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Wallaby and Brumbies loosehead prop Scott Sio would like to see the introduction of a scrum clock when the revamped Super Rugby competition gets underway.
Australia’s four Super Rugby coaches have been in discussions in recent weeks about some possible innovations to the game.
That scrum clock suggestion was among a number of time-saving ideas that the group brainstormed to pass on to Rugby Australia’s return to play committee in a bid to generate some different ideas around Super Rugby broadcasts.
Though approvals to introduce any new rules have not yet been undertaken, it has opened up a discussion about the possibility of change.
Sio said the idea was an interesting one but was quick to underline the need for at least a month of preparation in training to ensure that scrums could be packed quickly and safely.
“I think as this year has shown, we have to have the ability to adjust and adapt and if that’s something that is brought in it’s something we’ll definitely have to train,” he told Rugby Australia’s official website.
“(It would) take some time to train for, at least a month to go back in there, because it is going to require us being a bit quicker at set up time.
“Safety is paramount first and foremost. Whatever can help make the game exciting for the fan base but safe for the players at the same time we’re all for it.
“There’s a lot of big injury risk factors at play there but I think if it’s something that’s trained repetitively over a period of time we can definitely manage that and handle that as a group.”
That’s not the only innovative concept that has been floated ahead of Super Rugby’s resumption with reports that players are looking to create a combine concept that would see some of the game’s top players compete in physical testing against each other.
Sio said he had read about that concept and that it was good to see figures in the game looking to innovate.
“I think anything to keep the game exciting and add different factors to our game,” he said.
“The luxury that we have these days is there are so many different ways to promote the game through social media and whatnot so the reach we can achieve within that is massive.
“I guess it’s about having creative ideas in and around how we can keep growing the game.”
The Brumbies will officially get back to training in small groups on Tuesday, with players split into groups roughly on position and assigned a coach to work with.
Sio, who has also been working through his rehab on a broken hand during the season shutdown, said he imagined training would be very basic to start.
“We’re pretty fortunate that the government have implemented these three stage process for us so the first stage is allowing us to train in groups of 10 so we understand there’s no contact involved in that for the next month,” he said.
“It’ll be a lot of straight line running for us at the moment and I think that’s the most capacity we can do things in, spread out across the field with one coach there as well monitoring what’s happening.
“I think we’re all going to find out what we can and can’t do properly over the next couple of days and create a routine around it.”
While training won’t involve contact for now, Sio said simply being able to go to work with a group of teammates would be a decent energy boost.
“I think you draw a lot of energy even though we’re not right next to each other just from being in each other’s presence there as well,” he said.
“It’s a lot of good feel stuff at the moment. A lot better vibes than this time a month ago. I guess we’ll see once we really get going up tomorrow.”
- TEAMtalk media
