Cape Town - Cheetahs forwards coach Os du Randt believes scrummaging in this year's Super Rugby competition will be more competitive.
The former Bok prop feels the fact that referees will be a lot stricter at scrum time will lead to scrums being performed in a more legitimate manner.
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) recently indicated where the emphasis in scrums will lie. Front rankers have to engage immediately, their heads are not allowed to touch beforehand and they have to engage on the referee's call.
Scrumming straight will also be essential, while props will need to bind correctly without placing their hands on the surface.
According to Du Randt this will stop teams from using the so-called "slingshot-method". In this method the eightman pulls his props backwards before pushing forward before engagement, which gives more momentum.
The laws state that all eight players need to be static before engagement and no forward or sideways movement is allowed.
"Referee's will just put more emphasis on teams attempting the slingshot. They will be more critical. Looseheads will now "hit" a lot more, but one cannot really do anything about that. But everything will be more legitimate," Du Randt told the Volksblad newspaper.
The former Bok prop feels the fact that referees will be a lot stricter at scrum time will lead to scrums being performed in a more legitimate manner.
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) recently indicated where the emphasis in scrums will lie. Front rankers have to engage immediately, their heads are not allowed to touch beforehand and they have to engage on the referee's call.
Scrumming straight will also be essential, while props will need to bind correctly without placing their hands on the surface.
According to Du Randt this will stop teams from using the so-called "slingshot-method". In this method the eightman pulls his props backwards before pushing forward before engagement, which gives more momentum.
The laws state that all eight players need to be static before engagement and no forward or sideways movement is allowed.
"Referee's will just put more emphasis on teams attempting the slingshot. They will be more critical. Looseheads will now "hit" a lot more, but one cannot really do anything about that. But everything will be more legitimate," Du Randt told the Volksblad newspaper.