There was a time in recent televised history when channels had a timer at the bottom of the screen to illustrate how much time of the game was being dedicated to scrums.
This counted how much time was being wasted while backs were just standing around and waiting until the big men upfront channelled the ball out into the backline.
There have been changes over the years, and referees now speed up the process by communicating with the front rows clearly, or penalising a prop for incorrect binding or dangerous engagement.
This has sped up the game a lot, but sometimes penalties are not the props’ fault, as their binding may slip off the ultra-tight jerseys or they touch the ground for an instant to get some stability.
There have been many scrums when both front rows engage with such force that they slip or buckle due to the immense pressure generated, but the referee would select a prop he feels was at fault and blows the whistle for a penalty. Yes, this has sped up the process of scrums and has given some easy points to teams, but it still has not changed the importance of scrums in the game of rugby.
The scrum is essentially a show of strength and power. The eight biggest men form a solid unit and push against an opposing unit. The team that dominates the scrum is usually the team that can win a game. The scrum becomes many things: a psychological weapon, a platform to attack, and a defensive tactic.
As a psychological tactic, the scrum that dominates can mentally take eight men out of the match. Each time a strong scrum draws a penalty or forces the other to retreat, the tight five feel fantastic about their effort and receive a pat on the back from their fellow players.
When a prop forces a tighthead scrum or causes his opposite number to buckle, they sometimes fist-pump the air, knowing that they have their rival on the ropes and that a few more big engagements will produce front football, allowing their team to attack harder and with more confidence.
The psychological damage done to a losing scrum can be seen on dejected faces of the front row, and it’s a difficult slump to come out of once you know that you are beaten at the job you train hard for.
The attacking platforms produced from scrums can be exploited by the backline. The scrum is a set piece, so the backline has a chance to set things up as they would on the training field and execute a play to get over the try line. If you doubt this, just watch The Rugby Club‘s Plays of the Week for round nine (you can find the highlight video on a variety of social websites).
Each of their chosen three tries were off the back of a scrum. Of course the backline had the skills to execute the plays and get tries, but they had the time and field position from a scrum. These are very recent examples of such set plays, but you are able to find evidence of this type of attack dating back to the first scrums of rugby.
It is more difficult to form a scrum as a defensive tactic as the front row has to be highly skilled, strong and a bit lucky to pull off a tighthead. If throughout the game the scrum has been solid, the team has a chance to push the attacking team off the ball and relieve pressure.
The hooker has to be aware of when the ball is being tossed in by the scrumhalf and can challenge the strike. Technically the ball should be thrown into the scrum down the centre of the tunnel, but that isn’t always the case, so the hooker has to be alert to be able to challenge for the ball.
Physics suggests that the team feeding the ball into the scrum will be slightly weaker, because the hooker needs to lift a foot off the ground to strike the ball, while the opposing hooker can gain leverage by planting both feet into a stronger position. If the defensive hooker is skilled and is in tune with his props, he can challenge the strike by lifting a foot and sacrificing a solid base.
This is a high-risk, high-reward tactic and skilled players are able to pull it off. If successful, the defensive scrum now becomes a weapon, and the attacking scrum is now under pressure to stabilise and win their own ball.
For the general spectator, the scrum may seem a boring and drawn out process, but there is no other game that has such a regulation where the pure force of power is exhibited.
The rugby league scrums are mere huddles and an excuse to keep the big men occupied for the moment. In the NFL, the scrummage is not a show of sustained strength, rather explosive power, which if unsuccessful in the first hit, leaves little chance for a player to be involved in the rest of the play.
The rugby scrum is a show of sustained strength and tactics allowing for many aspects of the game to be brought into play.
The scrum was, is and will always be the centrepiece of rugby, as a chance for the big men to get on the field, and as a pure simple test of their ability.
Fragglerocker
Roar Rookie
Prior to the last World Cup, Fox Sports showed several weeks of previous RWC matches 24 hours a day. One thing that stood out watching the 91, 95 and 99 RWC games was how the scrums were still heavily contested, yet they didn't collapse. I mentioned this to several forwards and members of the coaching staff at an Australian Super Rugby team during a recent function. Many agreed that a major problem is the jerseys not allowing a proper bind. I remember at my old club rugby team the forwards jerseys were even double-layered and cross-stiched on the shoulders like judo shirts, because of the strain they would be put under during the game. I hate the modern jersey. It would be a simple matter for the IRB to simply enforce a rule stating, "The jersey shall not be skin tight, and must be loose fitting, and made of a durable material" to solve not only the scrums but the fact that teams can't sell their glorified cycling outfits to their supporters, most of whom don't want spray-on clothes. Bring back the traditional jerseys!
Rowdy
Guest
Good points from Topo and Warren, the one standing out for me is that the referees should have some knowledge of scrummaging, particularly front-row tactics, tricks, etc. Too often the collapse is followed by a penalty arbitrarily given to one team. And I don't see the touch judges helping with info on props binding, boring in, pulling down or pulling back on the opposite side from the ref - surely they should help the poor guy?
warrenj
Roar Rookie
You were lucky to play rugby in a country that knows and respects the game. I currently play amateur rugby in Japan and every official that I have come across at all amateur levels are completely clueless on the application of law and the the safety of the game. There are some scrums that can be called an anti-climax, but referring back to an earlier comment, the internal workings of a scrum and the anticipation of an attacking run are what I most look forward to.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
True, injuries are much more numerous at amateur level...but they are many more games too. I used to play amateur rugby in France and scrums were fine, not as many resets as I now see at top level. I am not going to lie, there were fights and injuries but serious ones didnt occur that often to be honest. I just feel its a pity scrums are now what they are. true, no injuries but what a anticlimax!
warrenj
Roar Rookie
nickoldschool. There are coaches who coach a trick or two to milk a penalty, but the amateur scrums are a mess. The are not coached correctly, they are overseen by amateur and highly under-educated referees and techniques used can cause immense injury. In fact, the number of spinal and neck injuries are higher in the amateur ranks compared to regulated/professional ranks. Scrums are a very specialised part of rugby that has the potential to cause catastrophic injuries and require as such, coaches a referees properly educated in scrum techniques. It's a great part of the game of rugby, but needs to be properly supervised and monitored and referees need to be able to identify dark arts and 'milking' techniques.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
I think that scrums are (sometimes) a mess at professional level only. Amateurs seem to do just fine probably because they are more likely to play 'by the rules". All prof. teams have coaches who spend a great amount of time and energy teaching tricks and ways to get a penalty etc...hence the mess we have now (comparable to NRL having wrestling coaches). The scrums of the Garuet, Dintrans, Ondarts etc are long gone am afraid.
jeznez
Roar Guru
TOPO, cannot wait for the publishing of this book. Am looking forward immensely to reading what you have to say. The synopsis looks great.
warrenj
Roar Rookie
The current process of a four step engagement is too long and I believe that a large majority of scrummagers would agree. It does create a larger margin for error and the potential problem of mis-timed contact. A two step process may be a bit difficult, so let's cut it down the middle and have a three step process. Something along the lines of "crouch": As stated before, the locks and loose forwards lift their knees off the ground, "pause": A chance for the referee to quickly asses the stability and safety of the scrum. "engage/scrum": The point and time of contact. To have the referee oversee and avoid any danger, he or she must be educated (by a proper coach/experienced player or what-have-you) in proper scrum techniques and the dynamics of force generated by a scrum. There are many aspects to create a safer scrum, such as correct spacing between front rows, the contact area between the heads of players, the height of a front row once in position, etc. He or she will then apply this knowledge when they are in the "pause" process of scrum. They will quickly asses whether to abandon the scrum or go ahead. If the referee needs assistance, a touch judge can be called onto the field to asses the opposing side of the scrum and to give the all clear. Responsibility also relies on coaches and players to prepare for a scrum. This comes in many forms from correct gym work outs, practice field training and specialist players focusing on the correct scrum techniques, which ideally would be standard across all teams and levels. Below is a 10 minute link bringing up some safety and proper techniques in a scrum. I would actually like to read this upcoming book as I am very interested in the scrums and the force, skill and technique needed to create a perfect unit as well as all other peripheral subjects. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlZTnIgzEd0
Enrique TOPO Rodriguez
Guest
2nd Go, Previous one had some bits missing, apologies. Here we go: Hello Spiro, Warren, Jeznez, Mitchwally, Rowdy, Sheek and many other bloggers. It’s good to see stimulating positive conversation flowing particularly about the forgotten SCRUM. Jim Webster renowned and respected rugby and Olympics Sydney based journalist (for some people that didn’t know Jim) he coverd amongst several Wallaby tours and home tests, something like 6 olympics for The Sydney Morning Herald (not a bad feat for a journo). Jim recently wrote an article for the RUGBY NEWS magazine (Sydney Club Rugby program) of 21/04/12 on my book: “The ART of Scrummaging”, soon to be published (all good things take time, I have been at it for 15 years). So I thought be good idea to do a bit of cut and paste. There are a few important points that Jim briefly touched on. So here we go to stir the pot……… Topo Rodriguez going to print on scrums debacle by Jim Webster Collapsed scrums have become rugby’s unwanted scar. It’s staggering the time wasted when both packs nose-dive after the crouch-touch-pause-engage sequence. Greg Growden’s Monday Maul cited one Super Rugby scrum needing one minute, 52 seconds to complete and