Quote: Kettykat "Stripping the ball needs sacking off ASAP as very hard to police ,6 again not fussed as we get our fair share but I’m really not bothered if scrums in their last format we’re resigned to the history books as they have become a laughing stock .Get it back to a contested scrum ,one where the ball get fed in straight and not into the second row .We seemed to have coped well without the scrums as in fitness ,and has certainly speeded the game up .IMO COVID has played a huge role in hammering the game both on the fans and players front ,games called off ,sky putting games on when and where they want ,fear of contracting COVID all have and will have for quite some time have a huge effect on our game and attendances. But after watching a footy game ( under duress may I add) I still say we have by far the best sporting product on the field ,we just need to get the people who run our great game to step up to the plate and sell it to the public any way they can ,because get a newbie to a game like our last one and they’ll be hooked .Lions led by donkeys springs to mind ,and if the powers that be can’t get the game back on its feet ,they need to step aside and let someone else have a go . It’s very hard to sell a crap product ,but we have one of the very best ,so why are we struggling in the game as a whole to attract investors and fans ,IMO they should be knocking the door down to get a piece of the action.'"
Agree with all this!
Contested scrums were an integral part of the game of RL, with specialist forwards' ie open side/field side props, ball playing loose forwards and genuine hookers, Many attacking chances were created from a quick ball out of the scrum to loose forwards who had the knack of releasing players onto shrewd passed. Unfortunately , they became messy because, at the time we were playing in winter and often in heavy wet conditions. scrums collapsed and seemed to take ages to reform and then there were , of course pedantic referees who blew their whistle at anything and the whole scrum issue became a problem.
I'm convinced that with summer pitches and fitter players they could be brought back, but it's all hypothetical because they won't be.
