Western Force stay consistent for showdown with Reds

While scrums are a small part of the game in terms of time spent in them, they have disproportionate impact. Dominant scrums win games; feeble ones lose them. And that’s not all that props do - modern ones do everything else as well, especially in the women’s game. Sarah Bern is arguably the most complete player in the game today.

Or there’s Joe Marler’s epic performance in the Bristol v Quins 2021 Premiership Semi-Final, in which he finally left the pitch 15 minutes into extra time having signed off with a try saving tackle.

Maybe we need a dedicated Hall of Fame with entry only for props, and voted for only by props.

“Lood de Jager to return as 153kg prop”

I get the comment of Sione not doing much comms, tho if you look at the numbers and spacing it’s covered. The problems start the moment TF plants his feet. If he’s half a step behind ST and doesn't bite then there's no line break.

Many of them are lovely people though.

1) They normally don’t stay on the pitch for more than an hour, so even if a particular prop has a great game, they will hardly ever be great for the entire game.

2) Scrums are actually quite a small part of the game, and don’t influence the result on their own. In cases where the scrum does win the game (e.g. the 2023 RWC SF), this is only because absolute parity exists in every other facet of the game. Its possible for a winger, or a flanker, or a fly-half, to completely dominate a match and play an identifiably lead role in taking their team to a dominant victory, but that is almost never the case for props.