Back before the 1992 rule changes, there used to be a lot of scrums.
Rugby often used to move from set piece to a ruck or maul, followed by rucking, lots of rucking. Most of the time all the rucking in the world could not get the ball free and a scrum was required to restart play. This cycle was normally only broken by a kick for touch.
In those days the scrum as much seen as a ‘no fault’ restart, rather than a restart after a mistake like it currently is. The side going forward got to put the ball in, because one side had to, and they wanted to reward the dominant team.
The halfback called the engage – imagine that. These days a scrum is much more likely to be the result of the attacking side making an error e.g. a knock on, a forward pass, accidental offside, or just not setting up the ruck or maul properly. Sometimes it is just the referees fault for getting in the way.
These days as scrums mostly result from an error, referees are willing to turn a blind eye to the halfback putting the ball under the hooker’s feet. Most teams just want to get the ball out as quickly as possible so they can get back to phase play.
But some teams, those with especially strong scrums, use the scrum as a means to milk penalties and yellow cards. This is only interesting to supporters of side with the dominant scrum, or real purists. This is an obstacle rugby’s growth in new markets.
Setting one scrum stops the flow of the game enough. Don’t get me wrong I don’t want rugby to turn into rugby league but if the scrum was efficient as the lineout now is rugby would be a better visual spectacle.
Rugby is now much more of a pleasure to watch because rule changes have sought to make it more following, continuous and attacking orientated. The lineout is a good example. Up until the late 1990s lineouts were even more of a mess than scrums are today.
It was said that a referee could whistle a penalty at every lineout. The fix was to allow lifting. People moaned that it would ruin the lineout and make it impossible to challenge the throw in. Or result in many injuries and broken necks.
But the lineout now involves far more skill than it used to and does what it is intended to do – restart play. There are very few injuries from lineouts. With fastball coming of the top the lineout is now the best attacking platform in the game. The scrum should be seen in the same way – a restart to spark attacking play.
One method to stop teams scrumming for penalties is to reduce the time the ball can be held in the scrum once hooked; like the ‘use it’ rules in rucks, say five seconds. This would be an intermediate step between what is happening now and farcically de-powering the scrum like in rugby league.
The obvious exception would be scrums set on the five-metre line as the pushover try is a spectacle in of itself and should be maintained.
(Photo by David Gray/AFP via Getty Images)
Having a strong scrum would still be a massive advantage as the opposition scrum can be moved back a significant distance in five seconds; and if it can’t hold itself together for that time a penalty can still be whistled. The benefit of pushing the opposition scrum back is that opposition backline is, literally, on the back foot as they attempt to stay onside.
The attacking team can make use of that giving the attacking backline an extra split second. This is how an attacking scrum should be used. Not as an attempt to milk penalties and yellow cards.
Some would decry the reduction in importance of one of the traditional skills of rugby. But rugby has become a better visual spectacle as a traditional slow, power forward, game has diminished.
One of the main benefits of Super Rugby was that it forced the South Africans to develop a balanced game; these days even England is developing one to.
This is to the game’s benefit. If long, drawn out, scrums was what the audience wanted to see there would be a sport that consisted of just scrums; Georgia would be top tier in that sport.
Scrum penalties result in going from set piece to set piece. This is not good for the spectacle. This is what previous law changes have sought to avoid.
One benefit of making the scrum more of a restart is that it would allow the weaker rugby nations to compete better as, generally, they have weaker scrums. Many times Pacific island teams would’ve beaten traditional powerhouses, if they had an adequate scrum.
Also if a team, with a weak scrum, gets in the back foot they often collapse the scrum, hoping to get a better hit in the reset scrum. If they keep scrumming while on the back foot they are going to get penalised anyway; the current laws incentivise them to take the risk, this increases the risk of injury.
In general when New Zealand or South African teams scrum there are not that many resets; but if a New Zealand or South African team scrums against an Australian team there are a lot more resets.
The obvious reason is that Australian teams generally have weaker scrums and are no doubt trying to avoid a scrum penalty. If someone had the statistics on scrum resets I’m sure it would make interesting reading.
Another method to make the scrum more of a restart would be to leave the rules as they are but make the maximum sanction for a scrum infringement a free kick.
This reduces the payoff of scrumming until the opposition scrum disintegrates. But that could result in teams deliberately collapsing, even more than they currently do now. It also sends the wrong message regarding safety.
