Summary of a great scrummaging session

• Warm up first. Remember necks and backs.

• The players: Outline the rugby coaching session. For instance, full scrums, with a gentle start at first.

• The parts: focus on individual technique and skills. Build the scrum slowly if needed - three man scrums (front row only), then five man, then the full scrum.

• The whole: concentrate on winning the engagement. Work on: the focus (for instance, footwork); and "real life" scrummaging (for example, practise scrums between handling drills and in defence).

Outcomes checklist

• Every forward has scrummaged.

• Every forward tried one different position in the scrum.

• Technique has been taught under control.

• Control has been taught under pressure.

• Pressure has been taught in game situations.

• The rugby coaching session was short, sharp, effective with a clear focus.

Top tips

The quick bind

Whatever binding technique you chose to use, you will want to be able to bind up quickly and efficiently for each scrum. As an eight it is useful to be able to set as a scrum without opposition.

The routine needs to be second nature. The hooker will often be the catalyst for this process. They will set themselves, bind with the props and then call for the flankers and locks to bind on (sometimes the hooker will shout “four heads”). They are then ready to crouch, with the number 8 binding in once the contact is made.

The shift

A scrum machine is very kind. When you set up, it does not move or shift from side to side. The scrum therefore must practice being able to “side step” up to a metre either side of the initial set up. For instance the referee can move the mark or more likely, the other side sets up at a slight different point. For practices, line up “incorrectly” for the machine or opposition and then shift. If the “part” practice has gone well earlier, then the “forward binds” will be maintained and the “lateral binds” will be flexible enough.

Real life scrummaging

Scrummaging happens during lots of game activity in the match and it is therefore essential that scrum practices can worked with an element of continuity, both before and after a scrum is set.

For instance, a quick handling drill could be performed, then a scrum, with play off the back of the scrum. If you have more than a scrum’s worth of players, then they act as defenders to enhance the reality of the situation.

Remember to practise defensively as well, with a back row move being performed against the scrum and the players having to retreat to defend. Scrum/ruck combinations follow well as drills.

However it is worth trying drills where the forwards have to run BACKWARDS from a scrum to a ruck drill – the backs have a nasty habit of not breaking the gain line for some teams.