Rugby: It’s All in the Details (Part 2)
Part 2 in the series of insightful Rugby tidbits gleaned from players, coaches and trainers. You can read Part 1 here.
NZ Scrum coach Mike Cron elaborates on scrum technique:
What technical aspects make a good scrum?
I always liken it back to golf, because I think everyone understands the game of golf. The first thing you have to do is get your set-up right. In golf that’s like holding the club and addressing the ball correctly, and for us in scrummaging we’re bent over, balanced, and in control of our body. The next area like golf is the swing, where you have to swing through the ball and follow through. For us that’s the engagement process. We engage, we hit the opposition, then we continue transferring power through into the opposition. Then the third stage is staying strong with movement. So for me they are the three key areas: set-up, engagement, and staying strong with movement.
Is there one position in the scrum more important than others?
They are all important positions but tighthead prop is key. You live and die by your tighthead prop. The way a scrum is formed, or the way the two front rows pack against each other, the actual axis of the scrum - the centre point or where it rotates around - is the opposition hooker’s right shoulder. Why I say that is that is because the scrum’s left side naturally moves forward ahead of the right side, it’s the natural screw or ‘tilt’ due to the way it is set up. Consequently, the tighthead prop – he’s the guy on the right hand side – is going in to the wind or into the stream if you like. Whereas, the guy on the loosehead side is going down stream, he’s got the wind behind him, so to speak. So as well as the opposition pushing against him, the tighthead prop also has the natural screw of the scrum pushing against him too.
What does he look for in potential top-level scrummagers?
We’re dealing in big forces, no different to lifting or pushing heavy weights. I’ve worked for many years with biomechanists who have helped me understand the body a lot more, so I’m always looking at good strong and safe technique. That’s making sure your angles are right, to make sure you can always transfer the correct power, as well as resisting power against you. The safest technique is the strongest technique as it turns out. I’ve been working with scrums since 1980 and I can’t remember any of my front rowers getting neck or back injuries or anything like that. That’s because we’re pedantic at making our guys work on their technique to allow them to scrummage correctly.
Can you coach front-rowers or do you just select the most powerful?
Quite often you could line up 50 guys at the gym, and it might not even be the top 10 powerful lifters that would make the best scrummagers. It’s how you use your body. Some bodies are tense and strong, whereas other bodies feel like they have more movement, like they are little ‘looser’. With front rowers, they need to be the former. Consequently, guys that work the farm - manual workers, these kind of guys - they generally know how to use their bodies to stay strong with movement. So you might not be the most powerful man in the gym, but you could well be the most powerful scrummager because you can use your body better.
Watch Mike Cron deliver one of his Scrummaging masterclasses (29mins)
See you soon for Part 3.