Scrumming mess
What ever is being done to clean up the scrumming mess, it’s not working. The slower engagement sequence is not working. Penalising is not working. Perhaps they are starting from the wrong end of the problem.
The International Rugby Board has been concerned about the collapsing and resetting of the scrum. The figure was recently given of 18% of a rugby Test was taken in resetting the scrum – 18% of playing time. It is no wonder that the time the ball is in play in a Test is little more than 30 minutes out of 80.
The IRB identified it as one of five important areas of refereeing that needed attention. This led to the introduction of the slower engagement sequence and the instruction to referees to penalise more. Let’s look at the outcome in matches involving the top six teams in the world.
It’s easy to see the problem as an Australian creation and certainly at least since the days of Bill Young Australian scrumming has been poor and a blight on the game. But it’s not just Australia. Ireland were dismal against Samoa this past weekend.
These are Ireland’s scrum figures: 8 scrums, 8 resets, 12 collapses, 4 penalties, 1 free kick.
One scrum took 4 minutes and 16 seconds from start to finish and then the finish was a penalty to Samoa. That scrum took up 5% of the match time, because there is no stoppage on resetting scrums. The scrum had 5 resets, 5 collapses and ended with a penalty. Of 15 scrums in that match one had a natural ending.
When England played Australia, there were mercifully few scrums – just 7 in all, but not one had a natural ending
Scotland put the ball into 10 scrums: 6 reset, 7 collapses, 4 penalties, 2 free kicks
That cannot be considered acceptable.
Let’s look at four top matches from the weekend and bundle all the scrums together.
Wales vs South Africa: 11 scrums, 6 resets, 6 collapses, 2 penalties, 1 free kick.
England vs Australia: 7 scrums, 2 resets, 7 collapses, 3 penalties, 3 free kicks
Scotland vs New Zealand: 21 scrums, 7 resets, 10 collapses, 4 penalties, 3 free kicks
Ireland vs Samoa: 15 scrums, 11 resets, 15 collapses, 5 penalties, 3 free kicks
Totals for four matches: 50 scrums, 26 resets, 28 collapses, 14 penalties, 10 free kicks
50 scrums and 78 problems. Even if you take the collapses out of the equation on the assumption that they are dealt with under resets, penalties and free kicks, you have 50 scrums and 50 problems needing remedial action.
That is not great.
Delaying tactics and punishment are not working – not unless the present state of affairs is regarded as an accountable situation..
The danger is that there may be people who will want to water down the scrum till it looks like a league scrum, or go further and reduce scrums to uncontested affairs or even remove the scrum altogether.
Do that and you will have a new game that should not be called rugby football at all. The scrum is at the essence of the game. In the beginning it was the game. It is the inner distinctive beauty of the game. It is what makes the game a game for all shapes and sizes, unlike the one-size-fits-all of some other games.
We shall talk more about the scrumming.
