The Scrum Problem

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 134, 9 June 1939, Page 13

The Scrum Problem

N.Z. NOT ADEPT AT 3-4-1 FORMATION. Lessons From 1935 Tour. WK must meet the Spriujrbok witli science, as. we cannot, possibly iind big men.' . This significant pa-sa;:e is taki'ii from :i letter to the editor bv "Forward" on the ijuotion ot scrum formation. Tinwriter advi-e- adherence to the .!-4-l M.-IIHM anil tin , perfection of the work of the three nioii in the front row. The letter is as follows: — With interest I remi your sub-leader an< 1 "A BackV letter on the "Kugbj Stviim." L feel that I uitiyt continue the "useful nl |iU.,vi-i.M." ,is "A Back" calls it. We in New Xea! m<l have not become adept iit llie -'i -1 i scrinii. WllJ '! Because half of c.\])cits play the :i 4 1 scrum ami ,il the saint , lime ate thinking. "Give us the -' :i -' scrum." We must all adopt the three men in the front row formation wholeheartedly and htiul.v the technique and experiment with it to become really proficient. Undoubtedly three men in tlie front low will alwaxsbeat two. New Zealanders on the whole aie rapidly improving their Mcrumtnaging with the three-fronted formation without doubt, but we must become still more skilled.

The success of the Sprinkbok.V avium to my mind was not a matter of ap|died scientific weight, but just a grots weight which was opposed to a lesser weight not skilfully applied. 1 have *een a team at Bradford in W.iTy with front row forwards weighing not more than l'J stone and the whole pack at least \\z stone a man lighter than the All Black park push them all over the paddock, and. by the way. the two side loose forwards didn't bother to apply their weight to the scrum. That was before the 193.5 All Blacks learnt their lesson about scrummaging with the present-day formation. I might add without fear of contradiction that the lfWTi All Black pack towards the end of their tour would have undoubtedly pushed the Springboks off the ball. The secret wa« packing low. and by "low"' T mean getting underneath the opposing front row. To see some of the Knglifth teams one would wonder how it was possible to get so low and fitill keep balance and hook at the same time. Also, the last man down was not a loose forward, but essentially a lock, making actually a 3-2 1 scrum with the two breakaways on each wide. Tt was a revelation to see some of those Knglish packs.

The Front Row. There has been much talk about finding big men for the front low. You will usually see that tliose who make this statement are backs or men who have never been in a i>llllll. Mr. Jim Burrow*. Iff2B AH Black in South Africa, who is recognised as an authority, has stated that he thinks the ideal trout vow for South Africa will be chaps about oft Din tall and all about 13 stone in weight. The nhort front row drag the bigger men behind them down and they themselves are able to pet lower and maintain their balance better than tall men. We must meet the Springbok with science, as we cannot possibly find bigger men. In the hooking we again must use science. As the rules stand at the present day it is , most difficult to get possession fairly. The ball in not supposed to be hooked until it touches the ground in the scrum, but as we all know every Saturday there is penalty after penalty (riven for lifting. To my mind the hookers' methods are too slow. Tt is most difficult certainly not to lift, but the hookers must find some style or method of gettins to that point where the ball lands in the shortest possible time from the "still" position. For instance, hookinc with both feet and swinging on the side men i* too slow and cumbersome ast one can readily realise compared with the "one foot swinging across" method. The whole idea is to Teach a given point in the shortest possible time, and to my mind it can only be done by using one foot and goin.z straight for that point.

T tl>ink that if players (rave these methods a trial they would definitely improve their (fame and scrum infringements would be fewer. FORWARD.