One of the major talking points from last weekend's opening round of the 2007 Investec Super 14 was the effect of the new law on scrum engagement on the flow of the game.
The new call of “crouch, touch, pause, engage” was introduced to improve safety in scrums after a spate of injuries to front-rowers over the past few seasons.
Players and referees tried to come to grips with the new call during last weekend's Super 14 action, with many scrums having to be reset, on occasion causing significant chunks of stoppage time.
The new law has had its fair share of fans and detractors since it was first implemented in a Heineken Cup match in Europe early this year.
There are concerns the new law has diminished the contest of the scrum engagement and due to the time lost to resets, has fueled claims that it will reduce the game as a spectacle.
NSW Waratahs and Qantas Wallabies prop Al Baxter came out in support of the new scrum law earlier this week, after one scrum had to be reset six times during his team's first-up win over the Lions in Johannesburg last Saturday.
“It was one of those things that was done with the right intention,” Baxter said.
“Because of the number of front rowers going down with neck and shoulder injuries, it had to be done.”
Brumbies and Qantas Wallabies hooker Jeremy Paul defused the theory that the new law has reduced the impact of the scrum engagement, saying that it simply provides the referee with more control over the spacing between the two packs prior to engagement.
“I don't think that (the law) has de-powered the hit at all,” said Paul, who played his 100th Super Rugby match for the Brumbies against the Chiefs in Hamilton last weekend.
“It just gives the referee more control over the space and should help to reduce the number of collapsed scrums, which is where a lot of the neck and back problems are coming from for front-rowers.”
Paul's Brumbies teammate and rookie Wallabies prop Guy Shepherdson echoed the thoughts of his senior front row partner.
“In recent years a number of props have left the game prematurely due to injury, so any measure to reduce the risk of back and neck injuries is a good thing,” said the eight-Test prop.
Shepherdson says the extra time used to set the scrum allows the opposing forward packs to pack with more stability.
“I think the time difference (to pack a scrum under the new engagement law) is about three seconds, which shouldn't impact on the flow of the game too much,” he said.
“Obviously it will take the players and referees some time to adjust (to the law) but from a front-rower's perspective, it is good to have the extra couple of seconds to get the scrum more stable and balanced.”
As an interesting side bar, there were 6 per cent fewer scrum resets in Round 1 of the 2007 Investec Super 14 than there were in 2006.
Twenty-nine per cent of scrums were reset during the opening round action last weekend, while 35 per cent of scrums were reset on the corresponding weekend last season.
