To a casual onlooker, it might seem like a group of overgrown men getting a bit too close, but for rugby union fans, a scrum is a beautiful and exciting thing.
So the suggestion that we do away with contested scrums will provoke outrage.
The scrum is not just a way of restarting a game after one side has committed an infringement or the ball has become unplayable, it is a contest of power and can be where a game is won or lost.
Lose the contested scrum and you lose some of what makes rugby union so exciting.
The scrum allows a team to exert pressure on the opposition, psychological as well as physical. It takes players out of the game and gives the backs space to run, as Peter Stringer's acclaimed try in last week's Heineken Cup final demonstrated to good effect; it can be used to exhaust the opposition, and it can provide a scoring opportunity.
Watching a winger run half the pitch to score a try, dodging opposition players before throwing himself over the line, is certainly exhilarating.
But it doesn't have the dramatic tension of those moments when the players are packed down and waiting to engage, and nor does it create the same frisson as the moment 16 men crash together and lock horns. This is when you can see your side outmuscle the opposition, and if they're anywhere near the try line you'll be on the edge of your seat.
Of course, the moment when the scrum does crash together can be eye-watering, and anyone who follows the game knows that it takes a toll on players.
Among the highest-profile casualties are the England World Cup winners - and former linchpins of a renowned Gloucester pack - Phil Vickery and Trevor Woodman, who have both suffered serious back injuries. Vickery is uncertain whether his career will continue, while Woodman has been forced to retire at the age of 29.
But their England colleague, Jason Leonard, played until his mid-30s and represented his country 114 times, despite being at the forefront of the scrum.
We already have uncontested scrums, when an injury, sin-binning or tactical substitution means there are not enough props on the pitch for the restart to be contested safely.
And we don't enjoy them. What is the point of going through the process of bending over and feeding the ball in if you know it is just going to come back out to the same team?
