Scrum put in not straight.

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Fatboy_Ginge


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When I received the e-mail about the new scrum engagement laws I noticed that part of it read "Referees will be enforcing a straight put in to the tunnel."

My initial reaction to this was "Yeah... Right... I'll believe it when I see it". Fast forward to last weekend when I had the chance to watch the Bledisloe Cup match on sky sports and what did I see... A certain Mr Jaco Peyper ignoring the Wobblies srum half feeding the ball under his hookers feet. Admittedly the Australian scrum was under a bit of pressure but I was reminded of the e-mail as I watched.

2 questions arise from this.


  1. How far off straight can you allow the ball to go when it's put into the scrum?
  2. How do I referee this "interpretation" for want of a better phrase, at Junior level (U14) when some Elite referees seem to ignore it?
 
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crossref


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The RFU cascaded guidance (not alas available to the public ) is that
Part of the ball MUST hit the centre of the tunnel
 
Phil E

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:deadhorse:
 
didds

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Fatboy_Ginge said:
[*]How do I referee this "interpretation" for want of a better phrase, at Junior level (U14) when some Elite referees seem to ignore it?
Click to expand...


ignore what elites do. Ref the laws.

If a 14 year old/his coach/his dad etc ask why you don't ref like the ref in the last test match he saw, just say (kindly if he's the lad - he is learning!) - when you/he plays test match rugby he can have a test match ref and their bizarre interpretations. meanwhile I'll ref the laws. And mention that elite refs and their "tweaks" to the l;aws do grassroots refs a huge disservice.

Stick to your guns. its the thin edge of the wedge.

WRT how far off straight - none. BUT... the centre of the ball doesn't have to pass along the tunnel middle... one end of the ball can. i'll leave it to you to work out which end that could be - but that end has to stay along the midline, not start there and end up under the 2nd row's feet.

From my coach's perspective you WILL be doing a disservice to young S/H's if you do NOT ping squint feeds - because one day when older they will meet a ref that WILL ping him and he will have a history of feeding to overcome in his skillset. Also hookers - if they are not having to strike at U14, when they meet that same ref in a few years time that insists on a straight feed they'll not be able to hook it as they've never had to.

didds
 
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Taff


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If what we were told at tonight's meeting happens, I think we're about to see this taken very seriously, and sanctions escalated very quickly.
 
Last edited:
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Rushforth


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didds said:
ignore what elites do. Ref the laws.

If a 14 year old/his coach/his dad etc ask why you don't ref like the ref in the last test match he saw, just say (kindly if he's the lad - he is learning!) - when you/he plays test match rugby he can have a test match ref and their bizarre interpretations. meanwhile I'll ref the laws. And mention that elite refs and their "tweaks" to the l;aws do grassroots refs a huge disservice.

Stick to your guns. its the thin edge of the wedge.

WRT how far off straight - none. BUT... the centre of the ball doesn't have to pass along the tunnel middle... one end of the ball can. i'll leave it to you to work out which end that could be - but that end has to stay along the midline, not start there and end up under the 2nd row's feet.

From my coach's perspective you WILL be doing a disservice to young S/H's if you do NOT ping squint feeds - because one day when older they will meet a ref that WILL ping him and he will have a history of feeding to overcome in his skillset. Also hookers - if they are not having to strike at U14, when they meet that same ref in a few years time that insists on a straight feed they'll not be able to hook it as they've never had to.

didds
Click to expand...

Thanks didds, excellent post. I may actually play again later this season thanks to this change (back to laws pretty much similar to those I played twenty years ago).
 
Ian_Cook

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Fatboy_Ginge said:
My initial reaction to this was "Yeah... Right... I'll believe it when I see it". Fast forward to last weekend when I had the chance to watch the Bledisloe Cup match on sky sports and what did I see... A certain Mr Jaco Peyper ignoring the Wobblies srum half feeding the ball under his hookers feet. Admittedly the Australian scrum was under a bit of pressure but I was reminded of the e-mail as I watched.
Click to expand...

Actually, I disagree with your observation. Firstly, I thought both halfbacks were feeding pretty straight all game, and secondly, it should not make any difference if the scrum of one team is under pressure or not, because neither scrum should be moving until the ball is put in.
 
Dixie

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Rushforth said:
I may actually play again later this season thanks to this change (back to laws pretty much similar to those I played twenty years ago).
Click to expand...
Then let me counsel you, as one who has had shoulder problems for the last ten years, to ensure you get a LOT of upper-body conditioning before you take to the field without your whistle. If it's 20 years since you hung up your player's boots, the oppo you faced then have each put on 25 pounds (11.3Kg). Your shoulder is no longer familiar with the impacts involved in tackling at the old weight; and you've lost pace such that the younger among the oppo team can now hit you, whereas players from their positions would never have got to you in the past. Consequently, they are not on your radar until they hit you hard.

In short, I'd advise you to scratch your mid-life itch by buying a motorbike - it's much safer than taking up rugby after a 20-year hiatus.
 
didds

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nah... buy a bicycle.

didds
 
ChrisR

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If I looked like that I'd prefer camo over pink.
 
Phil E

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MAMIL should be banned. :nono:
 
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winchesterref


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Is it me or does the one in the middle have massive bollocks
 
Ciaran Trainor

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Anyway back to the point level 7 v 6 today at least 6 free kicks for not straight. No complaints from either SH.
 
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winchesterref


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Why did you get to 6 FK, why not escalate out of interest?

I had 2 FK for each side for feeding yesterday in the first 20-25 minutes, told each skipper in ear shot of the 9 after the second occasion that if it happened again we would be looking at a penalty instead, didn't need to go that far as there was no more feeding
 
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