Double World Cup-winning former Springbok prop Steven Kitshoff has urged World Rugby to rethink its brake-foot law.
Initially introduced as a global law trial in 2022, the brake-foot requirement became full law on 1 July this year.
The law requires hookers to have one foot forward in the middle of the scrum tunnel during the “Crouch” and “Bind” phases to provide stability and reduce axial loading on the head and neck. The foot can only be fully withdrawn after the referee calls “Set”.
The law came under the spotlight during the fourth Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test in Baltimore, when the All Blacks conceded a free kick and a penalty for brake-foot infringements early in their 43-28 defeat to the Springboks.
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Speaking on the Rugby Unity podcast with former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen and ex-Wallabies boss Ewen McKenzie, Kitshoff said conversations with the men in the middle had convinced him that the law needed to change.
“Speaking often to Malcolm [Marx] and the hookers at the Springboks, they’re putting themselves in such an uncomfortable position by keeping the brake foot forward. They just can’t get into that snap, they can’t get into a good scrummaging position.
“The brake foot was brought in to make the game safer, to control the distance of the scrum, to not overlean and put too much pressure on the neck.
“But say the Springboks have got a big engagement and they get across the line quite aggressively, other teams need to find a way to almost manage that first initial impact and that first initial drive.
“So I think the brake foot needs to go back to where it was, where normally a hooker can have both feet back.”
WATCH: Ex-hooker’s brake-foot rant
Hansen was even more scathing about the law.
“With keeping your heel on the ground, you’ve got to come up and over yourself and people just can’t do it,” he said.
“Marx has got a sore neck. I know Codie Taylor’s got a sore neck. They’re two of the best hookers in the world and we’re risking them getting injured.
“I know the South Africans, All Blacks and other teams in the northern hemisphere have spoken to the powers that be about changing it, but no one wants to change it.
“Everyone’s telling them it’s not safe, and that’s coming from the people who are actually in the scrum via their coaches.
“They’ve got to start listening, otherwise someone’s going to get seriously injured. It’s just ridiculous.”
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McKenzie argued that forcing a hooker to keep the foot flat was contrary to the body position required for the set-piece.
“When you’re scrummaging, it’s unnatural to have your foot flat. You’re going to be on your toes.
“No one running the 100m in the Olympics is starting with a heel flat. They’re on their toes because you’re in a contest.
“They need to go back [to how it was] and stop focusing on things that are not physically possible.”
The post Kitsie calls for scrum law change appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Double World Cup-winning former Springbok prop Steven Kitshoff has urged World Rugby to rethink its brake-foot law.
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