Former All Blacks scrum coach Mike Cron has been hailed for his \u2018cleaning up\u2019 of the set-piece, making it easier for referees to officiate that facet of the game.<\/p>\n
Cron is well-renowned for his work with New Zealand\u2019s scrum, working with the All Blacks in over 200 Test matches, including the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cup victories.<\/p>\n
In 2024, he linked up with the Wallabies under Joe Schmidt, assisting the team before stepping down from his position last year to resume his retirement, but still continues to aid Rugby Australia with a mentoring role with the front-row forwards of the future and also emerging rugby coaches.<\/p>\n
Mauls are now more difficult to officiate than scrums<\/p>\n
Additionally, he has been lending his expertise to World Rugby<\/a>, helping with the laws of the set-piece and has played a significant role in achieving a more consistent approach to officiating the scrum.<\/p>\n Springboks<\/a> head coach Rassie Erasmus praised his work with World Rugby, stating that the scrum is now officiated \u201910 times better\u2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n SA Rugby national law advisor and head of referees in South Africa, Jaco Peyper<\/a>, agrees with Erasmus.<\/p>\n He believes that scrums used to be the most difficult part of the game to referee but now, it is the maul thanks largely to the work done by man known as the \u2018scrum doctor\u2019 in New Zealand<\/a>.<\/p>\n Peyper explained his reasoning when asked by Springboks\u2019 scrum guru Daan Human, \u201cWhat is the toughest area of the game to officiate?\u201d on the Rassie+ podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt used to be the scrums,\u201d the former referee replied.<\/p>\n \u201cBut since we\u2019ve got this clear four-step process and coaches coach players play to that, I think it has become significantly better.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no doubt that it is now the maul because there\u2019s no clear four-step process, there\u2019s no stability. If you have a full lineout, and you can have an even bigger lineout if you\u00a0have eight players in there, it\u2019s then 16 players and 32 feet, and moving parts.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why the maul is so hard to referee at the moment, because we allow people to shear to the side, where scrums are simple, you have to control your weight on the setup, you have to be square, and then when you punch, you actually have to be able to control that and once the ball rolls in, it\u2019s so easy to see who\u2019s doing this and who is doing that. It\u2019s all bang, bang, bang.<\/p>\n \u201cMike Cron should take most of the credit. I know there are a lot of players there, but he cleared it up. He is a highly knowledgeable guy; it came through a proper law lab, and they tested it.\u201d<\/p>\n Rassie Erasmus hits out at World Rugby chair\u2019s \u2018ridiculous statement\u2019 over law changes<\/a><\/p>\n Springboks coaches reveal fascinating trend as Felix Jones debunks claims of \u2018more scrums\u2019 after World Rugby\u2019s tweak<\/a><\/p>\n Selfless work<\/p>\n Erasmus added that Cron\u2019s work is selfless, as he is not pushing a narrative or trying to achieve anything in order to benefit a specific team.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd he didn\u2019t want to favour somebody in the end. He wanted to favour the referees and the crowd,\u201d the Bok boss said.<\/p>\n Peyper agreed and the experiences he had with Cron during his officiating days, which differed from many other coaches and is something that Human is also taking on board with his approach to referees.<\/p>\n