One of the most frustrating things as a supporter either at live games or in front of the television is that referees are still ignoring a crooked feed at the scrum but are very quick to penalise a crooked throw at the line out.
As a supporter who pays good money either way a crooked feed is cheating the supporter of a fair game.
Why is this allowed to continue?
Rod Francis
First of all, welcome! As both an (armchair) spectator and a former hooker, I fully understand your point of view.
As a former prop removed from the game by "the hit", and a referee with relatively few years of experience, I can also understand why crooked feeds do get ignored.
Professional rugby is first and foremost a commercial venture. Rugby Union become professional at about the same time as the scrum-wheeling law was changed. Over the course of my playing career, scrummaging changed from being a contest of both skill and strength to being a contest of brute force. Previously, the defending team would use all 8 men to drive or at least retreat straight, because if the scrum wheeled more than 90 degrees this would leave the attacking team back row in a potentially very dangerous position - as close to the opponent's try-line as their own pack! There was still a reset after greater than 90 degrees, but the attacking ideal was to drive straight at first and then rotate somewhat.
In an attempt to "fix" this, the law was changed that if 90 degrees was passed, it would be the side NOT in possession throwing in next. The consequences of this included the hit and thereby almost a generation of referees more concerned with safety than the letter of the law.
I was never a particularly good rugby player as such, but a decent enough hooker fortunate enough to have a very experienced tight five for most of my time in that position. We probably won an average of about five against the head every second XV match. It would have been unthinkable for my SH to feed the ball crookedly, and we probably lost one against the head every other match too.
Let me rephrase what I said in the previous paragraph from the perspective of a referee. If both sides are struggling with the same issue, for whatever reason at all: be lenient. Preferably as lenient as the other people refereeing the same teams at the same level as you and no more (and no less).
That said, I agree that it is a bit embarrassing that they are SO lenient on the crooked feed at the highest level.