It was heartening in a way to see the world’s elite referees, all gathered at a hotel not far from London’s Heathrow airport, debating potential infractions at a scrum and each coming up with their own theories around the root of the problem.

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Be prepared to hear plenty of warnings during the next month’s worth of internationals around props “tucking the right shoulder” before a scrum engagement, identified as the latest scrummaging bête noire during a presentation by Jonathan Humphreys, the former Bath and Wales captain, hooker and Welsh forwards’ coach, with some assistance from World Rugby coaching consultant, Warren Gatland.

That tucked shoulder, with the loosehead folding in their shoulder towards the hooker, is so problematic because it removes the space for the tighthead to drive into, creating instability.

As a result it produces a chain reaction of unwanted events at the scrum. ‘Why is the tighthead binding early?’ ‘Why is that front row shifting across?’ ‘Why is there head-on-head contact?’ And so on.

After several replays of one scrum clip, captured from overhead on the spider-cam, one referee proposed that ‘actually, what if the opposition loosehead is at fault’. You almost felt reassured that even the very best find this a complex process.

Listening to the discussion around scrums for around an hour, the message that came out of it was that while ‘the brake foot’ was all everyone was talking about in those early Greatest Rivalry Series Tests between New Zealand and South Africa – where, as per existing law, the hooker must keep one foot forward flat on the ground in the tunnel during the “crouch” and “bind” phases before withdrawing it on “set” – fixing the loosehead’s shoulder positions is now paramount.

If it becomes an issue early on in Test matches, officials will soon let players know about it. The only way to really break bad habits.

That being said, the scrum is just one remarkably complicated aspect in a complicated sport. Angus Gardner, Hollie Davidson, Ben O’Keeffe and Karl Dickson were among the officials who spoke impressively about handling the pressure of what is, in all fairness, an unforgiving arena.

The good news for fans is that there are only three changes from July as a result of law change and law clarification – outlawing of the knee and hip drop tackles and breakdown offences involving head contact being captured within the head contact process.

One of the officials, with over 30 present in the room, openly admitted that the sheer amount of minor offences being committed by both sides during a match means that officials have to be happy with the fact that not all of their decisions will end up being 100 percent correct.

The good news for fans is that there are only three changes from July as a result of law change and law clarification – outlawing of the knee and hip drop tackles and breakdown offences involving head contact being captured within the head contact process.

Following the dissection of numerous scrum clips came a look at the ‘hip drop tackle’ and how it will be penalised moving forward. Despite high-profile incidents in recent weeks – Rob Valetini’s on Leroy Carter and George Ford’s on Chandler Cunningham-South – recorded instances of the hip drop tackle as a whole remain rare.

What officials are looking to stamp out is a combination of a tackler grasping a player from behind, swinging either round or through the ball carrier and a high level of contact on the lower limbs. Given how painful they look and the injuries those tackles can cause, outlawing them comes as a welcome move.

RugbyPass also sat in on a session with the TMO, discussing its usage and when referees wanted the off-field official to step in, or to stay out. “Clear and obvious” incidents only seemed to be the mantra. Perfection is not attainable, so do not go chasing it.

If focusing on scrum technicalities and eliminating dangerous tackles sounds all a bit dour, well, several interesting progressions and innovations were also discussed.

The day before RugbyPass and other members of the media sat in on the referees’ session, all of the game’s 24 head coaches joined those officials at the same hotel to go over key areas ahead of the Nations Championship and Nations Cup, and on the road to Rugby World Cup 2027.

Coaches spoke to the rest of the room on various laws ahead of a busy November schedule, while also discussing the future of the sport.

The game is faster and more open than it has ever been. No wonder the assembled referees all look in exceptional shape.

Data taken over the last three years shows that ball in play time is up by a minute when comparing 2026 to 2024. This is also, unquestionably, an attackers’ game now. Not only because tries have risen from 6.3 per game to 8.1 in the past two years, but the actual ratio of penalty goals to tries has increased considerably from 1:1.8 to 1:4.3.

There are multiple factors in play here. The recent introduction of regulations to prevent scrum-halves from being impeded, along with reducing the time allowed for scrums and lineouts to be formed down to 30 seconds, has created more fatigue, which in turn leads to more gaps and more opportunities. Stoppages are also down from around 78 per game two years ago to 74 now.

The game is faster and more open than it has ever been. No wonder the assembled referees all look in exceptional shape. Turning around after the conclusion of the first sessions, you could not miss a masseuse working on the officials at the back of the room, after carrying out fitness drills earlier in the day.

One innovation yet to be adopted across the game is the possibility of a different coloured card for 20-minute offences, to separate those offences that now fall under the 20-minute threshold (high tackles, breakdown offences etc.) from acts of genuinely dangerous play. The orange card has been used successfully in France, so perhaps it is only a matter of time.

However the use of a new biometric heart-rate monitoring system on fans at home, charting the moments where they are most engaged and when they zone out, is particularly interesting. An in-depth study to find out what fans really want? That could work. Giving referees live access to the Spidercam at scrums was greeted with a chuckle, but at some point? Who knows.

You came away with the sense that while the 2027 Rugby World Cup will be a massive moment, the game is on the precipice of a significant leap forward. Oh, and reminded that refereeing is remarkably hard.