Former referee Owen Doyle has called on World Rugby to find a “solution” to the scrum “shambles” following the Irish interpro derbies.
Leinster claimed a victory over Munster while Ulster defeated Connacht in the United Rugby Championship, but Doyle was not impressed by the mess at the set-piece.
It has been a constant frustration for the ex-Irish ref boss, who feels that it remains an issue for the sport and that not enough has been done to correct it.
‘Nonsense at scrum time’
“Both Irish derbies saw the usual nonsense at scrum time. It’s inexcusable that World Rugby allows the shambles to continue. Match after match we are forced to endure what is now an overbearing feature of the game, everything in the garden of the scrum could not be less rosy,” he wrote in his Irish Times column.
“It’s time to find a solution, maybe actually enforce the laws, even though it might well upset the mighty scrummaging teams. It’s all been far too illegal for far too long.”
Leinster were unhappy with the officiating at the scrum in their 13-8 triumph over Munster, but there are still a number of resets in most matches.
Doyle is irritated by the time it takes for the set-piece to be completed, which he believes is hindering the attacking side of the game, as well as the flow of it.
World Rugby have introduced a shot clock in order to speed it up but the former Test official does not believe that it is enough.
Wasted time at scrums
“We hear so much about the importance of ball in play time, and that it might actually be increasing. Really?” he added.
“How much time is wasted at scrums, and players leisurely walking to lineout formation. How much is wasted when, having just won possession, the preference is to thump the ball away again, high into the sky, yet another goddam kick.
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“And how much of the clock is used up with the senseless, unappealing, continuous goal line pick and drives. Where the hell has running rugby gone to?
“Pick and drives, and the maul, are now the preferred attacking options of so many teams, hell-bent on crossing the whitewash, or pulling so many opponents into the morass that space will eventually appear out wide. Over the last few years, the game has been allowed to evolve into what we have today. It has not been for the better. Instead, undeniably, it has been for the worse.”