(Photo by Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images)
As a related issue, but not directly related to scrum penalties, scrums are being used to provide a rest break as teams quickly collapse the scrum; resulting in a reset.
Often the referee decides they need to chime in, creating even more of a rest period. If you can milk a couple of resets, it’s even more of a rest period.
The clock should be stopped when the whistle is blown for a scrum and only restarted when the ball emerges from the scrum; it would be difficult for timekeepers to manage, but worth doing.
This would reduce the number of resets as resets would not be able to be used to run the clock down; less resets should result in fewer scrum injuries.
Don’t get me wrong I think scrums are awesome. There’s very little else like it in sport; eight participants working in unison. The power generated is immense.
There are few better feelings in rugby than being on the right side of a dominant scrum and few worse than being on wrong side of losing one; the further forward you are, in the scrum, the more that feeling is amplified. It is something that a back could never understand.
But scrumming for penalties has become just another way in which dominant teams manipulate the laws of the game to their advantage; and much like cynical offending, it harms the spectacle.
Scrumming for penalties gives teams, with weak scrums, an incentive to collapse with the hope that they will do better in the next one; wasting even more time and creating more risk.
If the scrum keeps harming the spectacle scrums may end up being de-powered, that would be a tragedy as props would become short loose forwards and locks would become tall loose forwards. Make the scrum what is, a restart.
Daffyd
Roar Rookie
A scrum is a restart. That is EXACTLY what it is. It is in the Laws of the game. The purpose of a scrum is to restart play with a contest for possession after a minor infringement or stoppage. Don't take my word for it. Have a look for yourself https://www.world.rugby/the-game/laws/home
Daffyd
Roar Rookie
World Rugby law states: The purpose of a scrum is to restart play with a contest for possession after a minor infringement or stoppage. Nowhere does it say a scrum is an "attacking weapon" nor that a scrum can only be appreciated by a 'rugby purist.' Nor does it say anything about "rewarding dominance'. That's just 'marketing' waffle and frankly just bull. I love the game of rugby and I'm sick to death of the prevalence of time wasting scrums. If you want a slogan or an over arching concept for rugby it was engraved in stone in 1895 : "First took the ball in his arms AND RAN WITH IT" Not kicked the cover off it, not scrummaged the game to death by boredom. And yes, the story from 1823 is a myth, but it is the principle at the heart of the game of rugby. Running with the ball. Everything else is secondary to that. Regarding scrums, the fix is easy, here are some ideas: :thumbup: Abolish all 'technical' scrum penalties. Awarding a scrum penalty is a guess at best. (this still mean foul play in a scrum can be penalised -- but for foul play, not because a player put their hand on the ground or pointed their elbow down not out.) Award a free kick instead. :thumbup: If the ball is not in the scrum within 30 seconds of the ref calling for a scrum, it is a free kick to the non offending side. :thumbup: If the scrum doesn't resolve first time, award a free kick to the non offending team behind the mark &/or within 1 m of the scrum. :thumbup: A scrum cannot be set from free kicks or penalties. There are probably more occurrences where a scrum can be removed as an option required to restart the game. In principle I agree with stopping the clock for scrums, in internationals, but for the u14s it would be almost impossible for the ref to manage, hence the requirement the ball be in in 30 seconds, the ref only needs to glance at the watch, or simple make sure the teams are making haste. The only time a scrum is reset is if in the opinion of the referrer there is no fault - usually because of poor footing, for example, when newly laid turf is uprooted
Honest Max
Roar Rookie
I unfortunately did read the article. You see, rugby isn’t just played when the ball is out of the scrum - scrums are a key part of the sport, and a key reason why it’s a game for all shapes and sizes. One of the reasons why the set-up takes time, is for safety. Rugby used to have far more serious spinal injuries than it does now, which is impressive when you think how much more intense scrums have become. The olden days when scrums were set in a few seconds saw lots of blokes with broken necks - this doesn’t happen much anymore. I do believe that excess water breaks and chats go on before scrums, but that’s why I’m happy the refs seem to be targeting that in the early rounds this year. Of course, rugby is a winter game that is being played in cricket season so we must understand that the 130kg blokes might need a drink and a breather once in a while.
Honest Max
Roar Rookie
Who says?
