Please explain a line-out & a scrum to me..?

Question

I am trying to understand the sport of rugby but I just cant understand what a scrum is & how it is done properly.

Simple explanations please

Answer 1

A scrum occurs when something happens in the play, like a knock on, that isn't a serious infringement (which would mean a penalty). The scrum is made up of 8 players from each side. The front row are made up of a tighthead prop, then a hooker, then a loosehead prop, who bind together tightly. behind them, two locks bind together in the same sort of way. One guy stands behind them - called the eightth man.

The two scrums stand opposite each other. The locks go onto one knee and place their heads between the props and hooker, and then the two teams 'engage', forming the scrum. As they engage, the eigtth man goes in between the locks, and on each side, two flanks bind behind the props on the outside. Then the scrumhalf puts the ball between them, which the hooker sweeps back with a foot, and the two sides push against one another. The ball comes out the back, and the scrumhalf passes it, usually to the flyhalf.

That's basically a scrum

Answer 2

a lineout occurs when the ball goes out of play. and just like in soccer where there is a throw in, there is a lineout in rugby.

most of the times its the forwards who are involved in the lineout and they form a line parallel to the touch line, the two lines (meaning the two teams of forwards) form up.

the number of men in one line of forwards is determined by the team that has possession of the ball. so lets say team A is throwing the ball in, team A choose how many players to put in the lineout e.g 4 so team B can put up to 4 players in the lineout. if they put more than 4 players it'll be a free kick to team A.

although anyone can throw the ball in, it is usually done by the hooker. the throw has to be straight into the channel, being the space between the 2 lines of forwards. one sided throws are not allowed. if team A's hooker throws the ball and it happens to go towards the team A's line of forwards and they catch the ball, it is a free kick to team B. however if it goes in the other direction, play continues.

the jumpers who jump and catch the ball are usually the locks because they happen to be the tallest players on the field however anyone can be a jumper. pre-lifting, lifting the jumper before the hooker throws the ball, is not allowed and the team throwing in the ball cannot have two jumpers up in the air at the same time. and the defending team cannot attempt to tackle the jumper while he is still in the air. if this happens it is a penalty to the attacking team. so basically thts a lineout.

a scrum occurs when there is a knock-on (where the ball drops forward out of a players hands), a forward pass or when a team having a penalty decides to go for a scrum.

the formation of the scrums is such that the first row of players are 2 props who flank the hooker in the middle. it is then followed by a 2nd row of 4 players, 2 locks, who are flanked by 2 flankers. the front row (i.e props and hooker) and the locks, form the essential part of the scrum and it is called the tight five. then, right at the back of the scrum is the 8-man or the number 8.

the two teams engage on the referee's call and the teams cannot start pushing each other until the ball is fed in by the scrumhalf. the hookers cannot have their legs up to hook the ball before the ball is fed.

if the scrum collapses, it is a rescrum and the ref will be on a lookout as to who is causing the scrum to collapse. so on the 2nd scrum if it collapses again it is a rescrum unless the ref is very sure and penalises someone for collapsing the scrum and penalty is awarded to the opposing team.

the most important rule is that all 8 forwards have to stay bound together until the scrum is over. failure to do so results in a penalty to the opposing team.

scrumhalves have to feed the ball straight into the 'tunnel' which is the area between the 2 front rows. opposing scrumhalves can attempt to harrass the attacking scrumhalf when he is trying to get the ball out of the scrum but he has to stay onside, and the offside line is wherever the ball is in the scrum. and yea thts about it for scrums i think. yep (: