Don't mess with the ethos of rugby - that's the message from Blues coach Leon MacDonald and others within Super Rugby Aotearoa, amid speculation that scrums may be limited or even removed from the game.
That thought process stems from concerns over physical contact in a post-coronavirus world, while also speeding up the game.
World Rugby suggests referees would be instructed to play on if a scrum collapses, but former All Black McDonald isn't a fan.
He believes players and officials are doing all they can to limit the threat of a coronavirus virus outbreak within the competition.
"Look, if we play the game, we have to play it properly," McDonald says. "We are taking all the right precautions and wherever possible, we will adhere to the safety recommendations, but once you get on the park and you're tackling and all that, you have to be ready to play.
"It's going to be a tough competition, so we have to make sure we are contact-ready, and just trying to get that balance right between safety and match-ready.
"I think we probably would have had a directive by now, if we were going to have no scrums, so we are expecting everything to look like rugby when we resume."
Down State Highway One, Chiefs and All Blaks halfback Brad Weber is similarly incredulous over possible scrum changes.
"No, I think that's ridiculous," he says. "When you're making tackles or cleaning out, it's pretty much exactly the same.
"We may as well play touch rugby, if that's what they're suggesting."
The Blues open their revamped campaign against the Hurricanes in Auckland on June 14.
The Auckland-based franchise had travelled better than expected before the season was halted in March, winning five of their seven games for the fourth-best record in the competition.
But June's restart is a brand new ball game, with previous results wiped out. Eight New Zealand derbies in 10 weeks will be a challenge and McDonald hopes his side is ready to tackle at full steam.
"I suppose, if you don't have a practice hit-out, it's hard to measure where you are at," McDonald says. "It'll be a challenge picking our first team.
"We have a lot of selection headaches, which is a good thing, and just getting that balancing act from seven weeks in lockdown...
"We have all heard about the Warriors' injury woes, so we need to make sure we get that right, and not push forward too quickly and break the players."
The brutal nature of test match-quality rugby for two months should see plenty of All Blacks candidates emerge.
McDonald believes the entire competition is a bona fide national trial.
"Every week will be tough - test match intensity week in and week out. I couldn't think of better preparation for aspiring All Blacks than that.
"This will be a true test of where we are at as a group, so it's going to be good."
Beyond the 2020 season, McDonald was reluctant to predict what Super Rugby might look like in 12 months time, but he agrees with the idea of simplifying travel and the format.
"The simple solution would be a local competition, with some teams from Australia and maybe somebody else close by, but who knows - that's above my pay scale."
