Rugby: How did South Africans get so good at mauling and what can we do about it?

Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha of the Bulls compete in a maul during the Super 14 final match between the Sharks and the Bulls. Photo / Getty Images

PETER THORBURN

"I don't like it as it is, for the simple reason that it is like the breakdown area where it is virtually impossible to stop legally, unless you pull it down straightaway, because it is formed off a lineout.

"The refereeing of it is erratic and erroneous. There are poor decisions on the truck-and-trailer part of it, which is obstruction. Referees are not calling five seconds when the maul is static which would give the ball-carrying side time to get rid of the ball and defenders an incentive to carry on.

"The law is stupid allowing the ball to be moved to the back where the carrier hardly holds on. I would modify the maul laws to allow sacking because the law book says there should be an equal contest for the ball. These titivations are being driven by referees and it is like traffic cops writing the road code."

RICHARD LOE

"I like rolling mauls, but they are very difficult to stop early if they are done properly. The only way is to go in early and come in through the maul before they have a good bind. If any maul disintegrates, it's because their binding is not right. The easiest way to stop it in our day was to casually sleaze your way into the middle and get your hands on the ball. Remember the refs had that great call of 'use it or lose it' and we just held on for grim death and the pain wasn't that great until the ref blew the whistle.

"Rugby is supposed to be a game for everyone, and a good rolling maul is a string to your bow like a couple of good strong wings. It is how you use it. Variety has to be a weapon and I believe all our coaching has become so generic."

NORM HEWITT

"It's about time we got back to some real forward play instead of them getting to a ruck and spreading out like a fantail. There is no real penetration through any kind of forward play any more, so getting back to mauling brings people back to the positions they are picked for on the field.

"It is a real skill to form it and it is a real skill to defend against it. I think it is very hard for referees to make decisions about it because they have never seen them used. It is bringing the game back to what it should be because we have been playing a hybrid game of rugby league for long enough. We need to return to a game where forwards do their thing and backs are used out wide."