Richard Loe: Refs have to fix up mess at scrum time

Jaco Peyper. Photo / Getty Images

I can understand the Chiefs having a bleat about that penalty try that eventually made the difference in their loss to the Waratahs on Friday night.

Their season, unless they come up with a cracker of a comeback, appears to be on life support and that penalty try helped put them there.

They have a bye now and then face the Crusaders before heading to South Africa to take on the Lions and the Bulls. Not easy, though you'd never write off the Chiefs.

What you would write off, however, is the mess that is some of the scrummaging in Super Rugby. The Chiefs were angry about the refereeing by South Africa's Jaco Peyper and there is no doubt he influenced that penalty try.

The setting and re-setting of the scrums near the Chiefs line when the penalty try was awarded went on and on and simply wasn't necessary.

All right, some of the scrums collapsed and had to be re-set. But, on other re-sets, the referee blew it up and ordered another because the front rows had gone down wrong; or someone had a hair out of place.

On those occasions, the ball could have and should have been put in and the game allowed to continue. It wasn't; and the pressure built and built until the penalty try inevitably arrived.

It was difficult to tell who was at fault - it usually is - but you'd have to say that the Waratahs put one over on the Chiefs and the referee. Fair enough - if they are smart enough to con the ref and get away with it, so be it. This is professional sport.

The evidence stacks up against the Waratahs. With the ref and half of rugbydom watching, why would Nathan White take down the scrum in front of his own posts? Then there was the reaction of the Chiefs - they were fair cheesed off.

You'd also have to say that the taking down of the scrum has been an Australian tactic in recent years. Okay, White was struggling against Benn Robinson but what better way to get a seven-pointer than to drop the scrum and pretend the other guy did it? I can tell you, this stuff happens and not many refs can see it.

Also, consider the Chiefs' scrummaging against the Blues last week. It was solid; very few if any collapsed scrums and re-sets. Look too at the scrummaging in the Crusaders-Sharks match. It was a high standard. The common factor: No Australians.

The slowing down of the engagement of the scrum hasn't worked - or it certainly didn't in the Chiefs-Waratahs clash.

Generally speaking, it's a mess. It needs to be tidied up before the World Cup.

It's a shame rugby lurches from one mess to another. First, we had the lineout mess; then the breakdown mess; now we have the scrum mess.

It's all very well pointing the finger at Mr Peyper but, even though I don't think he was up to much, the refs are trying to do what their masters tell them so they get another game and go up the career ladder.

This trail goes all the way back to Paddy O'Brien and his mates at the IRB. They still have time to get this right and I'd say remedial action is needed urgently.

The other big problem is halfbacks who do not put the ball in. We saw that a couple of times in the Highlanders-Brumbies match.

Once, Jimmy Cowan saw his scrum was on the wrong end of a good Brumbies' hit. So he delayed addressing the scrum until it screwed off-centre and the ref had to re-set it. Halfbacks who do that should be penalised instantly.

Look, as an old front rower who spent his rugby career smashing into other people as they were smashing into me, the way you set up and get the hit is all-important.

If you miss your bind or the support isn't coming from the second row properly, it is very uncomfortable - but that's all part of the skill of it.

It's not the ref's job to halt proceedings and make sure everyone is equal. Nor should the halfback be allowed to be a judge of what is a good scrum or not. That's not the idea of a scrum. It is a battle for possession.

Sure, you have to be mindful of safety but you can see, in every Super Rugby game, instances where scrum safety is fine but the game still gets held up. Time to fix it - and fast.

Before we have a World Cup decided on a scummy scrum penalty try.