S14: Compliance report

The International Rugby Board has changed a law and sent out three directives to referees. How are they going.

The law change was to the engagement procedure at scrums: crouch, touch, pause, engage.

The directives insisted that boots were not to be placed on bodies, players were not to voice dissent and the ball was to be put straight into scrums.

1. Engagement procedure

The referees are complying and the teams are. The complaints have come from commentators and coaches while players have accepted it and referees, at least those spoken to, have welcomed it.

Most questioned is the pause and yet referees say that the pause is the important one as it settles the packs for an orderly engagement.

Some feel that the process is too slow. If the process is cutting down on resets it is certainly saving time, trying though it may be for front row patience.

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%

As far as resets are concerned it’s getting better.

There has been a complaint that the weaker pack is being protected.

Eddie Jones claimed that the Reds pack was stronger in the scrums than the Brumbies’ pack. Certainly the Lions were better than the Crusaders, the Sharks were better than the Highlanders and the Cheetahs were better than the Waratahs.

Lets see how the sanctions went in those matches:

Reds vs Brumbies: The Reds were penalised twice at the scrum and had three free kicks against them. The Brumbies were penalised once at the scrum.
Lions vs Crusaders: The sides were both penalised twice each and had a free kick against them once each.
Sharks vs Highlanders: The Sharks were penalised three times and had two free kicks against them. The Highlanders were unscathed.
Cheetahs vs Waratahs: The Cheetahs were penalised once at the scrum and had three free kicks against them. The Waratahs were penalised once at the scrum.

That adds up to: Penalties 8-4 to the weaker scrum, free kicks 9-1 in favour of the weaker scrum.

The number of free kicks at scrums:

Six Nations:

Week 1: 5
Week 2: 5

Super 14:

Week 1: 2
Week 2: 6
Week 3: 13

The number of penalties at scrums:

Six Nations:

Week 1: 2
Week 2: 3

Super 14:

Week 1: 6
Week 2: 8
Week 3: 15

Week 3 of Super 14 shows a marked increase, and as we have seen the increase favour the weaker side.

2. Put it in straight

There were no free kicks for skew feeds at scrums, but then – perhaps with the exception of the Sharks – the feeds looked fairer than they have been and referees drew scrumhalves attention to the need to be fair.

But there have been tightheads, which had been threatened with extinction – 6 in 21 Super 14 matches and 2 in 6 Six Nations matches.

Perhaps the ball is going in straighter.

There has also been the occasion turn-over through a wheel – four in Super 14 and five in Six Nations.

3. Boots on bodies

That is a euphemism for stamping. That certainly is being complied with. There have been four cases in Super 14 (two yellow cards) and one in Six Nations.

4. Dissent

Did it increase this past weekend?

There certainly was far too much of it at Newlands.. Steven Bates debated many decisions and at length, especially active when his lock Toby Lynn was sent to the sin bin. But the worst was certainly Schalk Burger. Sent to the sin bin he twice, not softly, told the referee that that was bullshit. There was no further sanction against him and his team, which they probably should have been.

There were penalties for dissent – one in Pretoria, one in Johannesburg.

The maxim of the great Dave Bishop may be worth recalling. Before a big match he said to the captain: “I’ll give you only the right to ask a question and I’ll give you the courtesy of a reply. There will be no debate.”