I think I posted the original version of this in the wrong thread......
Unfortunately, it seems that many of the GPS schools favour 'running' props over 'scrummaging' props, and I wonder how much this approach has contributed to the problem. The emphasis at Colts and Grade seems to swing back to scrummaging as the priority and running as a secondary skill, but is it too late for a lot of these young blokes?
When I asked earlier in the year about the selection of a so-called running prop over a powerful (and technically correct) scrummager, I was told that the limit on pushing beyond 1.5m in the U/19 laws means that scrum dominance in schoolboy rugby isn't important anymore. Sadly, though, the performance of the Aus schoolboy forwards against the power scrummagers from NZ showed that this is clearly not the case.