By Whistle Watcher
December 3 2021

BEING the latest instalment in Whistle Watcher's occasional series on the (arcane? unfathomable? wholly unnecessary*?) Art of Refereeing a game of rugby. Over to you WW.

I’ve been involved in developing referees for 15 years or so, either as a mentor or more recently as a coach, and I’ve always been struck by my own lack of knowledge about the scrum and how to referee it. That really means understanding what’s happening, who’s doing it, what they are trying to achieve and how.

Sometimes, for the referee and his elves (given the time of year), it’s not always simple because the ref could be on the “wrong” side to see what’s happening close up and the elves are always looking at a picture from the side and often from at least halfway across the pitch, if not from behind the ref’s back (that one is usually on the defending offside line, by the way).

Maybe I was lucky in as much as I had the opportunity to talk with Graham Rowntree and George Chuter who both live locally to me, as well as the likes of Boris Stankovic at Coventry, all of whom would demonstrate a lot (an awful lot) of patience explaining to a referee why the scrum collapsed and whodunnit.

The RFU and local societies put a lot of effort into educating referees, but the scrum is that one area where is there really isn’t always a black and white picture of who has the upper hand and whether they’re doing it legally or not.

So I have a lot of sympathy with referees who award penalties for or against us which, to the discerning Coventry eyes in the crowd, are clearly wrong.

Why is it so blummin’ obvious what’s happening from the stand and none of the officials can see it? Sometimes it’s about being too close to the scrum (for the ref anyway) – imagine trying to overtake a bus parked on the road. The closer you get to the back of the bus, the less you can see beyond it, and the same is true of refereeing. You can be too close to see what’s obvious from thirty metres away and 10 metres up.

For the elves, it’s different. Rugby pitches are often higher in the centre than they are on the edges (to help water run off – Eric knows all about that), so the AR is lower than the pitch as a starting point. Then, he (or she) is looking at the side of the scrum from where it is hard to determine angles, so they can’t tell necessarily if a prop is driving straight or driving across.

Binding is one, so what should that look like?

To bind correctly a player must have the whole of one arm, from hand to shoulder, firmly around the body of a team mate. The only player who can legally bind onto a player of the opposing side is a prop-forward. Priority is always given to the hooker in the scrum, because he has the responsibility of winning the ball. He may bind with his arms over, or under the arms of his props. Most hookers choose to bind over their prop’s arms, as this places them in a more forward position and therefore nearer to the ball.

What he cannot do, is to bind with one over and the other under. This used to be common practice in the past, allowing the hooker to twist his body and get nearer to his opponents ball, but it has now been stopped because it was the reason for many collapsed scrums. Whether he chooses to bind over or under, his hands must still firmly grasp both props under the armpits, so that he cannot swing in the tunnel.

When the scrum engages, the tighthead prop must bind on the opposing loosehead prop by placing his right arm outside the left upper arm of the loosehead and reaching for his body. He is allowed to grip the opposing prop’s shirt, but his hand must be more towards the back of his opponent, rather than underneath in the chest area. He should not exert any downward pressure with this arm because that can force the loosehead’s own elbow under, acting as a lever to collapse the scrum.

The loosehead prop can only bind on the tighthead prop by placing his arm inside his opponent’s right arm. Under no circumstances should the referee allow either prop to place an outside hand into the tunnel, any such action would only be for the purpose of foul play. It is equally important to ensure that no player is allowed to grasp a prop by the leg, as such an action is likely to cause the scrum to collapse.

The second row forwards bind together with their inside arms and use their outside arms to bind onto the front row. This they usually do by placing their arms between the legs of their respective prop-forwards and grabbing the shorts waist-band, or the shirt. Relationships need to be more than a little harmonious for this, the most intimate of binds. Just thought I’d throw that in there.

The question then becomes one of “who collapsed the scrum?“

The scrum is a potential problem area for all referees, aggravated by the fact, that the majority of them, have never played in the front row. Even referees who have played in a forward position, still find the scrum difficult to manage, for the following reasons:

- They (scrums) are a means of gaining possession, which is a priority for players

- Front row players are forced into direct physical contact with their opponent

- They are recurring throughout the game

- Many players are involved

- If they collapse, they are dangerous and can be life threatening.

