Brian Moore again asks where rucking went - and why it hasn't returned - in The Daily Telegraph.
"First of all let us be exact about what I mean by rucking. Many people I spoke to remember the injuries JPR Williams and Phil de Glanville suffered during rucks, but their lacerations were not caused by rucking but by illegal stamping/raking above the neck. What I mean by rucking is the removal of prone players on the wrong side of the ball by the backward use of the foot; not stamping and not contact with the knee and ankle joints.
"The further I got into my quest and the more people I talked to the stranger the whole experience became. It seems that this subject has produced a bizarre amnesia in even the most informed observers. Nobody from the lowest casual watcher to the very highest qualified international player or coach was prepared to be absolute in their proffered answer as to the precise point at which rucking was outlawed.
"There must be a point at which the practice of removing illegally obstructive players with the foot was condemned, but I cannot find it and nobody has been able to help. I remember being at a meeting when the IRB referee manager, Paddy O'Brien, stated that handling the ball in a ruck was to be allowed "because it in fact legalised what was going on anyway" – ignoring the fact that it only happened because referees were failing to do their job."
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