Rugby: Crouch, touch, confusion

In front of a global audience next year, the World Cup is in danger of becoming a farce thanks to the scrum. Photo / Getty Images

So rigid and relentlessly dull in 2009, rugby burst into full bloom in 2010 - except for one old issue proving disturbingly difficult to fix.

Scrums are threatening to be the scourge of the World Cup. The English, the Boks, the French, the All Blacks, the Pumas - they all say they want a contest; they all want the setpiece to be more than a restart, yet whenever they clash, there is precious little in the way of genuine battle.

The current scenario is a shambles. The whole crouch-touch-pause-engage thing simply isn't working. The cadence of the calls from the southern hemisphere referees is too slow while few officials actually have the force of personality to make respective packs adhere to the rules.

The lack of consistency is damaging rugby. Throughout the recent November tests, some quality, engaging play was almost lost amid the scrummaging mire. The All Blacks were the side, almost ironically given their desire to impose themselves at the scrum, penalised most.

Against England they were hammered in the penalty count. They conceded six in the second half, all on England's put-in.The problems didn't let up at Murrayfield. There were constant collapses, with the All Black front row suggesting after the game the packs had been unusually far apart before the initial hit.

In Dublin it was the same and in Cardiff there was no relief - the All Blacks were hammered in the penalty count. Opponents jumped on their opportunity throughout the tour - there were constant public references to the illegality of the All Blacks' scrummaging work; constant suggestions they operated deviously.

That was only to be expected. Advantages have to be gained by any means and it's not as if the All Blacks wouldn't have done the same. But while the Home Unions were grateful for the largesse of the referees and while the other rugby heavyweights would have revelled in the All Blacks' scrummaging difficulties, the big losers were those who paid money to be there.

Rugby can't afford for its greatest point of difference to be the key reason millions of potential viewers switch off during the World Cup. Scrums are hard enough to fathom for the irregular rugby fan as it is. They become a massive source of frustration for the die-hard as well when they constantly collapse, or spin, or pop up, with the referee then reduced to guessing as to who should be penalised.

What concerned most about the November debacle was that the IRB targeted scrums as the highest priority to be fixed more than 12 months ago. Referees were hauled in, given strict guidelines on how to control matters and urged to adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards those who failed to cooperate.

A year on and the scrums are an even bigger mess. Referees, even the best, still appear to have little understanding.

The rest of the world might want to convince themselves that the referees were spot on in November because the All Blacks really do cheat. But that doesn't stack up.

Every penalty awarded against New Zealand came on the opposition put-in. On their own ball they were rock steady, usually getting that vital nudge forward. If they were in control on their own ball (where their hooker has to strike and not push), why would they be in so much trouble on the opposition put-in where they could pressure with all eight men?

In every game, the All Blacks scored more tries than their opponents, looked to use the ball whenever they had it and had an obviously positive approach. To believe they were belligerently negative on the opposition put-in doesn't make sense. All Black assistant coach Steve Hansen says the only solution at the moment is for his team to not push.

"We are very frustrated with the officiating and we will have to go away and try and move on," he said in Cardiff. "The answer is don't put pressure on, just let them win their ball. We will stop trying to put pressure on the opposition scrum so they stay up.We want to put pressure on them, but if they fall over all the time, we're getting penalised.

"We are not getting penalised on our own ball, it's only when we put pressure on the opposition ball. We've tried talking to the referees, we have tried everything, but we're not making any headway.

"We're going to have to use the summer months to put our heads together and come up with a solution."

Someone in officialdom is going to have to listen or there is a danger the World Cup will be remembered for 16 big blokes lying in a heap. The frustration will be intense, especially as the game has cured most of its other ills.

Hansen and All Black scrum doctor Mike Cron will be trying to get into the ears of the people who matter.

Their number one point of influence is IRB referees boss Paddy O'Brien. Winning him over won't be hard, as the former Kiwi referee has made it his mission to have cleaner, quicker scrums.

The harder part is getting the application on the field, which is why the forthcoming Six Nations is going to be scrutinised. The European showpiece is the last real chance for leading referees to make the World Cup.

Those who show composure, maturity and accuracy in the way they handle the scrums will go a long way towards securing their ticket. The game needs to be saved from confusion and irrelevancy - and consistency and common sense from the world's best referees is the only way it can happen.