All Blacks Boss Dave Rennie Calls on World Rugby to Address Springbok Scrum Tactics

• All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie raised concerns about Springbok scrum tactics during an interview on Newstalk ZB's Weekend Sport with Jason Pine
• Rennie accused South Africa's tightheads of scrummaging at an illegal angle, an allegation Rassie Erasmus and scrum guru Daan Human have rejected
• A World Rugby meeting is scheduled for the Sunday before New Zealand face Scotland in the Nations Championship on 7 November

All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie has renewed his push for World Rugby to overhaul scrum laws, specifically targeting the set-piece approach employed by the Springboks during the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series.

Speaking to Newstalk ZB's Weekend Sport with Jason Pine, Rennie took aim at both the brake foot rule and what he described as South Africa's deliberate sideways movement at scrum time.

Rennie's case against the brake foot rule

Rennie questioned the value of the brake foot stipulation, a law World Rugby introduced in 2024 to stabilise scrums and reduce axial loading. He argued the rule, which penalises a hooker whose heel is not down, had done little to improve clarity for match officials.

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"Supposedly, it's gonna stop 800 kilos behind you if you have your heel down. And I think it made it harder for the referee," Rennie said.

He added that the regulation was not even discussed at a prior World Rugby meeting on the shape of the game before it was introduced, describing its arrival as unexpected.

Bok scrum angle under scrutiny

Beyond the brake foot, Rennie focused on what he sees as an illegal angle adopted by South Africa's tightheads. Throughout the recent test series against the Springboks, he repeatedly alleged the South African pack gained an unfair advantage by rotating their angle and targeting New Zealand's loosehead props.

"We just felt that the South African tightheads are on a 45 [degree angle] immediately, and then they'd walk sideways," he told Pine.

"It's really hard for our loosehead to stay in front of a tighthead who is shearing in."

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Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus and scrum specialist Daan Human have both dismissed the allegations, maintaining that South Africa's scrum technique is entirely within the laws of the game.

Rennie, however, warned that allowing such movement to go unrewarded would have serious consequences:

"It's going to be a debacle at every scrum."

Rennie confirmed that another World Rugby meeting is scheduled for the Sunday before New Zealand face Scotland in the Nations Championship on 7 November, with the gathering taking place in London. He acknowledged that "a lot of personal interest or self-interest" tends to shape those discussions.

Source: Briefly News