A guide to the scrum and lineout

A Guide To The Scrum

A good scrum depends on several factors. It is a collective effort, not an individual effort, and therefore the players involved in the scrum are subject to requirements that define a compact and powerful unit.

1. Weight: Forwards should be heavy, the heavier the better. A bonus may apply if you have a scrum sufficiently heavier than your opposition.
2. Strength and Technique: Good scrumming requires lots of strength and technique to be able to apply a good push. Some positions require a little more of either one, such as hooker who requires high technique for stealing the ball.
3. Balance: The front row forms the platform for the rest of the scrum to be able to apply pressure at contact. They need to be fairly similar in height, within a reasonable range, with the hooker being shorter/equal in size to the props, as well the expectation that your locks are taller than your props. Locks also need to have similar height for a good balance in the scrum. An excessive gap in size could penalise the scrum's efficiency. One last factor when considering height and the scrum, is that a small advantage will apply for front rows that are shorter than the opposition's.

Positions

Prop - Props are the cornerstone of a scrum. They have to provide a lot of strength in the scrum. Decent technique is also essential, as proping is not only about brute strength, but also about how to best position yourself to take the upper hand at the impact. Most important attributes in order : Strength, Technique
Hooker - Hookers are very important, they require a good technique to be able to hook the ball in the scrum. Strength is also required when the defending scrum decides to just push the opposition backwards. Most important attributes in order : Technique, Strength
Locks - Locks require good strength. Technique isn't as important for locks as for the front row. Most important attributes in order : Strength, Technique
Number 8- Similar to locks, number 8's should have good strength and even better technique for helping bind and guide the scrum, but there effectiveness is somewhat subdued due to their position at the back of the scrum. Most important attributes in order : Strength/Technique equal.
Flankers - Provide a minimal bonus at scrum time, though they should not be forgotten, as their presence could provide you the edge over the other scrum. They also require a lot of technique and some strength. Most important attributes in order :Technique, Strength

As in real life, the contributions from each position vary, with the tight 5 providing most of the input into how strong your scrum is, with the 6, 7 and 8 providing a minimal amount to the performance of the scrum

A Guide To The Lineout

Lineouts, how do they work?

1st Step - Throwing It In
* Solely effected by the Hookers Handling

2nd Step - The Jump
* Effected by Jumpers Height & Jumping and by Lifters Height & a little Strength

3rd Step - The Take
* Effected 100% by the Jumpers Handling

The primary jumpers in the lineout are the two locks, but some lineout throws can be targeted at other forwards. A prop, however, will only be the target of a throw if the hooker throws a short throw to the very front of the line.

All the forwards can be lifters. For a short throw the props will lift a lock, but for medium and long throws the lifters can be any combination of the locks and the back-row forwards, depending on which player is the intended receiver. There are two types of throw, however, where lifters are not used. The first is the short throw to the prop (No.1) at the very front of the lineout. The second is a throw over the back of the lineout, where the No.7 or No.8 will attempt to take the ball without the aid of a lifter.

One other thing to bear in mind with the lineout is that the advantage always lies with the team throwing in. The team throwing the ball has a code to define where the ball will be sent, giving them a definitive advantage in positioning and timing. The opposition can fail to compete well, or at all, or may lift at the wrong time or in the wrong location. Being able to steal a good share of your opponent's lineout ball is a sure sign that your lineout is functioning better than your opponent's.

Finally, when defending, one team may deliberately choose not to lift any jumper and therefore will not contest the throw, in order to organise themselves to defend better against a potential maul or free up the loose forwards (the flankers) to put more pressure on the attacking side if they attempt to move the ball is to the backs.

Some tips when organising your lineout:

* Put your best player with a combination of tall and jumping at the number 4 position, as most throws will be aimed at this person primarily.
* Don't forget handling skill, no point winning all the lineouts if they are going to drop the ball immediately after receiving it!
* You can usually hide a shorter player in the number 8 role, and he is least likely to be involved in lifting in the lineout, though obviously the hooker is another place to hide a short player, but only if he has very high technique and handling.

If anybody has noticed any other quirks regarding the lineout or scrum, please post your findings.