Whatever its level of knowledge of XV Rugby, the Mélée remains one of the most spectacular actions of this sport. In addition to its importance as a conquest phase, to be able to start a game launch with the rear lines. The melee fascinates by the confrontation it causes between two heavy packs (or more) of a tonwith measurements of players from the eight ever -increasingly colossal in front. As this legendary video demonstrates between the stable of Formula 1 Redbull and the English Bath team, With an opposition around a yoke.
But this phase of play is complex to understand, especially when it comes to interpreting arbitration decisions depending on a thrust angle, pillars' links or supports of certain players. To try to understand what is going on in the heart of this combat zone, it is necessary to dissect sector by sectorin order to know the elements that make a team lose or won their duel. This is what the Welsh youtubeur squid rugbyduring a video with theRose XV scrum coach, Tom Harrison (whose link is below).
Back on the main points that will help you, if you never get to discern the key elements of a melee Or to hear the justifications of the referees following their whistle.
Positioning of the first lines
THE first lines logically have a primordial role in the realization of a scrum. First of all, we must emphasize the difference in thrust and head positioning between the two pillars and the hooker. The left pillar Imbrique his head outside the fray, his goal is therefore to get his opposite to push him to the fault and try to switch him to an axis of flag.
The right pillar is generally the heaviest, because his head is nested between that of the left pillar and the opposing hooker, it undergoes more weight from the opposing pack than the left pillar. Which explains the difference in template between the two second lines, with a heavier and less aerial number 5 than the number 4, To be able to help his right pillar more during the thrust in melee.
The right pillar therefore seeks mainly to destabilize the opposing hooker, with his head and his shoulder, to add an additional pressure, while trying to keep an axis of push despite the pressure of the opposing left pillar.
As its name suggests, The hooker must hear the ball to his third center line. A complex task since when the heel performs this action, He raises one of his supportswhich leaves the opportunity to theopposing team to make a second push. This advantage makes it possible to focus more power, taking advantage of this imbalance caused by the heel. This is why heels are trying to make this gesture as quickly as possible.
A large part of the success of these positioning of the first lines is played out as soon as the commitment. As the two packs come into contact, the pushing angles are automatically determined, the role of the supports is even more important. The first line must be perfectly aligned with the rest of its pack. This is one of the first elements to analyze to guess if a team will dominate or undergo a scrum: the overall alignment of its forwards to create a push axis.
As for the support of the pillars, The trainer of the English fray ensures that it is necessary to have 90 ° supports for the first lines. In order to be able to push by chaining short support, to stay in contact with the ground as long as possible. Because if the supports are too far away, the building collapsed as soon as the impact.
The primordial role of second lines
A good second line can make a very average pillar excellent and a bad second line can make a good pillar “Tom Harrison, coach of the England team, horrible trainer.
-If a large part of the credits come back to the pillars during success in melee, The importance of second lines should not be overlooked in this sector. In his interview with Rugby squidge, Tom Harrison insists that he leads his five front as a single first melee line.
This phase of conquest requests so much energy that we notice As soon as a second line, even a third line, begins to release the pressure To be able to leave faster, defend or support three-quarters This same collective undergoes the opposing pressure. When a team undergoes the opposing impact on the thrust, it is necessary to look at the push axis and the positioning of second lines.
Above all, the alignment of the players between their shoulders and their poolbecause as soon as there begins to be a rocking, it demonstrates a loss of power.
Hence the need for communication of number 9, which must indicate to its forwards when the ball is ejected from the fray, so as not to stop pushing early. The last subtlety concerning the second lines is at the level of the balloon ejection corridor.
This is the corridor left between the feet of the two second lines for Allow the third line center to easily recover the ball following the tailge. This action is very important since in the event of poor transmission, number 8 can waste time picking up the ball. This leads to a delay in launching the game with the rear, but also a relaxation of the pressure of the number 8 behind its second lines, while the effort of the fray is prolonged.
Crédit image : Screenshot Youtube Andrew Forde
Difficulties and subtleties of arbitration
Despite all its directives and observation points, The fray remains a particularly hard sector to arbitrate in rugby. In particular, because it is difficult to see the connections between the pillars On both sides of the melee for a referee. Especially that it is also necessary to take into account the wishes of certain teams to obtain a penalty directly By drawing his vis-à-vis the ground rather than beating the opposing pack on the direct thrust.
All the more Depending on the weight of the packs, the referees will be careful that teams do not start to push and engage before the introduction of the ball. This is for example the case with the forwards of La Rochelleregularly sanctioned to push before the introduction, with heavy players such as Wiidi Araonio I Will Skelton as a right axis. Or even France during the last World Cup, with 3 penalties conceded for this kind of faults against Uruguay.
A last point on which the referee must be vigilant concerns the space between the heads of the first lines before the impact. Some teams will try to Reduce this space to the maximum so as not to undergo the weight and strength of a heavier pack, Which is illegal. In summary, it is extremely difficult to arbitrate the scrum sector, but in focusing on some large points such as the angle of collective thrust and the positioning of the supports and heads of the first lines. It is possible to understand what is going on in the heart of a melee.
Even if it should not be forgotten the vice and the tips of certain players to facilitate the work of their team, whether at the level of the links or the positioning of the third lines to disturb the opposing pillars. This is for example what the very experienced Peter O'mahony during a meeting of the 6 nations against Wales. The third Irish line decides to prevent the Welsh pillar from binding properly, while the referee is on the opposite side of the fray.
