Removing re-sets is not the answer

Colin Boag

During last weekend’s emotional game between Worcester and Exeter, Austin Healey suggested a Law change whereby the team that won a free kick at a scrum shouldn’t be allowed to opt for another scrum, but that would be so wrong.

Healey isn’t a fan of scrums, seemingly seeing them as merely a way of restarting the game, but they are so much more than that. Later in the match, Worcester, under pressure in their own 22, won a scrum and, as one, every player leapt in the air to celebrate – the lift it gave the team was immense.

We see that often, as the big lads make a point over the opposing pack, and it’s at the heart of what makes rugby great. The problem with free kicks is that, if the ball is kicked into touch then possession is lost, and if, as Healey favours, a spiral bomb is put up, then the result might be the same. Calling for another scrum gives the best chance of retaining possession, and more importantly, of scoring another moral victory and lifting the team.

If a Law change is needed, abolish the free kick at the scrum and replace it with a straight penalty. Teams could kick to touch but retain possession through the resulting line-out, they could call for another scrum if they felt that they had dominance in that area, or they could put up Healey’s beloved spiral bomb if they felt that was the right thing to do. That might stop teams shoving early, more than likely reduce the number of reset scrums, and it would reward scrum superiority – it would also make a strong scrum an even more potent weapon, which in my book would be no bad thing.