I LOVE scrummaging and never want to see it discontinued, EVER!! That and a well worked rolling maul are things of beauty without doubt. The LawMakers have to give referees the tools to improve scrummaging time. Maybe a time limit to set.? Maybe a specialist Scrum Official? Maybe both AR's join the Ref on the pitch? I think we all know that as soon as you start handing out Yellow Cards then the Scrum will begin to work perfectly.

It's confirmation that it is not refereed correctly at the moment.

It's confirmation that it is not refereed correctly at the moment.

Why blame the ref's when it's the players that are the problem!

I think it's pretty difficult to place the blame on any one group or law, to be honest. The scrum has changed massively over the years, players have changed massively, the sport has changed massively. Watching the 1997 Lions tests again was very instructive.

Before: Scrums formed up almost instantly, ball went in quickly, few repeat scrums and penalties
Now: Scrums take an age to form, they frequently collapse before the ball is in, then there's loads of resets and penalties

Before: Props were varied in size, and scrummaging technique was paramount
Now: Props are all gigantic behemoths and most of them have poor technique in comparison to the old days, as they're selected on size & athletic ability first

Before: Scrums weighed less
Now: They're huuuuuuuuuuuuge and that extra weight means more pressure on the front rows

Before: Play didn't stop for long periods for basically no reason
Now: Play stops for ages for every minor thing, and players can get away with resting all the time before scrums, leading to bigger players and bigger problems

Can you explain why that would make it better?

We wouldn't all get deafened by shouts of "not straight ref!" at every scrum?

Why would that change?

Do you really think people shout “forward” for every opposition pass because they think it’s a forward pass?

I think Jammy asks a valid question.

Simple, down the middle ref's used to police it and still do where my boy plays, or continue having League scrums and maybe reduce the players in the scrum....

Just a thought...