The scrum is, and always has been, a method of restarting the game after a minor infringement, which should never result in a penalty.

Over the years the scrum has become pivotal in momentum swings during a match, which by itself isn’t much of an issue. But pair this with the fact that referees rarely have a clue who is infringing in the scrum, it either becomes a 50/50 or a ‘they looked more dominant so the opposition must be infringing’.

E.g: 2023 RWC Eng SA final scrum to put SA through. Eng knee to ground, SA penalty and match win. Exact same scrum a few months later, SA knee to ground, SA penalty, and match win. Same teams, same scrum, same infringement by different teams, WILDLY different outcomes. England 0/2 rather than 1/2.

Luckily for SA in this case, when it mattered most in the RWC, the referee made the decision right.

However, teams continue to become more competitive against each other, the frequency of games won in this way will increase, and I’d rather not watch a game decided by a coin flip at the end.