Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus said England were not culprits of skew scrum put-ins.
The Springboks and England both pride themselves on their scrums. Picture: Patrick Khachfe/Getty Images
Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus dismissed the belief that World Rugby is more strictly enforcing straight scrum put-ins because South Africa raised the issue at a conference in February to preserve their set-piece dominance.
Erasmus addressed the media in Johannesburg on Tuesday ahead of his team’s Nations Championship opener against England at Ellis Park on Saturday.
There, some English journalists asked the Springbok coach why he had raised the matter at the World Rugby Shape of the Game conference in London, and whether it would come into play in what is expected to be a colossal battle between the sides.
Both teams rely on scrums
He said South Africa raised the matter because World Rugby planned to better enforce another law around mauls.
“We asked the question, a lot of people asked the question, not just South Africa,” said Erasmus.
“And the answer was, how do you measure that in a vital scrum, and it costs you the game? I could not answer that.”
He said the referee penalising a very skewed put-in, where the ball goes to the locks instead of the hooker, was simple enough.
But a marginal put-in when a defending team was trying to get the ball out of their own scrum quickly in the dying minutes was less straightforward.
Erasmus said perhaps the referee would act if the infringement was made repeatedly.
“I think it will get better, but it is a frustrating part if that is the strength of your game, which is also one of England’s strengths. They have a good scrum.
“I don’t think they necessarily have that problem. There are definitely teams that have that problem, but I am not saying England is one of them.”
He said if either side were to deliberately feed the ball into the scrum skew on Saturday, both teams would be unhappy about it.
Springboks will not underestimate England
Erasmus added that the Springboks would not underestimate England, even though they lost their last four games last season – against Scotland (31-20), Ireland (42-21), Italy (23-18) and France (48-46) – to finish fifth in the Six Nations, their worst placing in the competition.
“Five months after we were smashed, we went to the World Cup and won it. Last year, Australia smashed us at Ellis Park and we went on to win the Rugby Championship.
“If you ask Thomas du Toit who plays in that league and you look at those players, we are under no illusions that it would be an easy run-in for us.”
