LEINSTER COACH GREG Feek says that patience is the key as players and referees adapt to the new scrum laws.
While there appear to be less collapses than previously, there have certainly been teething problems around the new rules in the opening two rounds of the RaboDirect PRO12.
Leinster were left angry at the sin binning of Sean Cronin due to scrum infringements during the 29-29 draw with the Ospreys last weekend.
The changes have been implemented to reduce the amount of time spent at the scrum, but there has been a sense of frustration at a lack of swift progress.
Feek says that everyone will take time to get to grips with the different approach, and that it’s an ongoing process.
“We all talked a bit at the start that there would be at least a month of getting used to it. Not only players but referees too. I think with the laws, they’ve taken the bind out of it now and put a lot of emphasis on the feed.”
The sight of scrumhalves being penalised for the crooked feed has certainly been welcome across the rugby world. A rule that has always been part of the game is finally being upheld, but Feek says that the increase in free-kicks on the feed may be down to the stilted perception of referees.
“I think if they can get the middle part right as well – props getting square as much as they can, head above hips — then at least you’ll get not only a stable, but a square scrum. The square scrum is where I think it’s effecting the straight feeds; because if a scrum isn’t square it’s difficult for the ref and it looks like the put-in is crooked.”
YouTube credit: RaboDirect PRO12
Leinster’s scrum guru is confident that the early problems can be overcome as soon as props realise their role. Feek stresses the need for the front row to uphold their responsibility to keep square at scrum time, allowing referees to “police those things better.”
The duties of the hooker are something that have come under particular scrutiny in the opening games of the season, especially with Cronin having been yellow carded against the Ospreys.
While still having to deal with pressure from the opposition’s hooker and tight head prop, the need to actually strike for the ball in the scrum has increased the hooker’s positional demands. Taking a foot off the ground in the scrum is proving problematic so far.
“There’s a lot of pressure on the hooker on your feed. Is getting a scrum now beneficial for the team putting the ball in? Well, you’ve just got to work harder and come up with ways to make it work. For a lot of us, it’s a good new challenge.”
Feel free to share your views on the new scrum laws below. Was Cronin hard done by on Saturday evening? Have you noticed an improvement in the speed and safety of the scrums?
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The League of Ireland is in a sorry state. This carry on is is not going away. As a Drogheda United we know more than most what its like when ones club chases the rainbow. How any player in the lower echelons of League of Ireland think its a good idea to be a footballer in Ireland is beyond me. All of these players will be out of contract at the end of the season, claim the dole and then go back to earning peanuts again. Its hardly a long term career plan. The FAI should use the their competition as a measure of how they as an association are performing….well its failing miserably. I’d love to see it get better, even to see it get to a Scottish standard with stadiums, facilities and televison deals would be enough but we are light years away from that.
@Patrick McHugh: so long as we keep ploughing our money into the EPL and the plastic paddy’s up north then we will never have a decent domestic league. Always love coming on here and seeing guys who proclaim to be Irish fans but will then on an EPL thread announce themselves as fans of UTD or Liverpool. The FAI don’t help though that much is true. If ever proof we’re needed then just look at the photos of Delaney or Mo’N in Inchicore poring over plans for the Richmond Bowl and on TV saying how good it will be for the game here. Oh, wait you can’t, Because they don’t exist!
@David Lawlor: Hi David, what do you mean by ‘ploughing money into the EPL and the plastic paddy up north’?
@Sean McFadden: Spending millions on trips to England and Glasgow Celtic. Non Irish teams.
@David Lawlor: Ok I get the EPL connect. The other part a reference to Hoops supporters from the North in particular?
@Sean McFadden: where does it say anything about people from the North? Very clearly talking about Celtic being north of England
fai imposes stoopid faux “licencing” bs scheeme on clubs wastes money on junkets 4 blazers & psuedo corporate fluff stuff (eg. Consultants) organization needs complete restructure & repurpose. Ireland’s soccer set up is unsustainable for long term ignoring grass roots development & proper investment in & development of local LofI &subsidiary league clubs & structures.
All our senior clubs have faced financial crises in recent times. The dundalks corks rovers etc included all hv faced financial catastrophe. FAI top brass response 2 ongoing recurring situations is 2 further distance itself from domestic scene.
Soccer is no.1 sport in ireland in terms of active players and reach, yet unlike other orgs like gaa irfu fai is appalingly run wthout proper strategic leadership or direction
When will the FAI realise that you can’t sustain a two division league system in this country and how many more teams have to go out of business for them to realize this and how do many of them get a licence year on year .Have one league with 14/ 16 teams but we all know its about money from UEFA ????????
@James Kelly: I think there’s some stipulation that you have to have at least 2 leagues to allow teams qualify for European competitions. I think
@Zossima: Nah, Gibraltar (the obvious one I could think of!) only have one division.
Love to see what that chancer Fran Gavin has to say about this.
It’s sad when this happens a club . Players have to be paid at the end of the day ! Some junior players are getting paid and they hold down jobs also , this is a stumbling block also to the clubs , why would a guy bother playing and travelling all around the country to train and play ! FAI have a lot of work to do when they get their heads out of the sand