Scrum (rugby)

A scrummage, commonly known simply as a scrum, is a method of restarting play in rugby football that involves players packing closely together with their heads down and attempting to gain possession of the ball.

The scrum then 'engages' with the opposition team so that the players' heads are interlocked with those of the other side's front row.

The scrum-half from the team that did not infringe then throws the ball into the tunnel created in the space between the two sets of front rowers' legs.

A key difference between the two sports is that in rugby union both sets of forwards try to push the opposition backwards while competing for the ball and thus the team that did not throw the ball into the scrum has some minimal chance of winning the possession.

Forwards in rugby league do not usually push in the scrum, scrum-halves often feed the ball directly under the legs of their own front row rather than into the tunnel, and the team with the put-in usually retains possession (thereby making the 40/20 rule workable).

The scrum-half from the team that has possession then throws the ball in the gap formed between the two front rows.

The referee will continue to start with "crouch" and "touch", but will now issue the command "set", which replaces "engage" as the indication that the packs may push forward.

The scrum must be stable, stationary and parallel to the goal-lines when they feed the ball; otherwise a free kick is awarded to the non-offending team.

A rugby league scrum is used to bring the ball back into play in situations where the ball has gone out of play over the touchline or a player has made a mistake, a knock-on or forward pass, except when that mistake has occurred on the last tackle of a set of six tackles.

The scrum-half (7) (also known as the halfback) of the team that did not commit the forward pass, knock-on or cause the ball to go out of play over the touch line puts the ball into the scrum through the tunnel formed by the front rows of each set of forwards meeting.

The ability of teams to win a game purely on goals from scrum penalties was also seen as unfair.

Aided by this change, it is common for professional teams not to fully contest scrums, according to their choice of tactics.

This in turn has led to some criticism that the scrummage in rugby league no longer serves a useful purpose, and should be replaced with a tap penalty or play the ball.