concluded that ”in the same time, you can watch Sally Pearson win a 100m hurdles race, and replay it eight times. Or watch the fastest 800m men’s race, and have 10 seconds to spare. Swimming more your fancy? The 200m men’s freestyle fits in, and you can even put your feet up.” Or look at it from another angle. Let’s examine the official statistics from last year’s Melbourne Rebels match with the Brumbies and it’s relevant that the game was controlled by the most experience Test referee of all time, Jonathan Kaplan. There were 19 scrums, which involved five resets and led to seven penalties/free kicks, which means that only 37% of the scrums were successful in restarting play and, as many have said, if that’s not a problem, then what is! To say the collapsed scrum has robbed our game of fluidity is putting it mildly. So, like any disheartened fan, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the manuscript of a new 174- page book The Art of Scrummaging. Your immediate reaction might not be overly positive. I can hear murmurings that they couldn’t think of a more boring subject; that the only ones interested would be the wearers of jerseys 1, 2 and 3. But bear with me. The author is Enrique TOPO Rodriguez, who was probably the finest frontrower of his time. Not only did Rodriquez represent Australia, being a key figure on the historic 1984 Grand Slam tour and 1986 Bledisloe Cup tour of NZ, but before that he wore the national colours of his native Argentina and also Tahiti (invitational vs. France in 1981) The book’s foreword is by former national coach Alan Jones, who naturally doesn’t mince words in saying that “for the sake of everyone’s enjoyment, and that includes the players, referees and the spectators, the current debacle has to stop. Also a prologue by Ray Williams OBE (Welsh father of “Organised Rugby Coaching in the 1970’s ”The book’s consultant writer is Dick Marks, editing was done by Peter Fenton and Ross Turnbull was coordinator. Some rugby names there. Expert collaborators include the likes of All Black captains Sir Wilson Whineray and Sir Brian Lochore, Dick Byres, Al Baxter, Kevin Crowe, Bob Dwyer, Jake Howard, Andy McIntyre, British Lions/Irish internationals Ray McLoughlin and Philip Orr, Springbok Cobus Visagie, Jon White etc and their opinions alone are worth close scrutiny. For instance, Whineray says “the four step process seems a little too much”. Lochore agrees that “it takes far too long to put the scrum down” and Dwyer believes that “this must be the stimulus for further discussion amongst experts, with the involvement of the law-makers.” Rodriguez doesn’t pull punches in his problem assessment; nor should he. “From what I can gather the current crouch-touch-pause-engage law was driven by insurance assessors. It is a pity that more consultation with experienced scrummagers did not take place at the time, because they would have forecast the eventual outcome of the law creating more problems than it solved, including safety ones. “There may have been a small reduction in injuries since the c-t-p-e edict, but the risk of a catastrophic injury at the top level is lurking closely in the shadows.” He maintains the present sequence is (a) too time demanding, (b) difficult to synchronise with the referee, (c) involves too much guessing, (d) is mentally and physically taxing on players, (e) more steps=more error gain, and (f) weakens the scrum structure. Rodriguez proposes Visagie, Jon White etc and their opinions alone are worth close scrutiny. For instance, Whineray says “the four step process seems a little too much”. Lochore agrees that “it takes far too long to put the scrum down” and Dwyer believes that “this must be the stimulus for further discussion amongst experts, with the involvement of the law-makers.” Rodriguez doesn’t pull punches in his problem assessment; nor should he. “From what I can gather the current crouch-touch-pause-engage law was driven by insurance assessors. It is a pity that more consultation with experienced scrummagers did not take place at the time, because they would have forecast the eventual outcome of the law creating more problems than it solved, including safety ones. “There may have been a small reduction in injuries since the c-t-p-e edict, but the risk of a catastrophic injury at the top level is lurking closely in the shadows.” He maintains the present sequence is (a) too time demanding, (b) difficult to synchronise with the referee, (c) involves too much guessing, (d) is mentally and physically taxing on players, (e) more steps=more error gain, and (f) weakens the scrum structure. Rodriguez proposes a 2-step sequence, which would make it so much better for everybody. The forwards should arrive to the mark and get set. Take their positions and get ready. The whole pack steadies up (i.e. second and back rows have one knee on the ground). When the referee deems both packs ready, he calls CROUCH, checks “both sides” and may even walk/jog around the scrum to check both sides of the scrum (and all knees are off the ground). When “scrum readiness” is in place and all is steady, a monosyllabic action call should follow. The referee calls PACK, bringing both packs together from a stationary position. Rodriguez says that “sure, on engagement there will quick adjustments from both packs to achieve maximum balance. In this day and age of power scrums, I have no doubt the referee is in the best position to assess safety and scrum readiness and decide when the ball must go in. “Nonetheless, play must resume as quickly as possible and without delays. This last point is for the benefit of everyone involved.” While the book hasn’t yet been launched, check its 16-page synopsis on www.toporodriguez.com. The manuscript also contains many action photos and copies of match-day programs from his great career. 21st April, 2012 – Rugby News.
