The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

Opinion

What are scrums good for in rugby league?

Roar Rookie
9th January, 2020
Advertisement
Autoplay in... 6 (Cancel)
Up Next No more videos! Playlist is empty -
Replay
Cancel
Next
Roar Rookie
9th January, 2020
44
1130 Reads

What is the purpose of a scrum in the National Rugby League?

It’s not a contest. It’s not an attacking option.

There is nothing about a scrum that adds to the game. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Rugby league scrums are simply a time-wasting exercise – a waste of 30 seconds, to be precise.

So what have we got? Twelve players touching in a loose formation – the combination of which is anyone in the vicinity.

The halfback – or whoever has the ball – puts the ball under the lock’s feet and then passes it to whoever is closest and then the 12 players break and go about their business.

This process guarantees the non-offending team the ball. No contest of any sort takes place.

Advertisement

Now, I’m OK with the non-offending team getting possession – why should the offending team have a chance to get the ball back?

But that then begs the question: why have a scrum at all?

Let’s just simply have a turnover and get on with the game.

The time the ball is in play is a problem the NRL faces these days, so perhaps axing the scrums could help.

close