a matter of opinion really, and different ref's might view it differently.

Things get even more muddled when packs use deliberate tactics to confuse the ref here, such as backing off slightly on the engagement, which can appear like the opposition pushing early.

I think the reduction of the 'hit' in the new laws allows for a more stationary scrum to begin with, but as you say, it still needs to be refereed properly.

 

[lynam1104]

There have been encouraging signs since the changes it will take time to adjust as what had become a fundamental aspect of the scrum has been vastly reduced.

 

[welshglory]

I hope we don't blame the reffs whenever things go wrong again.

Let's face it at the pro level teams will always try to bend the laws.