John Drake: Don't dumb the scrum

New Zealand rugby must not allow the importance of good scrummaging to be eroded.

I feel that Super 12 bosses and referees are trying to de-power scrums, and it could hurt the All Blacks against Northern Hemisphere teams, especially England and France.

Why is the Super 12 going this way? Because it is about razzmatazz and getting the ball out in the open.

Referees are completely controlling the scrum, slowing and softening the hit, and removing major confrontation.

To be fair to the refs, they are probably under instruction.

But should we go the whole way and have league scrums? No thanks.

The effects of not concentrating on the scrum might not be evident at this World Cup, but they will show over time.

In the 1960s, New Zealand had the best scrum in world rugby, stacked with big strong, technically sound men.

But we did not continue the necessary concentration on technique, probably because we were so good.

In 1971, the Lions arrived with smaller but technically very good props and dealt to us.

The problem didn't occur overnight, and who can forget the infamous three-man All Black scrum against the 1977 Lions at Eden Park.

When I was at Auckland Grammar in the mid-70s, we were taught about scrummaging by the outstanding All Blacks lock Peter Whiting.

Keith Murdoch, a very strong man, is regarded as one of our best props, but Whiting told us he ended up with Murdoch's massive frame bent over his (Whiting's) back in scrums against Wales in 1972.

Their props were smaller but had technique.

Scrum technique hasn't really changed over the years.

That's why the legendary Auckland prop Snow White, who first played for the province in the late 1940s, is a technical adviser to the Auckland team - his advice is as relevant today as it was 30 years ago.

Scrums are still vital to success - the old saying "if you scrum well you ruck well" is as relevant now as when Fred Allen or John Hart preached it.

If the tighthead prop can move up just 15cm to 20cm, he creates an extra metre or more for his No 8 and halfback in an attacking move.

That's how precise it is, and it can be the difference between scoring a try or not.

Olo Brown has been our best tighthead scrummager in recent times. When the pressure went on, Olo got lower and dug in for the battle.

If a tighthead goes high under pressure, he and his scrum are dead meat.

Greg Somerville can rate up there with Brown, and is, I believe, consistently our best scrummaging tighthead.

Somerville stays low under pressure.

Carl Hayman, a brilliant lineout lifter, is adequate but disadvantaged by his height. Kees Meeuws can be the best of the lot when he concentrates and stays low.

Carl Hoeft and Tony Woodcock are sound technicians at loosehead.

Anton Oliver is our best hooker in the scrums, with Mark Hammett.

Other frontrowers are outstanding in other areas, but for me it begins at scrum time.

It's always best to attack an opponent as a pair - the hooker with his tighthead or loosehead acting in tandem.

The frontrowers who think they can take on opponents on their own get caught out, especially against class opponents.

You could write a book about the hidden art of scrummaging.

Let's look at one of the best. Sean Fitzpatrick was easily the best scrummaging hooker of his time, very strong physically and, more importantly, mentally.

Fitzpatrick was also helped by having small hips - don't laugh.

Tighthead props are helped by having big hips to set a steady base, but it is a disadvantage for hookers because at the point of hooking the ball it is harder for them to swivel, and it disrupts the scrum formation.

When Auckland played Canterbury in the 80s, Canterbury had two big-hip hookers John Buchan and John Mills - both All Blacks and excellent allround players.

Auckland waited for the Canterbury hooker to strike and then attacked with devastating success.

Their locks, Andy Earl and Albert Anderson, would be moved up just as their hooker struck and tried to swivel the hips. We waited for Buchan and Mills to retire before telling the story.

Rule changes haven't helped.

There was a period when looseheads didn't have to bind to the opposing tighthead - and that has affected some of our current props' techniques.

The loosehead who constantly bores in leaves his hooker and his own ribcage exposed to good opposition at his team's peril.

It would also help at the top level if referees didn't have to control scrums so rigidly.

But I believe a court case in the Northern Hemisphere, in which a frontrower who broke his neck successfully sued a referee, has meant refs are now told to show strict control so unions cannot be sued for negligence. Rightly, we must live with this.

Two bugbears, though. Touch judges who may be 50m away should not influence referees about scrum problems.

It's also ridiculous that referees are re-setting good scrums because front rows do not follow engagement instructions to the letter.

Sometimes they are just half a second out - and we are talking about scrums weighing 850kg a piece having to control their timing to 0.3 of a second.

But whatever the lawmakers and referees come up with, New Zealand must emphasise scrum technique.

The rewards will flow to the pinnacle of the game - the World Cup.