Richard Loe: Podgy refs ruin scrums

Referee Dave Pearson took too long at scrum time. Photo / Getty Images

All this competition between Ma'a Nonu and Sonny Bill Williams is great, I reckon. A lot of people might feel that it is a tough decision for the selectors but time and rugby have a way of clearing the path.

I think the All Black coaches have handled it well. It was a surprise to see Williams play against England and they might have been surprised by how well the English ran it at them. That will have helped Williams' fast-track education.

I also think we will find that a motivated Nonu might have made life difficult for the Irish this morning. On his day, he is just as dangerous as Sonny Bill.

A few people are worried the selectors are spreading their bets too thin and too wide - with all this talk of Nonu on the wing and Sonny Bill at centre - but I don't think that will be a problem.

When all is said and done, we have had a few problems in the midfield with injuries to Conrad Smith and Richard Kahui (remember him?) so a bit of depth seems a good idea to me.

After all, Isaia Toeava played pretty well last time out and if there is no room for him in the 22, that means the depth is pretty solid.

I think they will play the midfield on a horses for courses basis next year, possibly with Nonu and Smith starting the 'main' games and with Sonny Bill playing against the likes of Tonga in the World Cup and coming off the bench in the other matches. We'll see.

Either way, the positives far outweigh the negatives and that's how I feel about the All Black scrum too, in spite of some feeling that England prop Andy Sheridan might have got amongst young tighthead prop Owen Franks the other day.

There's no doubt Sheridan challenged Franks in the set pieces but let's get real.

The main problem with the scrums wasn't the front rows but the referee.

He was a chubby little chap, Dave Pearson, of England, and he was pedantically slow with the scrum engagements. Maybe he - and others like him - have been traffic wardens in a former life. Or school prefects.

There were countless re-sets when they really were not necessary. Some of the scrums were marginal, sure, but if no one was being hurt; it wasn't detracting from the game; and the ball could be returned to play, why be pedantic?

I have a theory that Mr Podgy Pearson needed a bit of a rest in the second half - and was quite happy to have a few scrum re-sets.

Maybe he's related to the England hooker Steve Thompson. He's a porker too and every time he needs a rest, I reckon he starts something niggly.

Pearson struggled to keep up with the game against Scotland, in my opinion - evidenced by the fact the 'line balls' ran at about the highest rate on tour so far.

The scrums got their new look crouch-touch-pause-engage because of safety but now, having achieved that, they seem to expect 16 big men smashing into each other to get some precise timing right as well ... as if they were synchronised swimmers or something. It's ridiculous and a return to common sense is needed.

Getting back to Franks, the reason I don't think he was outdone in the tight was the way he and Tony Woodcock got through their work around the field.

Believe me, you cannot perform like that if you are being given a hiding in an international scrum. If you don't believe me, I invite you to try it ...

If Sheridan was doing Franks over, why did Martin Johnson take him off? The only reason I can think of is that he wasn't lasting; or that he had goofed by not passing when the English were attacking and had numbers.

It wouldn't be the first time Sheridan's done that and being an international prop these days is not just about being good in the scrums. It's also about mobility and effectiveness in all other areas of play.

Owen Franks will benefit and improve from that test. I doubt Sheridan will.