Gah, moaning about reffing is hardly new. I have to agree there are some pretty evident flaws by many referee's that's probably not acceptable for top level football. Scrums are the biggest crock of sh*t at the moment. So many referee's just don't know how to referee them effectively. Deans made a rather stupid comment this week about the differences in scrummaging, saying New Zealand rely on tricks in the scrum, where as England has a high focus on forward ball in the set peice, but don't know the tricks. It's rubbish, and referee can't seem to get it right.
As a number 8 come prop, I can easily cheat and get away with it, and I do do it. Referee's just can't seem to work out, even at international level, who is doing what in a scrum.
After the engage, I've stood up slightly more, bent legs further down, and moved my kneck into the scrum, which makes it look like the opposition scrum is boring in. One or two complaints to the referee, and mention to him in the quet to watch out what the opposition is "doing to me", and you get the penalties. If that doesn't work, bind onto the loose heads props sholder, with elbow out (this is done all the time), making it very hard for the loose head to get a legal bind. Mention to the referee that he's not binding, and the ref will always look out for what you're making them see.
This cheating, that I proudly admit I'm guilty of, should not be tolerated in the high stages of the game, but it is almost always ignored. Australia has a weak scrum, however both the Wallabies and the All Blacks have been penalised based more on what the referee is looking for, than what he is blatantly missing. I'm not saying it's a one way sytem either, the All Blacks are very guilty on their own ball, of collapsing when it's at the back and the ref want's the game to be smooth, in order to stop the opposition from pushing. This was very evident against Scotland. The point being that if a top referee is missing these rather obvious infringments, than there really needs to be a unified camp in which both NH and SH need to learn how to scrum themselves.
I also think scrum halfs should be more highly punished for not putting the ball in quickly and evenly. The fact that many scrum halfs wait three-four seconds before chucking the ball to their own #8's feet, makes many scrums a total joke.
My final big complaint about the scrums, which I've said over and over again, is the count. Crouch-Touch-Pause-Engage, when it takes 5 seconds, is never going to create a solid platform. A team will either go too early because of the delay, or the hit will collaps. It should be a three second affair, which will give dominant scrums a better chance to dominate, while it will make the game go smoother. The faster the ball is in the scrum the better.
The other areas which annoy the hell out of me in the game, and the All Blacks do it as much as anyone (more to an extent), is diving into the rucks with a huge amount of momentum and everyone is off their feet, until the support arrive. If a player enters the ruck, he has to be able to support his own weight, and that is not at all how the game is ref'd at the moment. Almost all referee's end up ignoring it, or choosing arbitrary times to enforce it. There seems to be so little consistancy in reffing, that I can see why many complain.
