Here’s one quick way to end the shambles at scrum-time
Scrums, mauls and rucks are the areas of the game that I have always loved, both as a player and a spectator. As a former forward I understand many of the nuances of those facets of the game and the importance in getting them right. Given that set-piece play starts from a static situation where the referee is in control and can pick where he orchestrates the action from, you would think they would always get it right.
Like all forwards, I know that as far as the set-piece stuff of lineouts and scrums is concerned, most match officials don’t really understand what is going on and that’s why certain things happen.
However, they make the best judgement they can within their understanding of the laws that govern those parts of the game.
French ref Romain Poite has been heavily criticised over the past week for his display in last week’s game between Wales and England with (I hate to say) some justification.
Much was made of Sam Underhill’s tackle on Dan Biggar in the air but I actually agree with Poite who overruled his TMO because Underhill controlled Biggar’s descent to the ground reducing the chances of injury.
The same can’t be said of Elliot Daly’s shoulder-charge tackle on Josh Adams which was dangerously close to Adam’s head and surprised many as no action was taken, even though the referee reviewed it on the pitch.
Wales coach Wayne Pivac saved his greatest criticism for how the scrum was handled, pointing out that many of the decisions could have gone either way but seemed to be focused against his team.
The funny thing is if you look at all the games England have played, the scrum has been a mess in each one. Whether by fault or design in every game that England have played in this competition, the scrums have had to be reset more than any of the other matches.
England have been given the lion’s share of penalties that referees awarded at the scrum in each of their matches which, as improbable as it sounds, makes me wonder if they are actually being coached in ways to take a scrum down or create a reset.
What makes me think this way is the fact that at the first scrum in each of England’s game there were around three to four resets as if part of a planned approach.
The system of setting the scrum, with its ‘crouch, bind, set’ timed by the referee is easy to manipulate to make your opposite number hit the floor, particularly as after the call to set most front rows readjust their feet.
A slight downward or upward pressure at that point when your opposition is readjusting his foot position can create a reset or penalty depending on a referee’s interpretation which is easily manipulated.
Pivac was also right when he said England were applying pressure before the ball was put in, which is
“The backs are busily changing the game of rugby football into football rugby”
against the laws, however every pack (including Wales) drive in hard as ‘set’ is called and all referees ignore it.
The thing is if World Rugby wanted to reduce the number of resets at the ‘set’ point, it would only require a slight adjustment to the process.
Simply by making the props place one foot forward would stop the scrum going down by increasing stability, stopping players bending or being bent too far and collapsing.
Meanwhile, the backs are busily changing the game of rugby football into football rugby by kicking virtually every bit of possession they have.
The delays at the scrum and the boring breakdown kicking game are turning first-time viewers off the sport just at the time rugby has the chance to sell itself to a new audience.
Unusually,World Rugby have taken note and are putting together a group to discuss possible ways in which to improve the game for spectators. Surprisingly they have chosen a number of coaches, including Eddie Jones, to coordinate ideas.
I say surprisingly because coaches are the ones that cause the problem as they all try to find ways of ‘getting round’ any new variation World Rugby put in place.
Eddie said it was no coincidence the 2015 and 2019 World Cups produced ‘good rugby’ with attacking games and defensive games, forgetting the fact that there are 20 teams involved with half coming from tier two or below, making attack easier in those games.
Jones has been quite critical of referees saying that referees are not getting together and he adds “there is a lack of face-to-face consultation of what we need and what we expect (I assume he means coaches), which therefore creates variants in the way referees apply the laws”.
It has always been understood that the laws of rugby are very complex and difficult to apply and that is why it was always said that you don’t play the laws of the game, you play the referee’s interpretation of the laws and that he is the sole arbiter of the game.
Jones, like all coaches, wants to be able to control his players in all aspects of the game, but to do that he wants a set of laws that can only be interpreted in one way, his way, just like every other coach.
Only problem with that is, as soon as a new system is agreed a coach somewhere will find a way to slow or stop the game again.