Enrique TOPO Rodriguez
Guest
Hello Spiro, Warren, Jeznez, Mitchwally, Rowdy, Sheek and many other bloggers. It's good to see stimulating positive conversation flowing particularly about the forgotten SCRUM. Jim Webster renowned and respected rugby and Olympics Sydney based journalist (for some people that didn't know Jim) he coverd amongst several Wallaby tours and home tests, something like 6 olympics for The Sydney Morning Herald (not a bad feat for a journo). Jim recently wrote an article for the RUGBY NEWS magazine (Sydney Club Rugby program) of 21/04/12 on my book: "The ART of Scrummaging", soon to be published (all good things take time, I have been at it for 15 years). So I thought be good idea to do a bit of cut and paste. There are a few important points that Jim briefly touched on. So here we go to stir the pot......... Topo Rodriguez going to print on scrums debacle. by Jim Webster Enrique (Topo) Rodriguez Kobus Visagie, Jon White etc and their opinions alone are worth close scrutiny. For instance, Wilson Whineray says “the four step process seems a little too much”. Brian Lochore agrees that “it takes far too long to put the scrum down” and Dwyer believes that “this must be the stimulus for further discussion amongst experts, with the involvement of the law-makers.” Rodriguez doesn’t pull punches in his problem assessment; nor should he. “From what I can gather the current crouchtouch- pause-engage law was driven by insurance assessors. It is a pity that more consultation with experienced scrummagers did not take place at the time, because they would have forecast the eventual outcome of the law creating more problems than it solved, including safety ones.“There may have been a small reduction in injuries since the c-t-p-e edict, but the risk of a catastrophic injury at the top level is lurking closely in the shadows.” He maintains the present sequence is (a) too time demanding, (b) difficult to synchronise with the referee, (c) involves too much guessing, (d) is mentally and physically taxing on players, (e) more steps=more error gain, and (f) weakens the scrum structure. Rodriguez proposes a two-step sequence, which would make it so much better for everybody. The forwards should arrive to the mark and get set. Take their positions and get ready. The whole pack steadies up (i.e. second and back rows have one knee on the ground). When the referee deems both packs ready, he calls CROUCH, checks “both sides” and may even walk/jog around the scrum to check both sides of the scrum (and all knees are off the ground). When “scrum readiness” is in place and all is steady, a monosyllabic action call should follow. The referee calls PACK, bringing both packs together from a stationary position. Rodriguez says that “sure, on engagement there will quick adjustments from both packs to achieve maximum balance. In this day and age of power scrums, I have no doubt the referee is in the best position to assess safety and scrum readiness and decide when the ball must go in. “Nonetheless, play must resume as quickly as possible and without delays. This last point is for the benefit of everyone involved.” While the book hasn’t yet been launched, check its 16-page synopsis on www.toporodriguez.com The manuscript also contains many action photos and copies of match-day programs from his great career 21st April 2012 – RUGBY NEWS.
warrenj
Roar Rookie
Rowdy. Agree with 2 of your points but the third point about the hit - that is part of the scrum at determines whether a prop can dominate or not. If you a prop gets a good hit, the opposition can be unstable allowing for the strength of the scrum to be determined. It comes down to technique, timing and correct body positioning. The jerseys worn today by the players don't allow for props to take a quick bind, so they land up grabbing a handful of skin. The jerseys worn by props should be a looser fit, but the "handles/tags" idea may hinder the player in open play. There is nothing wrong with wearing a looser jersey made of the same composition. Besides that, a prop doesn't have the body for these ultra tight jersey. Imagine Salesi Ma'afu running around in skin tight compression-type gear. Not too pleasing to the eye. (No offence Salesi).
