Scrum changes queried

Johan du Plessis, an engineer with a passion for schools rugby, queries the changes to the scrum settings, which limit the force of the contact which front rows can make – from no pushing up to Under-9 to a 'mini-hit' at Under-17. He writes:

Hi, I have been a coach on various levels of the game for the past 18 years. I was also a referee for a number of years.

I have great difficulty in understanding your new scrum engagement calls for various under age groups. It seems that the changes are going to change the essence of the game. They basically nullify the scrum for any rugby under the age of 19. In the long run we are going to "breed" a culture of non-scrumming and our props at professional level will not be competitive any longer. It's like teaching a boxer all his life to punch softly and the first time he enters the ring at a senior level he will be knocked out of his boots. Also the correct muscles that get used in the hits of a scrum will not develop as they should.

Furthermore, I can assure you that coaches will no longer pick the traditional, strong prop for scrumming as he will be redundant.

As a matter of interest who was consulted when making this decision?

I would love to discuss this with someone with seniority at SARU to argue my point.

Kind Regards, Johan

See: http://www.sareferees.com/News/scrum-calls-for-age-groups/2829788/