In rugby union, when a scrum collapses, how does a referee know whose fault it is?

Question

In rugby union, when a scrum collapses, how does a referee know whose fault it is?

Answer 1

If it is the Aussie scrum then one look at Matt Dunning will tell him

Answer 2

I'll tell you, a lot of the refs at this WC don't seem to have a clue.Like the idiot who at first kept penalizing England when Dunning and co. collapsed solely because of the lack of physical strength.

Answer 3

Like Bibsian said, I think it's because they've watched and ref-ed enough matches to know what it looks like when someone's pulling a scrum down.

Although I did like one pundit's answer (I think it was Brian Moore, but I'm not sure) 'they decide which team they like the look of least and award against them'.

Answer 4

when a scrum is collapsed have a look at the player who has protected him/herself best this is generally the player flat out on the floor and why referee's do not look at this before raising their arm to indicate which side the penalty is against is unbelievable

if they did this and started sending these players off the sooner it will be stopped

Answer 5

This is very difficult for any ref to carry a good decision on. but usual they look for loose binding and people with their elbows down.

Answer 6

he is looking for who is pulling it down , theres various techniques , most usual is to drag your oppisite number down by the jersey

but refs have seen it all before and usually spot who is doing it

i played hooker , and its a dangerous thing to collapse scrums intentionally

all the best

Ian

Answer 7

usually the ozzies.lol

Answer 8

I think it's just a judgment call, because the ref made some strange decisions in the England v Australia game on Saturday.

Answer 9

I qualified as a referee a while ago now and still find it tricky but the best way I find is to look at body position.

If the props (for the sake of argument) are the ones collapsing then firstly you have to look where they are binding.  It is illegal for a prop to bind on the arm of the opposite prop, they have to bind onto the shirt (not the shirt arm).  This means that if they are in the correct position it makes it easier to spot who is collapsing.

Generally looking at a player they will have a lower position than the player they are pulling down, when they are trying to do so.  The angle of the player pulling down will be more of a curve to their back and the opposition will have a straighter back.

It's actually quite hard to explain it in words and the best thing is to watch games and try to replay them when the ref penalises for collapsing.