Honest Max
Roar Rookie
Quick restart? Is that in the laws somewhere? Scrum penalties aren’t new and neither are scrums as attacking platforms. The 84 Wallabies’ scrum is a great example.
Honest Max
Roar Rookie
It’s not dying. Idiots think that. People that read News Corp propaganda and think Foxtel is good think that. Club rugby is booming and the talent pipeline has never been better. The Australian sports fan is a moron so I don’t use their enthusiasm for something as a barometer for success. I love the direction that Oz Rugby is taking and I have no fears about its future.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
Well winning teams help.. Remember Australia still holds the World record ( 109 000) for the biggest rugby crowd attendance in history.. Sydney 2000... But I guess that's easier said than done.
BeastieBoy
Roar Rookie
Just Nuisance they are watching League. Last season 750k pw to 50k pw for Union and the numbers are getting worse this year. Whats your solution before we run out of money?
BeastieBoy
Roar Rookie
Honest Max. they arent ! The game is dying in Australia before our eyes.. The only hope to save it is to make massive rule changes to stop stoppages and give us Continuity.
Die hard
Roar Rookie
Give the option of a free kick to the opposing team and there would be fewer scrums as a good quick tap is often a superior restart. Penalise all scrums that turn more than 45 degrees. You either shunt square or not at all. Raise the height to a better height with one foot under the hip at set
BeastieBoy
Roar Rookie
The First thing that needs to be done with this Topic is to Reduce the number of scrums and lineouts, as they ruin the continuity of the game and just slow things down. With scrums if done properly and with good intent on both sides, they just result in a win to the attacking scrum and if done with bad intent, they go to the defending side by way of penalty.. Either way it's a foregone conclusion. So let's limit their number and see how it goes.
Spew_81
Roar Rookie
If that stat in the article is correct; over eight minutes in one half being lost to scrums. That is pretty damning.
Harry Jones
Expert
I’d like that! And thanks for the article. The last set of numbers I’ve seen, using all World Cups as benchmarks, was that scrums are both decreasing in overall number, yet increasing in % that are pinged. This means that whilst LOs are the key set piece for tries (which is why Wales refused to give Eddie a LO) scrums are a key penalty-gainer. I think that’s ok. When I looked at matches for my Top Lock series, I saw far more time wasted on PG/conversions. Average 80 seconds. Dead air.
Spew_81
Roar Rookie
The number of resets is a big issue because of the time they take. The real negative is the time lost. I found an article which mentions the time scrums and scrum resets are taking. It’s a 2020 article on 2019 scrums. But current the scrum situation is about the same as it was in 2019. https://www.the42.ie/scrums-time-taken-world-rugby-5049820-Mar2020/?amp=1 I haven’t been able to find the World Rugby data the article references. I’ll try to find something, more up to date, on the raw number of scrums, resets and the time they take.
Harry Jones
Expert
We need numbers to back this up. Are scrum resets really increasing? Have they prevented injury? As the number of scrums decrease, might the threat of penalty actually make that set piece more exciting? In some emerging markets (eg Georgia) it’s a pathway?
Perthstayer
Roar Rookie
Peter - touch judges can really help. They are not biased but seem to forget they are now Assistant refs. I love the 30 seconds rule. Make it fun, put a countdown clock on the big screen. Get the crowd involved!
Spew_81
Roar Rookie
Yeah it’s amazing to see the way they set scrums in the old days. No nonsense, just set it quickly, get the ball in, get some go forward if possible, and get the ball out.
TC
Roar Rookie
The fitness of the players has increased, yet their ability to get into position to actually set a scrum has decreased immensely.. Such a joy to watch old games when forwards arrived and formed almost immediately. I don't have stats but from the eye test, I would bet that in the past there were way more scrums per game, taking much less Playing Time
TC
Roar Rookie
Great article Spew..One of the biggest problems I see in modern Scrums is the Height. In the past they seemed to start low, but be driving up at Impact, seems now they are just getting lower. Refs need to address this in the sheds before the game (Which they seem to do, as they often say "We talked about the Height") . Whenever they pack above the Waist, the repack seems to Vanish, get that right and things will improve. This should be the easiest thing to start with
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Spot on. Scrums have become way too focused on trying to milk penalties. It’s an unintended consequence - as you say the primary purpose is to restart play, and it can still be used as a point of advantage. There are already too many penalties from application of opaque rules about props falling over.