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After 10 years of packing down in international rugby, Wales prop Adam Jones could be described as an ‘authority’ on the scrum.

And amid the latest front-row furore, the Ospreys legend insists Wales cannot be blamed for the outrageous free kick fest that blighted Saturday’s Six Nations win in Scotland.

Within a minute at Murrayfield the Scots had been punished twice for ‘early engagements’ something both packs had been warned about by South African referee Craig Joubert prior to the kick off.

After emerging victorious from a match that scandalously featured 18 penalties, the 32-year-old engine room veteran revealed: “As much as Scotland can say they were unfairly penalised, they were coming in early.

“I’m sure a lot of people would rather see the ball thrown around like it was in the 1970s but Test matches are there to be won, never mind how good it looks.”

Jones’ sentiments were echoed by his front-row teammate Paul James, who said immediately after Saturday’s debacle: “At the start Scotland went a bit early, and we knew we just had to hold our discipline and not be drawn in to trying to beat them to the hit.”

But their former Ospreys coach Scott Johnson, who is now in charge of Scotland, bemoaned the situation, saying: “We’re struggling to know what we’re doing wrong.

“I don’t want to criticise referees, but we’ve been penalised in a few games now, and we’re not going early. We’re just not.”

In the latest attempt to clear up the current mess the IRB, have instructed referees told to call “crouch, touch, set” before each scrum, with front rows only allowed to forcibly engage on the “set” call.

Johnson’s team, like many others throughout the 2013 Six Nations, including Wales against France in Paris, were regularly adjudged to be engaging early last Saturday – the cause of much of the matchday upheaval which prompted a rule change call from Wales legend Graham Price.

But, looking ahead to Saturday’s Six Nations title decider, Wales forwards coach Robin McBryde admits that he’s worried the current scrum shambles could spoil what should be an amazing spectacle on Saturday.

Watch: Adam Jones speaks to WalesOnline

The 37 times capped hooker said: “Hopefully the scrum will be a very competitive area on the weekend and we get a good spectacle.

“As a forwards coach I am as fed up as anyone else with the number of resets going on.

“All I can say is that we are very proud of the way we have gone about things.

“We have addressed the issues we had at the start of the campaign and reaped the benefits in the last two games.

“We are not going to change anything for England and stay disciplined and scrummage in a legal fashion.”

On Saturday, the centre stage will switch to New Zealand referee Steve Walsh at the Millennium Stadium – an official who has a reputation for letting the game flow.

Wales’ in-form hooker Richard Hibbard is positive about Saturday’s clash with the Grand Slam chasers.

The 29-year-old said: “The good thing is we both want to see who is the strongest rather than who is going to cheat the best. So it will be a real good contest and with Steve Walsh in charge. He will let the scrum go, so it will be a good battle.”

But the shocking reality is, 60 per cent of scrums currently collapse in top-level rugby while 40 per cent end up being reset, each time taking up to a minute to complete.

In an attempt to explain the problem, Abercraf product Jones said: “I could give you 10 different factors that make the scrum tough for the referee.

“The pitch and players trying to cheat are the two main ones, but there are so many other factors to bring into it.”

But, after a decade at the coal face, Jones admits he has sympathy for referees, who are caught between the direction of their assessors and the eager front rows desperate to gain the smallest of advantages.

“It is difficult for the refs to understand,” said Jones.

“You can look and a video and your assessor or boss can tell you what he thinks while I’m sure a former prop will tell you a completely different story.”

With the focus of the rugby world on international front rows more than ever before, the man who admits he’s coming to the end of his career says he’s amazed how much his key area of the game has changed in his decade at the helm.

He said: “The tighthead’s importance has become more valued. It has become fashionable to focus on the scrum and that’s good but it brings extra pressure. “I’m glad that’s become the case at the tail end of my career.”

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