Rugby

When were the steps from the ref changed?

I don't follow rugby much, but seeing that change suggested that the packs, coming together for the first time in a while, were struggling with the new steps.

And the pauses between seemed to vary so much, cant help be feel that some sort of automated system, beep ... beep ... beep, would take a lot of uncertainty out of the set up, and make it back to a straight contest between the two packs.

That said, better pitches would help massively

The steps were changed from crouch, pause, touch, engage to crouch, touch, set at the start of this season. It is supposed to be more predictable and encourage the packs to come together gently and not hit but it has been achieved neither of these.

There are many problems with the scrum and actually the pitch comes way down the list. The biggest problem is inconsistency with the referees, many of whom (in fact almost all of whom) have no experience in the front row so will never truly understand the mechanics of what the props are doing to try and disrupt their opposition. Technically the front row should only ever push straight and level, in reality the tight head will try to push the heads of the oppo hooker and loose head down while the loose head will try to push the tight head up (this is grossly simplified and does not cover a whole raft of more dirty techniques such as boring in etc.)

The second biggest problem is the hit, technically this is illegal, the law clearly states that neither side can push until the ball comes into the scrum. There is no way that you can generate the amount of force that comes from the hit and then stop, nor would a pack want to as they would immediately lose the advantage that they have gained from winning the hit. To counter this and to stop his side from being penalised the scrum half will put the ball in as soon as the two front rows come together unless it is very obvious that his side have not won the initial contact (if this is the case the referee will likely penalise the defending team for pushing early).

This brings us on to the third biggest problem, the scrum half throwing the ball straight to the feet of his own second row. Again this is CLEARLY illegal according to the rules of the game but like the hit it has crept in over time and for some reason the referees and law making bodies have allowed it to happen. By allowing this you turn the front row from a unit that is designed to hold up the scrum and return the ball to the feet of the number 8 to three guys who will push with all of their might, this makes it a lot more difficult for them to effectively hold up the scrum.

The fourth biggest problem is the laws and the referees themselves. The law surrounding the set piece (both scrum and lineout) is massively complicated as it has only ever really been added to over the years dead wood has never been stripped away. To give you an example, in the hit there are something like 20 different possible infringements that are mentioned in the laws, this is over in a split second, it is impossible for the ref to evaluate the hit and check that all of those infringements are not made. Referees will therefore ref the set piece according to what they perceive to be the priorities, this varies from individual to individual and means that the pack will never play to the same rules from one week to another.

What can be done? To my mind it is simple:

1. Either allow the linesmen to have more input on infringements at the scrum (my preferred option), allow the 4th official more input, or introduce another official whose sole job is to referee the scrum (this would have to be someone with experience in the FR)
   
2. Make the hit illegal.
   
3. Make straight put ins compulsory.
   
4. Simplify the laws surrounding the set piece.
   
   

If at least steps two and three are done it would go a long way to sorting the problem out.