Simmonds on the maul

Excessive management?

Gareth Simmonds of Cardiff is a highly experienced referee – one of Wales's international referees and still active, though mainly on the touch-line. He speaks about the maul. It is good to listen to a man of his calibre.

I would like to make a personal observation about a growing trend, much in evidence in the final round of matches, and also in the preceding weeks.
 
It has become the tendency of referees to call on players bound on the wrong side of mauls, to go back, or get onside. I'm not sure where this has arisen from, but surely, the only restriction on a player is when he joins a maul, and that is that he must do so at the rear feet.
 
There is no obligation on any player who has joined the maul legitimately, to then have to leave it, just because, due to the motions within the maul, he ends up on the "wrong" side of it. As long as he has been continuously bound for its duration, he is quite entitled to stay where he is, and to interfere with the ball in any way he likes.
 
There is no justification for the referee to call to him "Go back, No. 5" as happened several times during the weekend's games.
 
I would go further and say that the "active management" of this phase by the referee is giving an undue advantage to the team in possession, as defenders are continually ( and for no legal reason)  being asked to leave, and rejoin the maul, thereby not being able to push or disrupt it.
 
Perhaps the solution to curbing the curse of the rolling maul is available without resort to law change, although I must say I have been saying for a long time that you should legally be able to bring a maul down, and it seems that that option is now being actively considered after Stellenbosch recently.