The winds of change in the US have blown into the sport of rugby and like all that is going on in that country, it has caused controversy.
American rugby’s premier competition, Major League Rugby (MLR), has announced a set of trial law changes that almost eliminate the set scrum and that is a tariff on the game that the rest of the world won’t accept.
Like many things in the States, removing a crucial part of the game’s DNA makes no sense but in America, anything can happen and often does. MLR is to implement seven trial laws and five of them remove the scrum option at a specific stoppage in play.
2025 MLR Law Trials and Continued Implementation from 2024 #MLR2025 pic.twitter.com/6jV5r3vmE3
If the ball is knocked forward or thrown into touch, it will now be a line-out and not a scrum.
If the ball is knocked into the in-goal area and grounded, a goal-line dropout will replace the scrum.
If the ball is not played after the five-second “use it” call, there will be a free kick and not a scrum.
Likewise, if a maul is stopped, there will no longer be a scrum but a free kick.
Finally, when a scrum collapses, the innocent team will be awarded a penalty and no longer has the option to take another scrum.
This last one simply invites a weaker scrum to give away a penalty instead of a possible seven points (if the scrum is near their line).
Basically, the only time there will be set scrums in American rugby is when the ball is dropped or fumbled. In essence, this form of rugby will not be dissimilar to Rugby League.
What makes these changes so daft is that the US is hosting the World Cup in 2031. It makes no marketing sense for the host nation to be killing the game as the rest of the world knows it.