Growing up as a Durban boy my only sporting interest and great passion as a school boy was surfing.
What I didn’t fully realize was that I was born with the body of a prop, and so rugby entered my life as a prop forward at Under 13 level and soon thereafter rugby had relegated surfing to second place, and I played my first game at first division level against the then current Springbok tight head at the tender age of Nineteen!!
15 Years later I played my last game at first division level and happily bear the cauliflower ear and aches and pains of being lucky enough to scrum down in this great game with and against the most interesting men I could ever wish to meet.
Scrumming had become a practical education in the skill of a contest that only a few get to experience, and the enjoyment of watching and appreciating the contest between props based on their know how and technique has kept me close to the game that gave me so much enjoyment.
SO WHO HAS STOLEN THE SCRUM FROM RUGBY IN 2012?
What I see is the complete castration of the scrum, with no contest at all being allowed between props. Every single front row forward now only has one opponent, and that is the referee. We are very close to a situation where the scrum will consist of the biggest props pushing dead straight with no movement allowed left or right, up or down, and a bind that neutralizes the arms of both props.
This will serve the interests of the referees and the IRB will pat themselves on the back for creating a faster game, with the scrum acting as a quicker means of restarting the game, meaning more TV viewership that allows them to negotiate more profitable contracts with TV networks.
So, I hear you screaming at me, what is wrong with growing the game?
There is nothing wrong with growing the game, however there is something wrong with changing the unique character of a game that differs totally from other games by virtue of the scrum contest. What will the IRB do when having sold the soul of Rugby Union to modern marketing, the game becomes less popular than rugby league and other forms of rugby yet to be dreamt up by marketing freaks on a Friday night over a few spirit coolers with their mates?
I have no doubt that the outcome of the Super 15 this year already rests on the awarding of nonsensical and ridiculous penalties at scrum time.
I wish you all well in enjoying what is left of Rugby Union.
As for me, I am waxing up the surfboard ( okay, it is now a long board ) and looking forward to a few quiet waves this Saturday afternoon at five o clock, while the Sharks take on the Reds in Durban.
By the way, does anybody know what goes on at the breakdowns?
Tighthead,
You are spot-on my friend…. they are killing the game we love.
To everybody reading this, copy and paste this and send it to EVERYBODY, I say EVERYBODY, on your mailing lists…
… Also send it to SARU, to the IRB, to the 15 Super Rugby Franchises, to all 14 SA Home Unions, to the SA Referees Association, to the New Zealand Rugby Union, to the Australian Rugby Union and to every major Rugby Playing Nation’s controlling body… as well as to every Newspaper!
Come on, you call yourself a Rugby Supporter…. show us how seriously you support, show us that you are willing to pull your thumb out of your own arse and to do something about it!
Not sending it to EVERYBODY is condoning what is being done to rugby, the sport we love, not sending it far and wide is showing just what class of supporter you are!
Are you apathetic or are you a rugby man… (or woman)?
Just to add to Comment No 1… You HAVE to ask yourself whether you are a Rugby CONSUMER or a Rugby SUPPORTER… and then act!
Well old TH, you’ve committed to writing what everyone who’s ever played in the front row is asking.
Heaven forbid we end up with scrums like they have in League these days. Nothing more than uncontested scrums with the halfback putting the ball in under the 2nd row’s feet.
As for the breakdown, it’s a farce.
The ref’s in the NH continually penalise the TACKLED player, while completely ignoring the fact that the TACKLER MUST RELEASE THE PLAYER BEING TACKLED.
Our SH ref’s just seem to be absolutely clueless with little or no consistency from game to game.
It’s shocking that in the days of digital technology, the sport of Rugby can’t arrange that EVERY ref’ knows what the IRB want, and ALL blow the rules accordingly.
I’m well aware that a ref’ could probably penalise any of the teams at just about every ruck or maul for some reason or other, but all we want as spectators is consistency.
TOO MANY PEOPLE CHASING THE LIMELIGHT?
It is a sad reality that is only succeeding in slowly leaching away the passion of the game from people like yourself. It has amazed me, how much time has been spent not talking about the actual competition this year, but on this subject, the referees and the laws. Be it on twitter, blogs or official news sites, people are becoming more and more disgruntled by the situation, and ultimately it will be the IRB et al that lose out
Right, I’m off to face the madding crowd from Cape Town and fight with that traffic – been practicing with 2 tractors and a quad bike on the farm this afternoon, so should be ok! GBS, presume you’ll put up the live game article. See you on the dark side
4@ Just For Kicks:
Truth is that the IRB just don’t give a fukc about the public.
They’ll make enough out of the TV rights, and don’t give a sh1t if the stadia are empty.
Believe me, the k@k Otago are in is a taste of things to come.
5@ Just For Kicks:
Newlands truly is on the dark side!
5 @ Just For Kicks:
I’ll schedule a Game Article and make you Author!
Enjoy!
Just came across this beauty….scroll down until you find Snor
http://www.watkykjy.co.za/2012/03/die-nuutste-afrikaanse-flieks/
I trust that you’re all busy sending mail just about EVERYWHERE!
9 @ bos_otter:
Yeahhhh, that’s the mail Tripples sent me… which I still intended from which to put a few pictures up… it’s classic!
And then there is the greatest match killer of them all:the UNCONTESTED scrum!!!!!!!
