Will the New Zealand Rugby Football Union convince the authorities in England that a universal adoption of the 2-3-2 scrum formation will solve the great problem of illegal scrum work in the 15-a-side game? Even in New Zealand, where the traditional formation once was unanimously voted to be the only method worth using, there is divided opinion.

Much has been made of the success of the hookers in the 1905 New Zealand team in Great Britain and Ireland, but few remember that the 1905 team was the first to use men in specialised positions. Other teams packed a scrum on the basis of “first up, first down.” The first forwards reaching the spot where a scrum went down, would pack front row and the others would “attach themselves.”

So it must be admitted that the comparison of success in 1905 is not a sound one. Better is it to study what has happened since other countries adopted a set scrum formation and specialised in positions.

It is a rare occurrence when a New Zealand team wins possession from the majority of set scrums. New Zealand's international successes—and they have been relatively few since 1925—have been won by virtue of superior back divisions. Men of the calibre of Mark Nicholls, Bert Cooke, N. P. McGregor, George Nepia and Jimmy Mill have made the wins possible, following on excellent loose forward play by forwards of the class of the Brownlies, Richardson, Parker and Porter.

Does it not all boil down to the fact that too many alterations have been made to the rules bearing on scrum work? A test film was made in England recently and it was discovered that the rule on hooking could not be worked. The film showed that if the ball were placed in the scrum according to the rule, and the hookers hooked according to the rule, the ball would pass out the other side before the mental reaction of the hookers would permit them to hook it. In other words, a ball truly put in must go right through before the hookers could get their feet in a position to hook. The suggested remedy is that the referee should place the ball in the scrum to avoid any suggestion of unfairness.