Firm feet in the scrum

A lot of time is spent on foot positioning before the scrum engages, but once engaged there are lots of situations for the forwards to react to. The instability of the scrum means feet might need to go forwards, backwards or sideways. This will help set a stronger platform.

Warm up time: 5
Session time: 6-9
Development time: 8-12
Game time: 15-20
Warm down time: 7

What to think about

The feet transmit the power from the ground, through the body and on to the bind, either with a team mate or the opposition. The most powerful position to push from is with both feet on the ground at the same time, shoulder width apart and under the hips. All scrummagers need to fight to retain this position.

set-up

1. Aim to keep your feet moving and pressing through the ground.
2. Use your feet to keep your hips square.

What you get your players to do

Put two players with ruck pads opposite another player – an arm’s distance away. Hold up a coloured cone to indicate what the ruck pad holders should do on engagement. For example: push forwards, left, right or backwards. Go through the engagement sequence, CROUCH, BIND, SET. On “SET”, the ruck pad holders move in the way indicated by which cone you hold up. Scrummage for five seconds before swapping the players around.