The last of these reasons is the cause of most concern because player safety is paramount.

For this reason, whenever a scrum collapses, the referees are advised to blow their whistles immediately, in order to minimize the possibility of injuries.

We’re seeing more an dmore referees in the Championship and Premiership allowing the ball to come away from collapsed scrums for continuity sake, but for me it’s a thorny issue. Safety over continuity? Especially when referees see it on TV and try to replicate it at Barkers Butts Colts games (for example).

Having stopped the game, they should then take action to reduce the chance of it happening again. Working out who caused the scrum to collapse, or why it collapsed, is not an easy task. In the first instance, one should not forget that it can often be purely circumstantial:

- Conditions under foot may be slippery

- A player might lose his balance

- The players might be tired

- One pack might be much heavier than their opponents.

Alternatively, it could be the result of poor coaching and/or bad technique: Loose binding

- Incorrect body positioning

- Inadequate footwear (length of stud, for example)

- One player being more experienced or “streetwise” than his opponent.

Finally, it should also be remembered, that it is possible for any of the four props and probably the two hookers as well, to deliberately bring a scrum down single handed if, and when, they choose.

No matter what the reason might be for the collapse of a scrum, it is very important that the referee assesses the situation correctly and quickly, because all collapsed scrums are dangerous. This is particularly so if they are being collapsed repeatedly and deliberately.

The most common cause of a collapsed scrum is loose binding and although this can often be attributed to poor technique, or fatigue, it can also be deliberate. The most common example being the hooker who slips his bind, in order to lower his body into the tunnel and get nearer to the ball. This can be spotted by looking on top of the scrum, where the referee will notice a gaping hole where the hooker’s body should be. The solution is to ensure that all players are binding with the whole arm, hands are under their team-mate’s armpits and that they remain like that throughout the scrum. A second problem area, that can also be resolved before the ball is put in, is the angle of the player’s backs.

The law makes it clear, that no player in the scrum can pack with his shoulders below the level of his hips. This is easily spotted from the side of the scrum and should be corrected before the ball is put in.

So if the binding is correct – The players all have flat backs – All circumstantial reasons are eliminated and the scrum still collapses, what can be done? The referee must now determine which of the players is deliberately taking the scrum down.

He should be looking out for the little “tell tale signs” such as: Who had most to gain by the collapse? Who was first to release his bind? Who is in the most comfortable position on the ground? All of these are valuable clues that might enable the referee to confidently pick out the culprit.

If the referee knows who caused the scrum to collapse, he should penalize him and could consider a caution or greater sanction if it’s a repetitive offence.

If the referee thinks he knows who caused the scrum to collapse, he should penalize his suspect.

If the referee has no idea (and this can happen to the very best referees) then although he is in a very difficult position the worst thing that he could do is nothing. Some referees choose to guess – some alternate penalties – some award the penalty to the side who are unable to score directly from the kick – others pick on tight head props, as they are generally thought to be the aggressors (but obviously not ours).

What the referee doesn’t really want to do is tell a front row how to scrummage or to advise them on technique. That’s a disastrous path, given that so few referees have any experience of playing in the front row and will have no real idea of the pressures that those players are physically under which is why it’s considered a no-no.

What’s the answer? Better education? Only recruiting referees from ex front row players?

Who knows?

I only know that the better educated our refs are and the better the scrums go, the better the spectacle of the game, so having read this missive, I hope that you’ll appreciate that the answer to the question, “who collapsed the scrum?” is not easy to answer by anyone, let alone the referee.

I also hope that you will in future be sympathetic towards the referee and his helpers, while they strive to find the correct solution, in the interest of the players’ safety and the continuity of the game.

*That was tongue-in-cheek, just in case.

The Art of Refereeing... The Scrum

Discussion started by Unofficial Coventry Rugby (IP Logged), 03/12/2021 18:11

Unofficial Coventry Rugby
03/12/2021 18:11

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021:12:16:12:35:07 by Kimbo.

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HoboAl
03/12/2021 20:58

The only thing I know is: It is a dark art what goes on in the scrum and both teams are usually trying to manipulate the rules and the ref! While most the fans are trying to convince themselves they know more than the ref.

But if you are ever lucky enough to sit near an experienced front row - pin your ears back because, it is educational and they never shout "That didn't go in straight ref!"

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