Unfortunately I don't know what the solution is without supposedly depowering the hit. Perhaps the best course of action if present accepted scrummaging norms continue at pro level is to stop the clock when a scrum is called and only restart it once the scrum is completed.
In my opinion sequential engagement (both sets of front rows bind, then second rows attach followed by the backrow) will be brought in before too long to combat endless collapsed scrums and the glut of career ending injuries front rows are experiencing. It will depower the hit but the concept of "winning the hit" is a relatively new phenomenon brought about since the game went pro. When the game was still amateur, the packs bound relatively gently before shoving the life out of each other once the ball was put in. That's infinitely preferable to today's mess.
Law 20 is specific about WHEN the teams are allowed to push
LAW 20.1 FORMING A SCRUM
(j) Stationary and parallel. Until the ball leaves the scrum half’s hands, the scrum must be
stationary and the middle line must be parallel to the goal lines. A team must not shove the
scrum away from the mark before the ball is thrown in.
The problem is that teams are trying to get the upper hand before this by various means such as, driving up/down, lifting, pulling down, boring in, folding under etc.
Former England international hooker Brian Moore is a member of the Rugbyrefs Forum that I belong to, and he has posted about the issue in the last couple of days....
Posted by BCM666, with my emphasis
The IRB edict to slow down the CTPE comes from the mistaken belief that it was the rushing or rote timing of the calls that causes the instability. God knows I have been through this so many times and nobody will listen yet whenever I go to (Referees) Society meetings and demonstrate it there is no dissension.
The cause of instability is allowing packs to drive before the put-in and allowing short or arm binds, not the CTPE. This year some referee have given me the impression that they have used the pause to 'test' the front rows instead of using the pauses to check all the necessary and then get on with it.
It may be wrong but certainly I have detected an element of 'gotcha' with some referees.
Not only is the delay boring and unnecessary, it can be dangerous. It is not always possible for a front row to stop all the weight that comes from behind moving them forward, especially when referees are allowing the early drive. Furthermore, someone is going to get badly hurt when the delay means one side goes slightly early and the other has a man that tries to pull up and gets hit head on with a turtle-neck collision.
One scrum in the Wales v SA game took nearly three minutes to resolve after resets - sorry for the language but with each initiative it becomes clearer that the powers have not a ****ing clue what the mechanics of a scrum are and they always know best. Given the utter farce that is now the scrum, for which they are entirely responsible, you would think they might listen but they don't want to.
The bit I have highlighted in orange goes to what you are saying snoop, that eventually, if this is not sorted out, we could see the hit de-powered by a "staged formation" of the scrum. I understand that the Laws Lab at Stellenbosch have been experimenting with two-stage and three-stage engagements;
two-stage = Tight five engage, then loose forwards join.
three stage = Front row engage, then locks join, then loose forward join.
However, a LOT of the current trouble could be avoided by putting an end to props binding on the arm/underside of their opponent. I have bashed this particular drum for a while now, that if referees
INSIST on long straight binds to the BACK of the opposing prop, a scrum will stay up of its own accord, and because the props binds are straight, the shenanigans with lifting, pulling down, and boring in become much more difficult to do, and much more obvious to the referee should a prop try it on.
Put simply, if a prop binds with a long-straight arm bind to their opponent's back, it mean that the only direction they can effectively pull is towards themselves, and that will lock the front rows together.
