By now most players and a few referees will have realised that something serious has happened to the scrum. After
Reprinted by
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HOOKER MAGAZINE
much cogitation and not a little head-scratching the IRB in its wisdom has decided a) that the front row of the scrum is a dangerous place and b) that they needed to do something about it. The result is the recent change in Law 20.1(h)
"Rewrite law 20.1(h) as:
The referee will call "crouch" then "touch". The front rows crouch and using their outside arm each prop touches the point of the opposing prop's outside shoulder. The props then withdraw their arms. The referee will then call "pause". Following a pause the referee will then call "engage". The front rows may then engage. The "engage" call is not a command but an indication that the front rows may come together when ready."
Clear? No, me neither. Well, actually the change in procedure is fairly clear but, of course, the burning question is:
"What do we have to do to take advantage of this new Law?"
To answer this we have to go back to first principles of scrumming always bearing in mind that a bigger pack that has a bit of technique, a modicum of timing and the ability to concentrate when required will ALWAYS beat a smaller pack in the scrum.
Winning the scrum (which doesn't necessarily mean winning the ball, of course) always provides a major playing advantage. Thus,
ending the scrum with the opposition on the back foot is the objective.
This needs a little explanation. Packs use the 'hit' to get themselves into the best body position to be able to make the 'shunt' without adjustment when the ball is put in. It is the 'shunt' that destabilizes the opposing pack - breaks its binds, destroys its cohesion and drives it back, hopefully in disarray. If one pack gets pushed back in the 'hit' (i.e. behind the mid-plane, the place where it planned to make contact) its legs end up too compressed to provide maximum power in the shunt. Note that there is little opportunity for adjustment at this stage; a player raising a foot off the ground to adjust his or her body position reduces the pack's pressure by a potentially decisive one sixteenth.
Thus, both packs aim to execute their 'hit' so that when the ball is put in they are all in perfect body and foot positions to explode into the 'shunt'. (It is axiomatic that the side with the put-in MUST make a decisive shunt to be able to hook the ball efficiently.)
Traditionally, i.e. last year, packs relied almost completely on pure power to achieve domination in the 'hit'. They accelerated in unison and from a distance of their choosing into the hit - often arriving in a slightly downward angle for maximum impact - and powered their opponents back the necessary few inches. The changes to the Law make this power approach more difficult because the gap between the two packs is reduced to 'arm's length'. The new Law would also seem to inhibit downward hits - ostensibly referees will require packs to be 'crouched', whatever that actually means, before they allow them to engage. This should promote a more horizontal 'hit' which is considerably safer.
While these Law changes may seem to be minimal I predict that the overall results will be numerous, beneficial and perhaps even revolutionary! As a minor example, I definitely think that the current emphasis on, and the world-wide scarcity of, 20+ stone props who can also play will vastly diminish!
Much more certain, however, is that the age-old key ingredients of scrumming: timing, technique and concentration are back in fashion. This means that skilful (rather than enormous) props come back into their own and that:
- Power is still important so absolute unison in the hit now has an increased premium - all eight forwards must explode into the hit absolutely together and off all sixteen feet.
- Achieving precisely selected contacts with the opposing props' and hooker's shoulders is now even more crucial. Unprepared or un-concentrated scrumming will be punished severely.
- As domination in the 'shunt' increases in value the ability of the loose-head to 'manage' the opposing tight-head (and vice versa!) is ever more important - agility, core strength and, above all, absolutely correct foot placement after the hit are critical to prevent boring and provide a platform for an attack on the bind.
- In defence, a coordinated effort by either of the props and the hooker working together to attack a specific bind looks like a fertile place for exploration. As a result, the need for efficient binding in the front row (and elsewhere) reappears after a long absence!
To sum up, clever, agile and hard props will prosper under this new regime, currently monolithic props will become more mobile and I predict we'll see the benefits of this increase in mobility elsewhere on the field. One more step toward 15-man rugby?
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