Resets - 2006, 2007 - and U19

Is the new scrum procedure meant only for the innocent of the scrummaging underworld? There has been an Under-19 World Championship in Belfast and their statistics are more encouraging than those of Super 14.

The new procedure in the scrums was introduced on 1 January 2007. In setting the scrum, Crouch’nhold – Engage! gave way to Crouch Touch Pause Engage!

Something like it had obtained at Under-19 level but as far as can be ascertained there was no testing of this new law before it was introduced into rugby throughout. There is much testing of proposed law changes to take place after the 2007 World Cup but none before this scrum change was introduced. It was not given the status of an Experimental Law Variation but became fully law immediately with an indefinite future.

Initially this change seemed to be working as the number of resets was smaller than it had been in 2007, but gradually the number has increased till now there is now a marginally higher percentage of resets in 2007 than in 2006 – and resets are not an unfair gauge as they are a confounded nuisance.

Law-makers do not cause resets and referees do not cause resets. Players cause them. Is the increasing percentage of 2007 resets an accident, has it come about because players have learnt ways and means of getting up to their old tricks, is such a system of setting the scrum only for the innocent or is the whole system cockeyed?

It’s probably as complex as the scrum, itself is with many forces and counterforces in many directions. Let’s first see what stats say.

There are stats for 42 matches played at the Under-19 World Championship.

In those 42 matches, between 4 April and 16 April, matches of the same kind in the same competition with the same referees and venues, 246 scrums out of 1206 were reset – 20,4% Of those scrums 75 collapsed – 6,2%.

That is a degree of innocence that Super 14 could only dream of.

Absolutely, of course, there are still too many. Only one collapsed scrum is enough to cause a serious injury and it is still tedious to have one in five scrums reset with all the accompanying posturing and delay.

But look at the Super 14 story.

1. Resets

The reset figures do not include wheeled scrums. A wheeled scrum becomes simply a new scrum.

In the first week of Super 14 2006, 62 scrums out of 136 were reset – 45%
In the first week of Super 14 2007, 41 scrums out of 134 were reset – 30%

In the second week of Super 14 2006, 41 scrums were reset out of 129 – 32%
In the second week of Super 14 2007, 37 scrums were reset out of 128 – 29%

In the third week of Super 14 2006, 56 scrums were reset out of 158 – 35%
In the third week of Super 14 2007, 35 scrums were reset out of 146 – 24%

In the fourth week of Super 14 2006, 40 scrums were reset out of 128 – 31%
In the fourth week of Super 14 2007, 32 scrums were reset out of 107 – 30%

In the fifth week of Super 14 2006, 56 scrums were reset out of 131 – 43%
In the fifth week of Super 14 2007, 54 scrums were reset out of 146 – 37%

In the sixth week of Super 14 2006, 45 scrums were reset out of 140 – 32%
In the sixth week of Super 14 2007, 45 scrums were reset out of 127 – 35%

In the seventh week of Super 14 2006, 29 scrums were reset out of 127 – 23%
In the seventh week of Super 14 2007, 49 scrums were reset out of 130 – 38%

In the eighth week of Super 14 2006, 39 scrums were reset out of 133 – 29%
In the eighth week of Super 14 2007, 49 scrums were reset out of 119 – 41%

In the ninth week of Super 14 2006, 37 scrums were reset out of 126 – 29%
In the ninth week of Super 14 2007, 33 scrums were reset out of 107 – 31%

In the tenth week of Super 14 2006, 44 scrums were reset out of 140 – 31%
In the tenth week of Super 14 2007, 45 scrums were reset out of 109 – 41%

In the eleventh week of Super 14 2006, 40 scrums were reset out of 120 – 33%
In the eleventh week of Super 14 2007, 40 scrums were reset out of 110 – 36%

Totals:

2006: 493 rests in 1468 scrums = 33,6%
2007: 460 rests in 1363 scrums = 33,7%

For those interested, the stats for the 1206 Under-19 scrums are:

Resets: 246
Poor engagement: 51
collapsed: 75
Moving or not square: 109

Soundsure, who are at the Under-19 World Championship, provided the Under-19 statistics.

The number of free kicks at scrums:

2006

Week 1: 11
Week 2: 16
Week 3: 13
Week 4: 4
Week 5: 14
Week 6: 19
Week 7: 7
Week 8: 6
Week 9: 13
Week 10: 9
Week 11: 5

Total: 117
% scrums: 8

2007

Week 1: 2
Week 2: 6
Week 3: 13
Week 4: 13
Week 5: 11
Week 6: 10
Week 7: 8
Week 8: 10
Week 9: 7
Week 10: 13
Week 11: 13

Total: 106
% scrums: 7,8

The number of penalties at scrums:

2006

Week 1: 9
Week 2: 9
Week 3: 7
Week 4: 5
Week 5: 8
Week 6: 6
Week 7: 7
Week 8: 4
Week 9: 2
Week 10: 6
Week 11: 3

Total: 66
% scrums: 4,5

2007

Week 1: 6
Week 2: 8
Week 3: 15
Week 4: 10
Week 5: 8
Week 6: 7
Week 7: 14
Week 8: 7
Week 9: 5
Week 10: 3
Week 11: 5

Total: 88
% scrums: 6,5