SCRUMS will return to domestic rugby league for next season, the Rugby Football League has confirmed.

Following a meeting of the Laws Committee, the return of scrums is one of three rule changes that will be adopted for 2022.

The ball steal rule will revert back to how it was before 2021 and injured players will now be required to leave the field for treatment.

Scrums were suspended from the game in the northern hemisphere back in 2020 as an emergency law to reduce close contacts amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, with vaccination rates across the professional game expected to reach 85 per cent by the end of the year, it has now been deemed safe enough to bring them back into the game at all levels.

Prior to 2021, a new “ball steal” rule was implemented in line with NRL and international rules, whereby the ball could legally be stripped from the attacking player by a single defender even if other defenders had previously been involved in the tackle.

In reverting this rule back to the previous interpretation, the RFL said: “Stakeholders felt that this law had led to negative play, provided a negative look to the game and was very difficult to officiate.

“Therefore, the Laws Committee recommended to the board for approval that from the start of the 2022 season, the ball steal law reverts to its previous interpretation - where a ball can only be stripped from the attacking player in a one-on-one tackle.”

On the requirement for injured players to leave the field for treatment, the board said: “It is becoming increasingly noticeable that at key times in games, players are being treated on field for injury and the referee has no option but to stop the game.

This has resulted in complaint from coaches, increased length of games and frustration from media and fans that the flow of the game is disrupted.

“The board has therefore accepted a Laws Committee recommendation to adopt the NRL policy relating to injury stoppages.

“This will ensure the effective treatment of players remains a priority without encouraging gamesmanship whilst retaining an entertaining spectacle.”