Todd Greenberg is genuinely excited about the prospect of two NRL teams playing for competition points in the USA next season.
The who, the where, and the when are still on the drawing board, but the NRL boss had better iron out the embarrassing scrum – or to be more accurate the ‘lean-to’ – before he tries to win American support for rugby league.
In 2016 two rugby heavyweights – the All Blacks and Ireland – did battle at the Chicago Bears NFL club’s home ground of Soldier Field in front of a sell-out 62,300 crowd, won by Ireland in a shock result 40-29. It remains Ireland’s only win over New Zealand in Test history.
Ireland in their defeat of New Zealand. (AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski)
Recently England and New Zealand played a rugby league international in Denver with 19,320 in attendance – England coming from 12-0 behind to win comfortably 36-18.
This not a rugby versus rugby league comment, but it’s proof league has a harder sell as union is far better known in the USA.
And league will never crack the ice to American sports-lovers if referees and players totally ignore scrum law.
In 1987, Queensland had won the Origin series 2-1 when it was decided to take the code’s Holy Grail to Long Beach, California for a fourth clash of the season.
NSW led 10-2 at half-time to run out 30-18 winners, in front of a 12,349 crowd.
What was significant about that game were the two hookers Royce Simmons (NSW), and Queensland’s Greg Cornescu actually hooking for possession with the half-backs Peter Sterling (NSW) and Queensland’s Allan Langer feeding scrums in the middle of the tunnel.
Cameron Smith started his record-breaking hooking career in 2002 and he’s currently played 476 games for the Storm, Queensland, and the Kangaroos.
But he has never hooked in his life. He feeds the scrum behind the second row’s feet.
So sometime between 1987 and 2002 rugby league scrum laws have been totally ignored, leaving them in the shambles of today.
I can’t remember exactly what year, but over a period of time illegal scrum feeds became unwritten law.
But the written law has never changed.
Put-in or Feeding the Scrum 6
(a) The ball shall be put into the scrum from the Referees side by holding it in a horizontal position with a point in each hand and rolling it along the ground into the tunnel formed by the opposing front row forwards.
That’s crystal clear: operative word ‘tunnel’.
Other Players 7
The scrum half of the team not having the put-in shall retire immediately behind his last row of forwards. All other players outside the scrum, other than the scrum half putting the ball in, shall retire five metres or more behind the last row of forwards of their respective teams and shall remain so until the ball has emerged correctly from the scrum.
That’s crystal clear as well, even if the wording is a tad laboured. But the next law is rarely ever utilised.
Pushing 4
It is permissible for forwards to push once the scrum has been correctly formed, but if it moves an appreciable distance to the disadvantage of any one team before the ball is put in, then the Referee shall order the scrum to reform in its original position.
Again laboured, but why don’t current league teams make full use of what is law?
The answer is simple, current scrums aren’t bound tightly enough for a push to work.
There’s an argument to ban ‘scrums’ altogether, but the disadvantage is that the 12 forwards in a concentrated area would be lost to give the backs more room to move.
So Todd Greenberg, make the scrum legal. Stop referees and the bunker making howlers, and you have a sport very worthy to sell the Americans.
If you don’t right the wrongs, any visit to the USA would just be a very expensive holiday in a competition season.
Karlos
Guest
I am sure this would already have been said, but RU scrums are also fed to the second row. I doubt scrrums are seen as the pinnacle of either sport.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Need to open both eyes Badger. In the last day or so ,stories in the press about South Sydney NRL forward Angus Crichton,about his desire to some day play for the Wallabies,as one of his best mates has been chosen for the squad. It's not the first time in the media.he has indicated ,a return to rugby union is a strong chance. I've seen the NZ Herald come out bagging rugby league on more than one occasion .If it sells papers go with it. The rl media are hardly insular ,drawing crowd comparisons with the AFL,atmospehere with teh likes of WSW.Never heard of Rothfield,Kent and Webster?
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Game of Thrones tick. Now for Game of Scrums,that's the way you do it, scrum resets and the hits are free.Yep that'll sell rugby league like hot cakes in the States.Absolutely mouth watering stuff,visually appealing . I understand the 19,000 attendees in Denver, threw popcorn at the Pommy and Kiwi players, due to the absence of scrum resets.Screaming "this is not what we paid for". I scratch my head and think of the Alamo.Scrums why didn't the RLIF think of this first. #Crisis
Badger
Guest
RL should clean up its entire game when its media are so insular as if the game is world headlines and has an influence outside NSW and Qld. Todays Herald article about how Cheika could be a RL coach is just bizarre ambush marketing before the RU's big day in Sydney which actually holds RU tests in Sydney unlike RL which hasn't held a Tier 1 test there for years. Could you imagine the NZ press coming out and saying before a NZ home RL test that coach Maguire could coach the Auckland Blues?
The Barry
Roar Guru
I’ve always like the idea of a post season four nations or the World Club Challenge being played over there. You can have games in several different cities, the players are there long enough to spruik the game and hopefully build interest and it can be sold as a genuine “World Series” winner takes all series which I think would resonate with US fans more than what are basically ‘friendlies’ with no context. I can’t imagine it would be much more expensive holding it in the US than Australia or the UK.
Bugo
Guest
I live in the USA and was interested in the headline. I should know better than clicking on a David article.
Paul
Roar Guru
no way, I've seen some terrific tries scored from scrums over recent seasons. I'd rather have tries from bombs removed from the game as these are a lottery, than lose tries from scrums which are often a work of art.
Paul
Roar Guru
Sorry Nat, Pele played way before Beckham and filled stadiums for the MLS
Badger
Guest
While you are at it david, how about the RL rule for a knock on or forward pass for that matter. Another 2 RL games decided by bad forward pass ruling which is somehow not reviewable and a knock on appears to be whenever a player drops the ball.
Michael
Guest
Well it won't be a first even if it happens - remember SOO in Longbeach California? http://www.nswrlra.com/index.php/news/item/284-throwback-tuesday-john-colenso
woodart
Guest
more important than nonsense scrums is ,why should americans get excited about two aussie clubs they have never heard of. get over this foolish obsession with club league. if the game is to grow, have an international there, like,oh, say nz versus england, oh, somebody else has got in first. ...come on, wake up aus league. aus verus england is the way to go. or, looking at rugby, thinking about america's makeup, aus versus ireland. it was no accident that the All Blacks played ireland in chicago, very canny targetted marketing.
Fix the scrums
Guest
But most importantly, Greenberg should be trying to lure fans back to the game in Sydney. Fixing the scrums is just one step to take in going forward.
Zavjalova
Roar Rookie
Agreed. Rugby League would be much more appealing to Trumpland if the NRL was a true national game. Same goes for the ESL in England
Adz Sportz
Roar Guru
Greenberg should be wooing Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and NZ before trying to woo the US.
Nick
Roar Guru
I personally think it's the football. The savvy US follower won't give league a moments notice until they revert back to the brown leather football.
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
I am with you Justin. I love a good scrum reset. Three resets followed by a penalty. Heaven. ,!
Christo the Daddyo
Guest
Oh Lordy... if only you'd had the sense to just write an article about the joke that is the scrum in rugby league today and suggested some options to deal with it. You would have had broad support and triggered some good, interesting discussion. But you had to ruin it by trying to conflate the scrum issue with league's potential attempts at playing in the US. Deary, deary me...
Justin Kearney
Roar Rookie
??♀️
Badger
Guest
This is monumental and a first Kearney and I quote "I have nothing to add"
Badger
Guest
I assume this means the Australia v Tonga test in New York is off the table