Whoever thought out this rabid innovation should be strung up at the nearest crossbar, by his scrotum.
(Nice to see TH again, our old Voldy comrade from days gone by.)
TH @ main article:
“scrumming……against the then Springbok tight head….”
Let me guess, Adrian Garvey or Lood Muller?
Btw, can you imagine the likes of the late Domkrag Erasmus or Tommie Laubscher ‘blowing kisses’ in an uncontested scrum, smiling sweetly at their opponents
@ bos_otter:
Check daai BMW in die header se model-logo POE i, hehehehehe!!!!!
@ Pietman:
rofl….sien dit nou eers raak….ha ha ha. Sien daar is n weeklikse rugby artikel van Kaptein Kortbroek op daai site.
12 @ Pietman:
You know what, the whole notion of making the game supposedly SAFER, is behind all the kak…
First it was, you may not moer someone, then rucking with boots was reduced and reduced and taken away, then the scrums were watered down, then came crouch, touch, pause, fondle your friend, engage in the scrums… then recently they started softening the tackle area… more and more and more… roll away, no lifting… warra-wara-wara.
Has it all reduced injuries… no ways!
Good article Tighthead it puts a bit of light on an area of the game I do not profess to know much about having never been in the front row and it is a pity if you as an ex prop think scrums are being ruined because one of the things I like about rugby is that is a game for all shapes and sizes, although I suppose there is still a place for props but more and more these days as mobile get around the field players and in some teams cases a good means of causing obstruction, which too often comes unpunished, around rucks. You touch on scrums being turned into a ‘straight push’ very recently, think it may have been last weekend 6 nations I saw a team getting penalised when a scrum was wheeled, I thought that wheeling a scrum would be done by the dominant scrum but maybe they were penalised for pulling to get it wheeled is that allowed? Binding come scrum time is also a mystery to me because as far as I understand it you must bind on your opponents body is this true? Because many times I see props, most visible with looseheads getting away with either binding on the other props arm or even not at all with the outside arm, they do this a lot when the ref is on the other side of the scrum, why don’t the linesman step in and point this out to the ref or are they not allowed to? Lots of questions there as I say its an area am not too enlightened on so will be nice to learn more.
3@ Scrumdown:
Maybe the problem regarding scrums is that you don’t really see retired props reffing top games so if the ref has never been in the front row it must be hard for them to know exactly what goes on and so apart from a set of guidelines on the obvious to the eye things how do they decide who has collapsed the scrum, who has caused it to be incorrectly wheeled… So maybe part of the problem is that not enough of you ex props have gone into being refs after playing the game. You are right about consistency though because with all the rule changes it is hard to keep up with them all regarding breakdown so I try to watch a game and see if a ref has blown up one team for something then hope to see him blowing up the other team for the same, but that doesn’t happen often enough and certainly as you say in the 6 nations the tackled often has not been blown up for not releasing the tackled player, I think a few years ago the Stormers had a plan to tackle then clap hands to show the ref they had released and then contest but in 6 nations you often don’t see players releasing and often they get away with playing off their feet being on their knees etc. But it also counts the other way and I have also seen the tackled player getting away with holding on to the ball once on the ground for quite a long time until support arrives, you go watch Ireland v Scotland from last weekend and I feel a lot of time when Ireland were in trouble deep in their territory the ref favoured them and allowed them to get away with stuff to secure loose ball.
16@ grootblousmile:
I agree they are saying they are trying to make the game safer with these scrum changes and the special attention ‘tip’ or ‘spear’ tackles are getting but man with so many of the players bulking up so much in the gym I’m not sure the game is safer because I see some really big hits, legitimate, going in from players flying in at top speed, real bone crunching stuff, its probably not new but just seem to be far more of them and you are regularly reading after games of the amount of players not being able to practice for some days after with bruising etc on the lower end and then some career ending stuff too. The more I watch the more unsure I am whether I really want my laaitie to get into rugby, but I suppose will take him along in the next few years and see how it goes.
Could comment all day on how our game has and maybe should change if speeding up the game to make if more attractive to potential new customers is what its about, one area which they need to look at is the length of time it takes from the time the ball is available at the base of a ruck to a scrumhalf to pass and when the scrumhalf actually passes, Scotland frustrates me no end in this regard, you will see the ball lying there for ages before he gets it away lots of the time, maybe as well as having a record of scrumtime we see on our TV screens they should record how much game time is lost through the game by the ball lying idly at the base of the ruck, this is an element that makes the game really boring to me it just slows it down horribly and gives the backs really slow bad ball to work with and then we wonder why so few trys get scored, any thoughts from you others or is this just an element I am blowing up too much.
I can honestly say that I watched NO SUPER RUGBY of any consequence this weekend.
I did notice though that the Sharks / Reds ended with the dreaded uncontested scrums.
FFS, when are they going to use player #23 like in Europe?
And then there was the England scrum!!!!
My oh my wasn’t it ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS to see a dominant pack DESTROY the opposition, and a ref that didn’t kill the contest.
Also, hat’s off to the Irish, who could have easily manipulated the situation to have uncontested scrums, but didn’t.
@ Scrumdown:
Morning Scrumdown.
What a great situation as you say, when the ref allowed the superior English pack to dominate and win the game as a result.
This would never have happened in the S15, and the English loose head would probably have eventually been carded in the S15.
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