The effects of the IRB's changes to scrum laws

Good article, you identify the problems which in my view are easily resolved. Have the scrums pre-set, binding and stationary. The referee calls the HB to put the ball in, at that call the scrum is operational and both sides must push and either side may then gain dominance. The HB must put the ball in straight and as soon as possible after the call. As now a delay in getting the ball in will result in his side losing the feed, or a free kick. Without the hit, collapses will be rare and much easier for the referee to determine the offender. With the requirement for a straight feed the dominant scrum still has a fair chance of achieving a tight head or penalty.

Perhaps you miss the point of why data on aspects of the game should be collected. Comparisons between International and Super 15 games is not valid because of the different conditions and objectives of the teams. I make no assertion that different competitions are comparable. When rule changes are made it is reasonable to expect that the result of those changes will be better for the game. There is no evidence of that from the Six Nations. The reason that no stats from 2012 were provided is that I simply did not do the analysis at the time and cannot do it in retrospect. However the information provided by SANZAR on the 2012 competition indicated that 17% of completed scrums resulted in penalties and 6.5% in free kicks - giving a completion rate of about 76%. There has been no real change to those rates in 2013. There has, however, been an improvement in the number of resets which is down from 28% to 18%. Maybe this is an indication that the adjusted protocol is having an effect on that aspect of scrummaging. If pre-binding is introduced it will make a great difference but without a determination to administer the laws as they are written scrums will continue to be a mystery to most spectators.

Good article. Scrums should take up less time in a game, but more importantly each scrum has to be a fair contest. Otherwise the scrum is just a waste of time. I fear scrums have become a grey area where some referees have used the chance to dominate instead of officiate the game.

Pre bind is the answer to what is perceived to be a problem. Personally I don't mind the scrums etc and all that goes with it. It holds a fascination for me and I love coaching the finer points to young players. I do agree that prior to pro rugby there were less resets but I do not have the reasons for that. Perhaps they were just let run a bit more and when the ball was somewhere near the back of the scrum the HB or eight just picked up and got on with it without the reset that happens in the modern game. I would think the the new rules of pre bind will be inevitable and will probably come in next year at super level. Lets face it this already happens in teenage rugby now so this would be just a continuance of what is now common practise in juniors etc. The thing that annoys me in scrummaging is that there is a large number of young players that have no idea how to pack into a scrum, it seems that coaches of younger players don't place that much importance in this facet of play. I have had long experience of having to go uncontested because the opposition are not adept at scrummaging. A lot of times this is used as an unfair advantage by teams that are not good at it and coaches tell the refs to go uncontested so that they are not disadvantaged at the contest. I have had teams where our pack weight is way lighter than the opposition but technically we were great and were able to smash them in the scrum, then the opposition coach would call uncontested scrums citing duty of care to the ref and our advantage would just disappear. To me this is plain old cheating, and is extremely frustrating for a team and coach that do the right thing and learn how to scrum properly. Rugby at junior and teenage levels need to get serious about teaching players the correct methods on scrummaging to make it safe and fair for concerned. There is not enough emphasis on this part of the game by the ARU.

Six Nations also allowed 3 front rowers on the bench whereas the Super XV doesn't.

Agree with all. Make it short arms only.

Very good work maroon. Tbh, I didn't know that scrums had " the stated objective of re-starting the game quickly, fairly, and safely." I see scrums as a way to dominate your opponent, both physically and psychologically, rather than something made to speed up the game. Before the professional era, there were not as many resets but scrums lasted longer, sometimes a minute or more and front rowers had time to work their opponent, tire them etc. I think it's a fantastic battle that makes rugby the sport it is. IMO time isn't an issue as such, it's the time spent resetting collapsed scrums which is the problem. Again, I hope the new laws will fix that.

I can't help but feel your information is heavily tailored to support your point. The RWC has no place in any study of what's going on, it is too big an outlier in too many aspects. As Bakkies points out, the 6 nations had a number of elements with unbalanced teams and particularly the pitches. In France turf was literally peeling up under the feet of the players. The only real and fair data for comparison would have been Super XV 13 vs 12 which you omitted from the reset/ completion table. I'm sure you did the work and have omitted it for a reason? Did it perhaps show, as we all seem to feel, that this year is a vast improvement over last? An near 80% completion rate is quite good. Surely better than last year. As for scums taking longer in SuperXV 13 vs 12, refs seem to be making an effort to set the scrums properly, and in a fairly set scrum between teams with forward parity, you would actually expect the scrums to go for longer, no? In a fairly set scrum between equals, the competition for the ball is going to take longer, not be shorter. And if they ever enforced a straighter feed it would go longer still. As Jeznez points out above, the current scrum set is a stepping stone to a binding set currently being trailed. It would be interesting to see how much time is being taken in scrums in the trial versus the same comp prior to the trial.

''While there has been an appreciable improvement in the completion rate in Super Rugby and a reduction in the number of penalties awarded, the record from the Six Nations is hardly a ringing endorsement.'' A few things about the 6 Nations. -The scrummaging is different as there are teams that look to dominate at scrum time rather then try to get parity to receive clean enough ball. -A lot of the pitches were cutting up so the scrums had to be reset and moved due to the ground being dug out. -Teams use the scrum option often off penalties. -There were games that were refereed by SH referees who didn't have a lot of match time under the new interpretations.

Jeznez, now you mention it I did read something about that trial, claimed to reduce the force of engagement 25 per cent. We'll hope for the best.

IRB is acting. They are currently trialling and seem likely to implement more widely a new sequence involving a pre-engagement bind.

Good piece, Maroon1959. According to figures supplied by former England and British & Irish Lions hooker Brian Moore, in a piece I've linked to in another Roar piece published today ("Rugby needs to scrap the scrum"), only 37 per cent of scrums in the 2013 Six Nations resulted in play being restarted. Whatever figure you trust, scrums have become a "grotesque farce", in Moore's words. We can only hope the IRB is prepared to act.

I know it won't solve some of the issues, but why do we not stop the clock when a scrum collapses and restart it again when the ball is fed. As the article says nearly 20 mins of game time is taken up with scrums, how much of that is resets.

Totally with you on looser jumpers for props.

For me the team feeding the scrum must dictate when the hit is taken.. Jumpers for props need to be looser Penalties at scrum time only allows for "conning" of clueless referees. The law about the loosehead prop not being allowed to put his hand down to gain stability is one of the reasons why scrums reset.