Don’t Touch the Scrums! Shape of the Game Preview + Six Nations vs Super

David Pembroke, Eddie Jones and Ewen McKenzie unpack the big agenda items that will be covered in the Shape of the Game conference in London, starting with the push to “depower” scrums and replace some restarts with free kicks. Eddie and Ewen are blunt: keep the scrum, speed it up, and protect rugby as a game for all shapes and sizes. From there, it’s straight into the global season debate, with both backing alignment for player welfare while warning everyone has to sacrifice something, not just Super Rugby. The 20-minute red card sparks a wider argument about keeping 15 on 15, with Ewen pitching better use of existing referee tools and stronger post-match sanctions. They also get into Six Nations form (Ireland’s response against England), Super Rugby trends, kicking and “meaningful” stats, plus quick hits on Andy Farrell, Stephen Larkham, injuries, Louis Bielle-Biarrey’s record run, and Rugby Europe Championship shocks.

Also in this episode:

● Eddie Jones rejects any move to depower scrums

● Ewen McKenzie says scrums are already overmanaged

● Global season backed to protect player welfare properly

● 20-minute red card debate turns into 15v15 argument

● Ireland v England analysed: intent, collisions, line speed

● Super Rugby vs Six Nations stats: points, tries, ball-in-play

PLUS: World Rugby transparency, refereeing consistency, and how attack trends are shifting across Six Nations and Super Rugby.

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