Raising the revs: Any time you enter into a scramble with an opponent and neither of you has definitive control over the other and one has the threat of gaining advantageous position – you're going to have to raise your energy expenditure to cope with the situation regardless of whether your the attacker or the defender. As the attacker it's worth the extra energy expense because of the chance of a score. As the defender it's worth the energy expenditure because you don't want to concede a score. The question becomes – at what point do you stop the scramble because it's costing you too much energy and the probability of a favorable outcome has diminished to a point where it makes more sense to stop scrambling? Its never easy to answer these questions. There are too many variables so each has to be answered on a case by case basis, but one thing can be said in every case – the athlete who can PROLONG A SCRAMBLE while keeping energy expenditure within acceptable limits has a huge advantage in a competitive match. Anyone can pace themselves in a controlled situation, but only the best can do so in a chaotic situation
