Compliance Report - S14, 6N

Instructions have gone out from the IRB, giving a new procedure of scrum engagement and insisting on putting the ball straight into scrums, not stamping and not showing dissent. We have a little look at compliance.

1. Engagement procedure

The referees are complying and the teams are.

We could look at resets as a gauge.

In the first week of Super 14 2006, 62 scrums out of 136 were reset – 45%
In the first week of Six Nations 2006, 24 scrums out of 60 were reset – 40%

In the first week of Super 14 2007, 41 scrums out of 134 were reset – 30%
In the first week of Six Nations 2007, 22 scrums out of 48 were reset – 46%

In the second week of Super 14 2007, 37 scrums were reset out of 128 – 29%
In the second week of Six Nations 2007, 15 scrums out of 53 were reset – 28%

In the third week of Super 14 2007, 35 scrums were reset out of 146 – 24%

In the fourth week of Super 14 2007, 32 scrums were reset out of 107 – 30%
In the third week of Six Nations, 21 scrums were reset out of 47 – 45%

In the fifth week of Super 14 2007, 54 scrums were reset out of 146 – 37%

In the fourth week of Super 14 2007, 45 scrums were reset out of 127 – 35%
In the third week of Six Nations, 22 scrums were reset out of 55 – 40%

In terms of resets, there has been little change in Six Nations matches and the change in the Super 14 is less evident than it was for a while.

The number of free kicks at scrums:

Six Nations:

Week 1: 5
Week 2: 5
Week 3: 5
Week 4: 5

Super 14:

Week 1: 2
Week 2: 6
Week 3: 13
Week 4: 13
Week 5: 11
Week 6: 10

The number of penalties at scrums:

Six Nations:

Week 1: 2
Week 2: 3
Week 3: 6
Week 4: 2

Super 14:

Week 1: 6
Week 2: 8
Week 3: 15
Week 4: 10
Week 5: 8
Week 6: 7

2. Put it in straight

There was greater compliance this week There were two free kicks for crooked feeds – two out of 182 scrums. There were three tightheads.

3. Stamping

There was one in the England-France match and it was penalised, and one in the Rome match which was missed. Clearly the players are close to complying.

4. Dissent

There was great dissent at the end of the Italy-Wales match. It may not have been like this in an international match since the early 1890s. But there is an interesting variation.

Remember the exhortation: “Get your retaliation in first.” Rugby is now developing a variation on that: “Get your dissent in first.”

The ball gets thrown into a line-out and the chorus sings: “Skew throw”, “Skew, ref.”

There is a tackle and the chorus is louder because there are two refrains: “Holding.” and “”Not releasing.”

Nathan Sharpe did a fall to ground in the hope of getting a penalty for an air tackle, which earned him only an admonition.

Shades of the Oliver-Haden dive in Cardiff three decades ago. Are we seeing the birth of diving in rugby.

In the Brumbies-Stormers match the referee was having none of it. He went to Stirling Mortlock, the Brumbies captain and said: “I’ve just had two occasion sin the opening four and a half minutes of No. 9 telling me how to referee the match. Tell him he is not the referee. Make sure he doesn’t talk.”

Mortlock, a compliant captain, spoke to George Gregan immediately.