Rebel Army

Demystifying the ruck and maul

The word ruck has several meanings to it. In an AFL sense, it’s where there ball has ground to a halt and the umpire resumes the contest with a the ball-up. In Rugby League, god bless their cotton socks, the ruck is the area between a tackled player who has regained his feet, and the opposition.

In rugby union, the ruck is formed when a player from each side physically contest for a ball which is on the ground. There are four basic rules governing the formation and joining of the ruck.

A ruck usually begins with a tackle. A tackle is when the ball-carrying player’s progress has been stopped, with both carrier and tackler go to ground.

The tackled player must release the ball, and the tackler must roll away. It’s very simple, in Rugby Union the ball is always in contest. Once you’re back on your feet, you may start over again.

Don’t touch the ball with your hands. A ruck is a contest between the players. The idea is to bind to your opposition, and push them backwards off the ball to their own goal line. If a player cannot ‘clear out’ the opposition, they must use their feet to retrieve the ball to their side of the ruck.

Joining through the gate. In days gone by, players could charge the ruck with a shoulder either to generate impact to knock the opposition backwards, or to ‘shear’ opposition off the side of the ruck. Laws were introduced to negate this. The ‘gate’ the edge of the ruck is defined as the closest set of feet to your own goal line. In other words, you must join from the back of the ruck, not from the side.

You can’t kill the ruck. Diving on the ruck in a “stacks on” manner is penalised. A player must make every effort to stay on their feet. A player may drive upwards from a lower position to negate a player in a higher body position.

A ruck is over when the ball has been freed. A VRU referee’s coach once said to me, “the ball is out when a bird can shit on it”

Bundaberg Turtles (white) have formed the ruck over Isis Crusher Brental marshall, who has not yet released the ball. (Photo: (c) Gary Hutchison)

The ruck involves a great measure of trust from the ball carrier. In game conditions, when tackled the ball carrier must release the ball and the tackler must roll away. In the instant the tackled player releases the ball, the support players normally charge in, and over their tackled team mate.

I remember in my first few games reaching back to place the ball and assuming the foetal position as the black and blue University jerseys thundered over me and cleared out the opposition. It’s a surreal feeling to stand up, unscathed and unscarred from what otherwise feels like a stampede.

Mechanics:

Rucking properly requires great balance and leg strength. A good posture is required to correctly and safely channel the running momentum going in. Players generally keep a lower body height bu sinking the hips and bending the knees.

This helps drive upwards with the shoulders on impact. Referees usually look for this posture as a tell-ale sign on. If the shoulders are below the hips on impact, it is considered to be less positive and a time-retarding tactic, which is penalised.

Watch how the All Blacks ‘wash’ straight over the ruck: bound together, moving together and crashing through their Irish opponents. Very little can be done to counter such an overwhelmingly well coordinated rush.

The maul

The maul on the other hand, is another of those little things that are uniquely rugby. Rugby League did away with the maul, prefering to end the contest for the ball as soon as the tackler’s forward progress had been halted.

A maul is formed when the ball-carrying player is held up in the tackle. In this situation the ball-carrier braces themselves side ways against their opponent and presents the ball to a team mate, securing the ball in their free arm and against their hip.

The maul forms when team mates of the ball carrier bind in support. These players bind either side of the ball carrier to protect the player and secure the ball.

Now we come to my favourite part of the game; the rolling maul.

In a rolling maul, the maul is formed by support players binding. A third player who mirrors the stance of the ball carrier, and nestles into the ruck. This player then  ‘rips’ the ball and then roll around the perimeter of the maul, taking the ball forwards.

This manoeuvre requires the back row forwards to bind to secure the new ball carrier. Teams can make large territorial gains by rolling the maul. This is particularly effective by rolling the maul both clockwise, anti-clockwise and driving the maul straight up the ground.

Mechanics

Army v Navy (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Greg C. Biondo)

The rolling maul requires a great deal of team work; the players must work in unison. Low body height and quick footwork make the rolling maul easier to control. Usually the halfback or a backrow forward will direct the maul, yelling clear instructions.

In the related video, watch how Scotland (in white) first drive their maul forward, and when the French try to marshall their defence close to the try line, how the Scots then roll the maul both ways to disorient the defence.