Prop talking sense?

It's one of the most over-analysed area of game from a refereeing perspective.
Couple it with the breakdown and it's the stuff of nightmare for many officials - "Objectives for the match Miss Daniels?" cries the match assessor before kick-off.
"The scrum and the tackle area," cries I in reply.

Most referees, if not all, have been there. Worrying about getting the scrum right from the word go.

You know the pack drill... figure out the dominant pack (if there is one), get the engagement right, manage the hit, get the feed straight, keep the back-row bound, the front row in, the backs 5m back... simple really.

Well, having had a long and refreshingly honest conversation yesterday with a current leading Guinness Premiership prop about the whole episode surrounding the fat boys up front, I'm in the process of penning the conversation into a piece for next week's Bath Chronicle.

Some of what was said really made me think and this particular line made me smile...

"You try doing a squat with 800kg, stand on one leg, cover one of your eyes and then get smacked in the other – half the time I don’t know what’s going on, how do you expect a referee to?

To read the full interview, check out next week's Bath Chronicle online at www.thisisbath.co.uk/sport

Shameless plugging I know, but when the fat lads up front talk sense, maybe we should try and listen.