Though there are lots of elements to a good, strong, scrummaging position, keep it simple once you have established the principles, so your players have got a template to work towards every scrum.
Go through the key building blocks for good scrummaging:
Feet: around shoulder width apart, on the toes.
Hips: tilt the hips so the backside is out.
Scaps: pull the shoulder blades in towards each other – elbows bent and back (like chicken wings).
Head: neutral so the chin isn’t on the chest or facing upwards.
Crouch into the right position, balanced.
Then lean on another player, to check that the knees are directly below the hips after the engagement.
Warm up by pushing a ruck pad along the ground. Works on keeping the feet active, the hips square and the weight moving forwards not downwards.
Have the player resting on a rugby ball in a scrum profile position. Use peer coaching, and have another player check the right body positions.
COACHING TIP
The hips are the most important element, check the tilt.
TECHNIQUE
Knees below hips.
Keep the scaps back at all times.
Look through your eyebrows, so keeping your head neutral.
DEVELOP THE PRACTICE
This scrum profiles session is a warm up for more scrummaging.
With older players, work on gentle one v one work. The players can bind and lean on each other, with one player slowly raising and lowering the height of both players. They can also move slowly side-to-side.
Further develop by putting one player against two. Only the one player pushes, the other two have to resist but not push back.
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