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If you want to have your eyes opened about scrummages in the modern game, go and visit YouTube and watch England versus New Zealand in 1978 and compare those with the trash we have today.
And for those of you who believe off-loading has been a recent innovation, listen to the commentary and watch the action unfold before your eyes.
The commentators make reference to the running and off-loading as being reminiscent of the old style of All Blacks forward play.
It is true that the law variations in recent years for packing scrums have been brought about in an attempt to reduce the risk of serious injury. However the number of resets, the time if takes to pack a scrum, and the resultant penalties are killing the game as a spectacle.
The video of the 1978 contest is remarkable as the scrums were often set before the halfback was in position to feed the ball into the channel, which in those days was into a channel with a straight line between the front rows – not crooked like we see today.
In junior rugby, age group scrums are de-powered by the grips from the locks going around the waist of the front row players rather than between the legs of the props.
Now we have extremely powerful and heavy packs scrummaging in a controlled way to minimise the potential injuries – but at what cost?
A Wallaby front rower from many years ago told me recently that he had no idea half the time why penalties were being awarded for obscure reasons. I think the referees are having a lucky dip as well.
Getting back to the 1978 match, what is clearly evident is that the packing of scrums had a natural timing about them where the coming together was a just a flow of the game.
Now we have referees calling the scrums in a so-called controlled patterns, but how often do we see the front rows struggling to get the sequences right?
Scrummaging at the best of times is a dark art known to few and can be a thing of rare beauty.
There are now so many resets that it is becoming a major event in itself rather than being simply a way to restart the game.
What is the solution? No one seems to know but clearly something needs to be found. Looking at the scrums from the 1970s, they look rather good in comparison.
Those were the days when they had five minutes on the field for halftime, forwards hunted in packs and the backs had classical moves allowed by fewer players in defensive lines.
I am not suggesting for a minute that rugby in those days was perfect but compared to the rugby league stereotypes we see now, the game had much better shape.
Forwards were forwards and backs were backs.
In evolving the game, should we perhaps look backwards to find the way forward?
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.