JOHN MITCHELL, writing on the Vodacom Rugby Portal, explains why the Bok scrum was heavily penalised against the Pumas.

The scrum battle was influential in the match between the Springboks and Argentina in Durban, where Bok tighthead Vincent Koch was heavily penalised by French referee Romain Poite.

Koch’s elbow hit the ground and he seemed to be the first player to go down. He should straighten up and learn to take his loosehead out. The non-negotiables for effective tight forward play are: keep shoulders below hips, elbows pointing down, and find a way to build pressure earlier through your bind.

Read the rest of Mitchell's column

Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images