There is currently a significant debate in the rugby community regarding yellow cards for scrum infringements, with calls for a review of the current law. The issue gained prominence after the recent South Africa vs. Ireland match, where several cards were issued for repeated scrum penalties.
According to informed sources, the Six Nations unions are set to officially request a review by World Rugby of the law that allows players to be sin-binned simply for being consistently outmuscled in the scrum.
Critics argue that the penalty for a dominant scrum should be the penalty itself, not a yellow card. They contend that a yellow card should only be for deliberate, cynical, or dangerous foul play, not for simply being weaker than your opponent.
The current system is seen by some as "ludicrous" for resulting in a player being sent off for 10 minutes for what is essentially a technical/professional penalty rather than foul play.
Defenders of the current system, including former referees like Nigel Owens, argue that players are not penalised for being pushed back, but for illegally collapsing or breaking their bind to prevent being driven back (which is a safety issue). They maintain that deliberately infringing to stop a dominant opposition is a professional foul and warrants a card, just as repeated infringements in other areas of the game would.
While no official law change has been implemented yet, discussions around potential solutions are ongoing: One suggestion is to issue penalties for scrum infringements but reserve yellow cards only for clear, intentional foul play (e.g., a prop driving in at an angle, deliberately lifting an opponent).
An alternative idea is that after a certain number of penalties or sustained dominance on the try line, a penalty try could be awarded without necessarily requiring a yellow card for the infringing player, unless the foul play was dangerous.
While some have suggested limits on resets, after which scrums become uncontested for that phase of play, though this remains controversial, as it removes a core part of the game.
The request from Six Nations unions is a formal step towards potentially changing the laws; however, any proposal would be taken to World Rugby’s Shape of the Game conference in February, although no law change could be implemented before the 2027 World Cup.