Rit Hinners
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I first became involved in rugby in 1972. I was heavily involved with the game as a player, ref or coach for some 30 years at which time I lost all contact with the game for some 6 years. In 2008 I subscribed to the Setanta channel and was amazed. (Keep in mind that what I am discussing here is what I'm seeing on the telly.)
In my previous 30 years of rugby, if there were 40 scrums in a game you might have two or three resets. My recent experience is that you need to have about 3 resets before having a successful scrum.
What has changed? Have coaches decided that time spent practicing srcummaging is wasted and thererfore the skills necessary just aren't there?
I will list things that I see as different than the way they were in my day and ask that you discuss their relevance to the problem.
The BIND
It looks to me that the front row have changed their bind points.
Before props would bind high on the hooker grabbing the button area of the collar of his jersy. This provided a tight shoulder to shoulder bind. The angle of the arm to the body was fully extended (~90*) and unlikely to change.
Today props seem to be binding to the hooker's hips. The angle of the arm is much less (~30*). While it might provide a tighter hip-hip bind the arm is much more likely to ride up and loosen the bind.
Another item that I see that has relevance to the bind is the change in uniforms. Previously, jersies where made of strong, heavy cloth that that could easily be grabbed and held on to. Today they look like super-hero outfits: thightly form-fitting and made of thin slippery materials that appear to be difficult to hang onto.
The FLANKERS
In my day wing fowards were well aware of their role in keeping their props hips tight and so kept their shoulders in the props "nitch" and drove in and foward. If they were interested in what was going on with the ball they kept their heads down and watched it on the ground.
Today, I see most flankers seem to be uninterested with anything to do with the actual scrummage. They often have their heads up and, with their chest on the props back, are in no position to push. If their prop starts to give ground under the pressure they are more likely to pull their props hips out than dig in and push harder. Often they will even release their bind on their prop and push against the opposing prop with their arms.
I have been unable to find any law changes that allow a member of the back row to suddenly decide to join the front row but I never see them being pinged for this behavior.
Anyone else have any observations/opinions on this issue?
In my previous 30 years of rugby, if there were 40 scrums in a game you might have two or three resets. My recent experience is that you need to have about 3 resets before having a successful scrum.
What has changed? Have coaches decided that time spent practicing srcummaging is wasted and thererfore the skills necessary just aren't there?
I will list things that I see as different than the way they were in my day and ask that you discuss their relevance to the problem.
The BIND
It looks to me that the front row have changed their bind points.
Before props would bind high on the hooker grabbing the button area of the collar of his jersy. This provided a tight shoulder to shoulder bind. The angle of the arm to the body was fully extended (~90*) and unlikely to change.
Today props seem to be binding to the hooker's hips. The angle of the arm is much less (~30*). While it might provide a tighter hip-hip bind the arm is much more likely to ride up and loosen the bind.
Another item that I see that has relevance to the bind is the change in uniforms. Previously, jersies where made of strong, heavy cloth that that could easily be grabbed and held on to. Today they look like super-hero outfits: thightly form-fitting and made of thin slippery materials that appear to be difficult to hang onto.
The FLANKERS
In my day wing fowards were well aware of their role in keeping their props hips tight and so kept their shoulders in the props "nitch" and drove in and foward. If they were interested in what was going on with the ball they kept their heads down and watched it on the ground.
Today, I see most flankers seem to be uninterested with anything to do with the actual scrummage. They often have their heads up and, with their chest on the props back, are in no position to push. If their prop starts to give ground under the pressure they are more likely to pull their props hips out than dig in and push harder. Often they will even release their bind on their prop and push against the opposing prop with their arms.
I have been unable to find any law changes that allow a member of the back row to suddenly decide to join the front row but I never see them being pinged for this behavior.
Anyone else have any observations/opinions on this issue?
Their coming to grips with any opposition player is still specifically proscribed, but rarely if ever penalised. Equally, their habit of getting to an angle of 90 degrees to the direction of the scrum, and driving the props inwards would not be possible if they maintained a full-arm bind to their second-row as required.