Rowdy
Guest
It's great to see that SANZAR types are getting excited about the scrum being a contest - I recall a few years ago that the scrum was regarded as nothing more than a restart. In the interests of keeping scrums competitive and not too drawn out, why not 1) Insist on the ball being fed in straight - a crooked feed is pinged at lineouts, why not for scrums? 2) Have props wear the old baggy shirts or, better, have tags on their shirts that the oppo prop must bind on. 3) Get rid of the Hit; there must be a way for the packs to engage then push when the ball comes in.
warrenj
Roar Rookie
mitchwally There are the rare occasions at international level when a tighthead scrum is forced, and this can be down to a number of things. I think that one of the reasons we don't see tightheads that often is because the ball is generally fed screw into the scrum by the scrumhalf/half-back, which according to the law warrants a free kick but refs seem to let this slide more often than not unless the ball is fed into the locks channel and a blatant mis-feed is made. Another more legitimate reason is because the attacking scrum knows when the ball is being fed into the scrum. When the attacking hooker is ready, he'll signal his scrumhalf by either tapping his hand on the loosehead prop or another signal, and the scrummy feeds the ball as soon as the hooker lifts his foot to strike. The hooker cannot lift his foot before the ball is fed, so it comes down to timing. Since the defending hooker cannot see this signal, he is generally a half step behind the attacking scrum, so generally focuses on counter-scrumming. If the front row has timed their engagement hit right and the 8-man unit pushes at the right time, it is possible to force the attacking scrum to back pedal allowing for the ball to bobble about in the tunnel and then the defensive hooker or props can strike it backwards, causing a tighthead. There is some skill, but normally on a defensive scrum, the tight five dig in and the loose forwards have their heads up watching for a sniping player or lining up a fly half or aiming for a channel to hinder an attacking play.
warrenj
Roar Rookie
Jeznez, When I have the time and gather my resources, I'll have a go at writing a technical aspect of the scrum. A project for another day and it's something that I have been studying for years, so it'll be interesting to see what I can personally bring to the table.
spiro zavos
Guest
I understand that Topo has finished a book on the scrum. I had the pleasure of reading an earlier treatise he wrote on the scrum. That was many years ago. I wrote at the time how impressive the information in the treatise was and suggested that if Aristotle were alive and writing about rugby matters that Topo's treatise is what he would have written. So Topo's latest thoughts in a new book is something to look forward to. In reading the book I'll be interested in his thoughts on the long process culminating in the two-syllable word en-gage to get the scrumming underway. The IRB are going to change the engage call to 'scrum' which will be better in that it is one sound. The contested scrum is a distinctive aspect of rugby union. I once endured a game in NZ which had uncontested scrums very early on in the game. The game was boring. The scrum has the power of concentrating the forwards in one place. It also tires the forwards out a bit which allows a team with clever backs to make raids later on in the match. And the sight of the heaving packs contesting for the ball gives us a suggestion of the origins of the game going back to the village contests with a ball being pushed from one village to the other in a shoving match that lasted days.
mitchwally
Roar Rookie
My views on scrums are probably skewed by my father being and old front rower- i.e. the scrum is the most important part of the game! I agree that it's importance isn't as valued as it could be- Dad always said that his objective was always to try and win a tight head, and whenever he did the lift it would give the team (as well as the ensuing tactical advantage) was immense. Having never played in the Front Row myself I can't vouch for how easy of difficult that might be (maybe topo can enlighten us!) but it does astound me that it doesn't seem to happen too often at the top level. Is this because they are all so well skilled, or is their focus on other tasks?
jeznez
Roar Guru
Warren, always good to see an article promoting scrummaging. You should definitely write one from a technical perspective. I've written a couple and they are generally well received. Am always keen to get other perspectives on the skills and structure.
Enrique TOPO Rodriguez
Guest
Hello Mr Sharminator, Do remember you well! Congratulations on your international representation of Paraguay and all the terrorising you must have done in Parque Caballero, Asuncion. Are you still living there? If so did you get the hang of the "mate drink"? Kind regards, tOPO
Sharminator
Roar Rookie
Hi Topo, this isnt really related to the topic, but seeing your name I remembered you used to coach me back at Sydney Uni in 2nd or 3rd grade in the late 1990´s. Ive actually done the reverse to you, and moved to South America, where I`ve been playing rugby in Paraguay for the last 6 years, including for the national team here. Anyway, cheers, Alex
warrenj
Roar Rookie
Jim. Agreed completely. Recently Super Sport contracted Vic Matfield as a commentator and use him for his experience and knowledge and he can usually call a play accurately and explains well what is happening in the scrums and lineouts.