[Scrum] International and 1st class scrums, time to stop the clock?

[Ciaran Trainor]

Watching the games yesterday and most games, you can predict when scrums were going to take 2 minutes or longer.
The referees and authorities need to get a grip of this.

It makes such a boring spectacle and ruins the game.

For me the clock should be stopped the first time a scrum has to be reset and only restart when the ball is back in play and fed into a scrum. (let's not get sidetracked on ridiculous feeding).

The referee doesn't need to be involved in time keeping for this. The TMO or similar could do that.

I'm sure there has been talk of a 1 minute shot clock for scrums. This should be implemented immediately for me. As soon as a scrum is awarded, the clock should not be able to run more than a minute until the ball is back in play.

You can guarantee in a close game that any scrum near the end of the game or close to when a sin bin is about to expire that scrum will be reset 2 or 3 times.

 

[didds]

we can debate all we like buit until WR agree asnd act its is no more than that.

Meanwhile... if scrums werre blown in fullm accorance with the alws a deal of the stupidity wood disappear. when 9s can stick the ball under the 2nd rows feet, there is nothing the oppo can do to tey and win the ball. so consequently they seek a penalty from shovign hard etc etc etc and packing low looking for a collapse etc etc etc.

start to make the scrum a fair contest and maybe we avoid the PK machine approach.

But weve been here before for years now so it clearly isnt going to alter.

Call for BCM666

didds

 

[Lex Hipkins]

Watching the games yesterday and most games, you can predict when scrums were going to take 2 minutes or longer.
The referees and authorities need to get a grip of this.

It makes such a boring spectacle and ruins the game.

For me the clock should be stopped the first time a scrum has to be reset and only restart when the ball is back in play and fed into a scrum. (let's not get sidetracked on ridiculous feeding).

The referee doesn't need to be involved in time keeping for this. The TMO or similar could do that.

I'm sure there has been talk of a 1 minute shot clock for scrums. This should be implemented immediately for me. As soon as a scrum is awarded, the clock should not be able to run more than a minute until the ball is back in play.

You can guarantee in a close game that any scrum near the end of the game or close to when a sin bin is about to expire that scrum will be reset 2 or 3 times.

Two queries on this ...

a. I don’t have a TMO or similar so who would time this in the games I do? Or are we talking about having different laws for different levels of the game? A slippery slope in my opinion.

b. If you stop the clock doesn’t that take away any pressure to speed up the restart, and therefore won’t scrums take even longer? Meaning that games last longer and become even less of a spectator sport. I therefore don’t think stopping the clock is the answer. If you must, set a maximum time limit and be prepared to penalise (free kick) against any team causing the delay. But clocking stopping is not the answer.

 

[crossref]

we do ALREADY have this Law

[LAWS]19.4 Teams must be ready to form the scrum within 30 seconds of the mark being made. Sanction: Free-kick.[/LAWS]

so if you apply that your CROUCH will me - at most - 30 seconds after the scrum award, and SET would then normally be at most -- what? 40s?

 

[Lex Hipkins]

we do ALREADY have this Law

[LAWS]19.4 Teams must be ready to form the scrum within 30 seconds of the mark being made. Sanction: Free-kick.[/LAWS]

so if you apply that your CROUCH will me - at most - 30 seconds after the scrum award, and SET would then normally be at most -- what? 40s?

Unfortunately the problem is not about how long it takes teams to “be ready to form the scrum” it’s how long after they are “ready to form” that they actually do 'form'.

 

[crossref]

yes, but 'ready to form' must mean you can call 'crouch' , so ...

 

[Lex Hipkins]

yes, but 'ready to form' must mean you can call 'crouch' , so ...

It could be argued (and I’m sure somebody will) that “ready to form” simply means eight people have generally gathered together in the right place. For that law to have any real meaning it needs to be more precise and have some teeth.

 

[crossref]

It could be argued (and I’m sure somebody will) that “ready to form” simply means eight people have generally gathered together in the right place. For that law to have any real meaning it needs to be more precise and have some teeth.

yes, that would be better, but I think it would be very reasonable for a referee to state that teams need to be ready for the instrction 'crouch' within 30s , and to FK if not.

Luke Pearce does a great job or hurrying everyone up

 

[didds]

If you must, set a maximum time limit and be prepared to penalise (free kick) against any team causing the delay. .

That's a FK that can be of course taken as a scrum? becasue after all, a FK on your own 10m line is other wise just useless.

 

[didds]

we do ALREADY have this Law

[LAWS]19.4 Teams must be ready to form the scrum within 30 seconds of the mark being made. Sanction: Free-kick.[/LAWS]

And the FK gets taken as a scrum and we are bacvk to square one. Unless of course eventually becasue it happens to often you end up with a PK for deleiberate law breaking.

but you had be pretty sure who is at fault for not setting up in 30 seconds if you are goig to start awarding PKs that in themselves became game changers...

That's the deeper issue here. The FK is useless - so becomes a scrum,. so it doesnt solve the source issue anyway.

 

[Decorily]

And the FK gets taken as a scrum and we are bacvk to square one. Unless of course eventually becasue it happens to often you end up with a PK for deleiberate law breaking.
/QUOTE]

Presumably it could be declared as a FK which carries a scrum option for the first infringement but not subsequent infringements similar to the not straight into a lineout law.

 

[didds]

It could - and as i said in my post quoted/followed from

but you had be pretty sure who is at fault for not setting up in 30 seconds if you are goig to start awarding PKs that in themselves became game changers...

Was it blue just fraffing around? Or red standing slightly offset at blue's put in so blue have to move to get opimal/correct head spacing? Me and our hooker used to do this to oppo packs all the time in Germany (our LH didnt get it so we just told him to bind ojn the hooker and follow him and dont worry about it!) - really effed with their minds. Then youd remember the ones that really couldnt handle it and make sure next time you did it even more!

if everyone is ready at 25 seconds then a fly gets in the hooker's eye and he stands up to cklear it away is that now a PK?

You'd better be sure when you award that 79th minute PK in front of the sticks ...

 

[crossref]

sounds like you would have deserved a 79th minute PK under the sticks !! :biggrin:

 

[didds]

sounds like you would have deserved a 79th minute PK under the sticks !! :biggrin:

;-) ;-) ;-)

 

[thepercy]

If you don't like scrums then there are 13 and 7 player versions that don't really have scrums you can watch instead.

For me endless scrums are preferable to kicking tennis.