Stop hassling the number nine come scrummage time

Roar Rookie

30th January, 2015

1026 Reads

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The scrum needs a rethink. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch)

Blackmark

Roar Rookie

30th January, 2015

1026 Reads

Okay, so we all seem to agree that the scrum is a mess, I get that. As a former number 13 the scrum always looks a mess, but what I really want to know is, why is there so much pressure on the number nine?

Apparently the rules have changed so that scrums are supposed to stay up – not that the props have heard this with improper binding and driving in at an angle. Ball in straight, no early strike.

But is that really the problem with the scrum? No, there is something going on that is worse.

So my team knocks-on, you get the feed. As the new rules try to achieve, the scrum is a pretty even contest. The ball comes back to your number eight but your scrum-half can’t pick up the ball because my guy is all over his ass.

Clean ball from the back of the scrum is a rare occurrence now days. I knocked-on but your number nine feels all the pressure. Doesn’t anyone else think this is a shitty state of affairs?

This never used to happen when I played. My team knocked-on, so as long as your scrum can handle the pressure, you deserve the ball back. Since when did it become acceptable for the number nine to be so extremely challenged just to pick up a ball that has already been won?

This is making the game hard to watch and being from Australia, where apparently no one pays attention anymore, it ruins any flow the game deserves. They are trying to slow down AFL, we should tell them to add a few scrums.

We all know most number nine’s are the most annoying, mouthy fellas in every team. Let’s send them a step or two back so we can enjoy the game a bit more, rather than debating whether they were offside or not.

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