The Scrummage Refereeing - Event Date: 23 Feb 2020

Fair comment but leave Rugby League out of it.In RU if the ball is not straight then as far as I am aware that is a penalty.

I'm not sure when the "licence to feed" law was adopted but it seems to me its all about getting he ball back into play.

Of course getting the ball back into play quickly was the reason why the Nothern Union dispensed with the line out and "wing forwards".The paying spectators wanted action back in the day.

As an aside all the anti League comments on his forum make me smile given the current focus on the payment of players!

I'll rise to the challenge Seagoon - I accept that as far as scrummaging is concerned feeding has been part of the RL game as long as I can remember. For all but the last 5 (?) years putting the ball in straight was an integral part of the Union game - now it isn't but I'm not sure that RL had anything to do with it.

My two references to RL were intended to be asides designed to encourage debate - apologies I probably could have been more precise.

Seagoon. We are everywhere. We just want the came to be played as per the Laws

Greetings posters I trust you and yours are all well.

Those who read Rugby Paper will have seen the piece where Nigel Ownens is calling for the return of straight feeds to the scrum. EXCUSE me is he not in charge of games with all the other refs at all levels who can see the Lovely feeds and do nothing about it. He is the one who can change it but does F...A..
Hypocrite.

That's better saves me having to go for an hours walk

Cannon wrote: Old Hooker wrote: Greetings posters I trust you and yours are all well. Those who read Rugby Paper will have seen the piece where Nigel Ownens is calling for the return of straight feeds to the scrum. EXCUSE me is he not in charge of games with all the other refs at all levels who can see the Lovely feeds and do nothing about it. He is the one who can change it but does F...A.. Hypocrite. That's better saves me having to go for an hours walk Sadly its not Nigel who decides if its straight or not, World Rugby have said there's a metre gap it must go "straight" down - thus it always looks crooked as one side of a metre to the other is a big angle. He is saying that he wants rugby to observe some obvious laws as opposed to legal arguments on every decision.

It is supposed to go in straight down the tunnel, to the side that is putting it in but I front of the hookers foot so he has to strike. This is roughly how it started but, like most law changes/new initiatives, it is usually ignored as it goes in straight behind the
E hooker to the second row..

Have to agree with OH - Nigel Owens has it in his own hands to penalise under current laws.

Camquin wrote: I would love to see what would happen if you were to actually apply the laws. Personally I think you might get a better game. If it turns out it is much worse, then perhaps we should rewrite the laws so eveyone knows what is and is not legal.

Ok, I have for more than 15 years said there should be TWO sets of LAWS, one for the fully professional game and one for the rest ...

Many years ago, I refereed a game at Welford Road between Tigers and somebody else, during the game, I think I gave 33/34 penalties, 98% were accurate and after the game, I was "chased" down the players tunnel by the then CEO, one Peter Wheeler, who informed me to my retreating back, "19,000 people haven't come here to watch you give 34 penalties" ... so the moral of the story, that the game can be REFEREED as per the laws but spectators, sponsors and other stakeholders WANT to SEE the ball IN PLAY MORE .....who would be a referee! That is why the modern referee, tries where he can to keep the penalty count to between 18 - 22 per game ... I repeat what I said earlier in the thread, the put in at level 3 and below, it's miles ahead of the professional game ....

Thatbloke wrote: It's also not that difficult to enforce - if the feed is crooked at the first scrum get it penalised and then the players know exactly what to expect for the rest of the game

Or even better, tell the captains pre-match that you will penalise crooked feeds - then they can have no come-back when penalised.

I don't like the penalty quota per game as suggested by CN - if it's a penalty it's a penalty all game every game.

The way to get a free flowing game is to strictly police the offside laws

Good point about offside - that is the area that people could look at as it may(?) result in more clean line breaks as opposed to taking contact.

oops Trotter loose head

I think we would be starting from SCRATCH Big Mal