Alan Zondagh -ex sport 24
The problems at scrum time started with the ‘crouch, touch, pause, engage’ call. Why this was introduced remains a mystery to me.
This cadence was the primary cause for early engagements, which resulted in a high number of penalties. It was one of the main reasons for a delay in play and changed the oval game into a stop-start affair.
With the new scrum laws now in effect, a decrease in reset and collapsed scrums is already noticeable. It is certainly a positive change and the IRB must be complemented for taking this proactive step.
Owing to the revised call of ‘crouch, bind, set’ the battle between a loosehead and a tighthead and vice versa will once again become an important part of the game.
Effectively with the front rows now closer together, there should be less movement of the forwards’ feet, which should result in a more stable scrum.
Sound technique by the front row forwards is paramount in ensuring scrum success and the delivery of good clean ball to one’s backs.
Ultimately, the pack that is best able to get tighter and lower after the hit should be able to dominate.
Prior to the aforementioned revision, scrum coaches saw the winning of the engagement as the most essential element of a good scrum. Thus, all the effort was put into the hit, which had to be done at speed and with precision.
Now, scrum gurus will have to make technical adjustments when coaching the crucial set-piece.
Comments have been made by coaches in New Zealand that South African players will struggle with the introduction of the new scrum laws, because they won’t be able to rely purely on their weight and size.
They argue that our props will now have to become more streetwise and improve technically.
My view is that an effective scrum set-piece not only depends on size and weight but also revolves around technique and working together as a pack.
Here the number eight plays a very important role. I see so many eighthmen playing top level rugby but still looking uneasy behind the pack. They cannot channel the ball properly, cannot play off the base at pace and cannot feed the ball to the scrumhalf securely.
I believe that we have the players in this country but need to spend more time developing their individual skills. If we keep forcing players into structures and conservative game plans, they will not develop as individuals.
We must be careful that we are not programming instead of coaching. I’m of the opinion that if you programme, you will develop robots but if you coach and improve the individual, you will develop intelligent, creative and highly-skilled rugby players.
South Africa tackle Argentina this Saturday and the scrums will definitely be a facet of play which the visitors will target.
The Pumas have always believed in picking a front row of similar height.
From a technical standpoint, this affords an even platform at the back of the front row, which means that the two locks and the two flankers' shoulders are in line.
With the introduction of the new scrum laws, my main hope is that the referees are consistently strict on the straight delivery of the ball into the scrum and with all loose forwards staying bound until the ball is out.
I believe that if a team does all the hard work to ensure a stable scrum, they deserve the advantage on attack.
In my book, the scrum is still the best attacking option available – with fewer players on their feet on defence, much more space is available to launch an effective attack.
Nice sumamry by Alan. Where is this guy coaching now?
