Shapes

The shapes you see in scrum pictures can tell you a lot about what is going on. Remember that scrums are about the application of pressure, which is directed force over an area.

Props will cause problems in two broad ways: angled driving or a hinge and collapse. The body shapes of the props, and the scrum at large, can tell you the story in the picture they give you.

Loose head shapes

Loose heads will drive on the angle either up-and-in OR out-and-around on the wheel.

LH driving on the angle

When the loose head drives in on the angle, by virtue of their position outside of the opposite tight head, you’ll see a picture that looks like a mountain coming out of the ground. As the force is applied across the opposite tight head, the natural direction of that force will force the loose head upwards (assuming they are above their own hips, which they should be!).

Here is a great picture of a loose head applying force on the angle and the resulting picture. Watch the red loose head. The PK is correctly picked up by the referee.

Here is another example of the loose head driving across the opposing tight head. The effect is not as pronounced of a mountain peak, but watch the blue loose head. There isn’t clear dominance by red because the blue loose head steps back, which opens up the red tight head’s body position and allows the blue loose head the opening to drive across. The scrum pops up slightly, but the thrust comes from the blue loose across.

Another example of a loose head on the angle. Watch the red loose head, but also notice their left arm. It bends down at the elbow, while the opposing tight head’s arm stays high, which creates a diamond in the negative space between their arms. The diamond is a big indicator that the loose head is about to do something illegal on the angle.

Another example of the diamond shape, although this one isn’t as pronounced because the loose head’s grip slips. The loose head’s left leg steps out, pointing his hips on the angle, which allows him to get under the yellow tight head as he drives across. This puts immense pressure on the yellow tight head and he pops out of the space the loose head’s angle-drive has created. This is the PK picked up, but the conditions that enabled that PK were first caused by the angle drive.

In this example, watch the red loose head’s left arm soon after the engage. He drops the bind completely and gives up any pretense of driving straight, and goes in-and-up immediately. Ignore the PK outcome.

A final example. Watch the green loose head.

LH hinge

The other major loose head sin is the hinge/collapse. Generally, weight is dropped onto the tight head trying to make it look like the tight head is over extended and can’t hold the weight to milk a PK. Here are the signs to look for.

Watch the loose head for black on the near side of the scrum. His bind is low to begin with (this is a setup trigger) and he can’t take the pressure. His left arm dips into the diamond shape as he tries to pull himself up, but the force is too much and he goes down.

If a scrum goes down and you have seen the diamond shape, it’s the fault of the loose head and needs to be penalized appropriately.

Tight head shapes

Tight heads will drive on the angle inwards (they don’t really have a path to driving up when on the angle). Instead of a mountain peak, you will see something more like a bird wing. As the tight head drives in on the opposing hooker, the opposing loose head will be pulled along. However, the differenciator is the opposing loose head will not be going up because they aren’t the one applying the lateral force.

TH driving on the angle

Watch the white tight head on the near side of the scrum. He drives inward on the hooker which pulls the red loose head along. The lateral force pulls that side of the scrum in and down because he gets under the hooker.

When the scrum folds inward and down, the tight head has fractured the scrum’s stability. Penalize accodringly.

TH hinge

The tight head’s right arm is on the outside when the scrum is set correctly, hence the name (they tighten everything up…get it). Because of that, if the tight head ever goes down due to over-extension or inability to hold the weight and pressure the loose head is applying, you will see their right arm drop downwards, looking like the letter v. They bring the opposing loose head’s arm down with them since it’s on their inside.

Watch the blue loose head on the near side of the scrum. Soon after the ball comes in, you’ll see their right arm drop suddenly which pulls their shoulder down along with the loose head. This takes away the chance that green has to drive and put pressure on blue. The referee plays away from it.

In this one, watch the white tight head drop his arm which drops the scrum. Here, the referee penalizes white.

In this example, the white tight head is never settled and nor is the scrum as a whole. The engagement sequence is rushed and white isn’t able to power through.

Good sequence

Here is an example of a solid scrum sequence. The engagement process is at a steady tempo and isn’t rushed. The near side loose and tight heads are putting each other under pressure (notice the diamond shape), which the referee responds to with encouraging them to keep their binds up as the ball is coming out. This is a great example of responding to the situation by reading the pictures and recognizing the broader context.