Stricter refereeing of the scrum will free space for backs to play

Earlier this week I read an article by rugby author and analyst Nick Bishop highlighting some of the problems in an area of the game that I love, which obviously is the scrum.

He like me, believes that modern day scrums are apparently being used just as a way of extracting penalties rather than trying to create opportunities for attack.

He produced some interesting stats for the amateur days in comparison to the professional game using penalties awarded during three World Cups of each era.

In the amateur days there were around 28 scrums per game, with only just over ten per cent resulting in a penalty whereas, despite the fact there are virtually only half as many scrums per game, the professional teams concede nearly three times the number of penalties.

The main beneficiary of awarded scrum penalties in the professional game is usually the team in possession, even though they are often the team committing any number of law breaches.

Nick’s explanation as to the way the team putting the ball in seeks to be awarded penalties seems to me technically flawed and proves to a certain extent that it must be coached, as it flies in the face of everything you would naturally expect to be coached.

He identified the fact that the left side (loosehead) drives forward and attacks the side of the opposition tighthead making him appear to turn inward in breach of the law that says you must push straight.

Anyone who has ever played in an attacking scrum knows that is a completely false scenario if you want to launch a pick up attack because it effectively has your

No.8 running into a crowded area with both scrum-halves and probably the referee, standing in the space where he would be running.

All attacking scrums rely on the tighthead being in front of his loosehead and the further forward he can get, the better.

The reason you need the tighthead forward is to give the No.8 a clear run, usually at the opposition fly-half (always the poorest tackler until Jonny Wilkinson came along), which creates an overlap for your backs to hopefully exploit.

It also increases the angle and distance a defending flanker has to run to complete a tackle, inevitably meaning the team in possession will be going forward to the breakdown and have an advantage.

There is no law that states a penalty should be given for a wheeled scrum as long as all are pushing straight. In fact the law only states that if it is wheeled over 90 degrees the scrum must be reset.

Unfortunately, many match officials fail to enforce the laws at the scrum including law 19.31 that states all players not included in the scrum must be five metres behind the rear most foot of their own scrum, which should separate the back-lines by at least14-16 metres.

Enforcing this law would allow more time for attack play, slow the rush defence and encourage teams to use the scrum as it was intended, to create more space for backs to use.

“Modern scrums are apparently being used as a way of extracting penalties”