Thursday, May 9, 2013

IRB shuffles the deckchairs

The IRB has announced a global trial of a new “crouch, bind, set” scrummage engagement sequence.

Under the new sequence, which will start next season, when the ref calls "bind" the props will bind with their outside arm and maintain the bind until the referee calls “set”. At that point, the two packs engage.

The new sequence is hardly a radical departure from the shambolic "crouch, touch, set" we currently have to endure and completely misses the point. The issue is not what happens before the scrum is set. The problem is how the scrum is refereed once it is set.

Insist the scrum is steady before the put-in, penalise the early shove (or 'hit') and insist on a straight feed and we may be back in business.

Until then we are merely tinkering around the edges.

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