This year when a team forms a scrum to stop the clock they have to stay in formation for clock to remain stopped - good rule IMO

Makes sense.

i agree, stops any random players just coming together to form a scrum then a different 6 players coming along and actually take the scrum. However scrums are a bit of a waste of time IMHO

Thurston managed to find a way round it in the Broncos game. Not sure how the ref missed that one.

Not sure how two refs missed that one more like.

What did he do?

He was one of the six that formed the scrum to get the controlling referee to stop the clock.

For the clock to remain stopped he should have stayed bound with the other five..... he didn't but the referee missed him detaching and failed to restart the clock as he should have done.

Not to mention the fact that he managed to detach from the front row and then feed the scrum without the refs noticing!

Slightly OT but how long before we see two refs in Union (complete with new name just so nobody will notice they copied it from RL

)?

don't need it. wheels could keep up with them fat feckers

LMFAO!!

Hey! I've got gas me lad...

That's be the kebab last night then mate..

falou was setting in the scrum . 2nd row . broncos

Why is it a good rule? I think it is just one more thing for the ref to get wrong for no benefit to the game!

The point you all miss is that the reason a side rushes to form a quick scrum is usually to prevent the other side from forming a very slow scrum to waste what time is remaining. The other side is quite happy to take things slowly and don't really care who or who is not in the scrum! If they did, they would rush to the scrum and the ref would be correct (IMO) in making sure the players in the scrum stayed there!

Waste of time, rule for rules sake!

Welcome back.

It's a good rule for me because it forces a team's forwards to get there to stop the clock rather than a collection of forwards and backs, which was (still is in this country) the artificial part.

Anything that reduces time wasting, while maintaining the integrity of the game, is a good thing.

Supposing six players run to form the scrum, but then two forwards are ready to join the scrum BEFORE the other team are ready? Does the referee have to STOP the clock because the six have formed the scrum, RESTART it because two break free to be replaced by the forwards who have just arrived and then STOP it again when the new six have re-formed the scrum? What happens then if a third forward then arrives before the opposing team is ready? Does the referee need to RE-START and STOP the clock again????

It's a pointless rule and does not benefit the game in any way, shape or form. It's a rule for rules sake and will only lead to un-necessary controversy when the officials, who are under enough pressure as it is, make a mistake and it results in a "contentious" score.

It's a fair point but rather than stopping /starting / stopping / starting and stopping the clock in that situation, I would place the onus on the team forming the scrum early to remain in place for the clock to remain stopped. Once a player is replaced by another it's time back on and stays back on, providing the team who hadn't formed the scrum aren't taking liberties over forming their own six.