It wasn’t the most difficult prediction to make, but after the Springboks scrum demolition of Ireland it was inevitable that the same old complaints would come from the same places in Ireland about the influence of the scrum on the modern game.
And so it did, as former Scottish coach Matt Williams, a man who stands against everything the World Champion Springboks are for, went on the Irish Off the Ball show and condemned the scrum’s influence and said World Rugby needed to step in to depower the scrum.
This is, of course, the same former coach who decried the bomb squad’s 7-1 split as against the spirit of the game, and instead of accepting Ireland’s demise in the setpiece and the influence the Bok dominance of the contest had on the game, and talking about Ireland’s own failings, it was time to deflect again.
IRISH EXCUSES
Ireland have been an aging team for a while now and have lost against the All Blacks and South Africa this season, hardly making this loss a unique occurrence. But instead of focusing on their own team’s failings, every Irish commentator has gone on a rant about Matthew Carley and the influence of the scrums.
But for once the Boks had defenders, and the first to smack back at Williams was former Welsh test referee Nigel Owens, who keeps up a keen social media profile and presents World Rugby’s whistle watch.
When Williams bleated about the Boks Owens replied almost immediately, smacking his contention down.
“We saw a masterful team performance from South Africa,” Williams said.
“They exploited the laws brilliantly – at the scrum, at the breakdown. But I feel sorry for referee Matthew Carley. The scrum is there to restart play, that’s what the lawbook says. It was never meant to dominate the game.
“When I played, it wasn’t a penalty to be pushed off the ball. It shouldn’t be a penalty when you’re pushed off the ball – that’s the contest. South Africa are the best in the world at that incentive; they get the long-arm penalty. It was a disaster. Yellow cards from scrummaging completely ruined the game.”
OWENS HITS BACK
Owens hit back, saying that the scrum contest was an integral part of the game and that rugby needed to be certain not just to change to suit the latest trends.
“Rugby is a game for all shapes and sizes,” he posted. “Depower the scrum anymore and you may as well watch a rugby league match. It will destroy the community game if there is no place for your good old fashioned type of prop. Keep meddling with the game and you will destroy it.”
Of course Williams could never explain why Ireland could not hold their own in the contest, nor why they were not able to stop the Boks in other aspects. But the concern is real after World Rugby previously changed the laws to ensure that a scrum couldn’t be taken from a Free Kick, which suits teams with stronger scrums.
Ironically on the same weekend Irish pundits were complaining, the English media were writing their pack up as the best in the world, especially as World Rugby’s stats show they concede the least scrum penalties.
The fact that England pack hasn’t faced the Boks yet went unnoticed, and next year’s opening weekend of the Nations Championship surely will be scrutinised for that contest alone.
SCRUM DID DAMAGE TO IRISH PSYCHE
While Ireland has struggled to come to terms with their loss, it is clear the scrum did some lasting damage to the Irish psyche, and perhaps that was the point of it all.
The Boks have struggled to beat Ireland before, and lost four of the last five contests against them, including the pool game at the 2023 World Cup.
The laying down of the setpiece marker, the brutality of the demolition and the fact there was nowhere to hide for Ireland in the setpiece makes it even more exceptional.
The Boks won 10 scrum penalties and got a penalty try out of the contest, and made sure Ireland would never forget this mauling.
Given the way the Boks play at the moment, they are unlikely to use the scrum as much as they did in this game - there were 20 scrums in total - which must be a record - 16 of them on the Springbok ball.
But the damage has been done, and the rest of the world know it. The scrum is exceptional in its brutality when it works, and the Boks are the masters of it.
Depowering the scrum is a poor argument and is used to mask other areas by pundits out of their depth.
At least the rugby world knows it, and are starting to speak out.