There's a scrum on the field

by Joe Arnold
Staff Writer

It is televised late at night on sports stations like Fox Sports International and ESPN2. The game is rugby. The sport is rough and violent, and it begins each game with a formation called a scrum.

Short for the word "scrummage," a scrum is an eight-man formation between members of opposing teams attempting to gain possession of the ball after a penalty. In a scrum, three forwards from both teams form a tunnel, intertwining their arms with those of their teammates.

For the uninitiated players, scrum entails two fists placed in front of each other with the fingers interlocked, Ohio club rugby player Kevin Henry said.

A player, appropriately named a scrum, rolls the ball into the tunnel, and a player called a hooker plays the ball with his or her feet back to one of two players positioned behind the scrum line. The non-offending team is given the right to roll the ball in play.

People unfamiliar with rugby might be confused when they witness a scrum, said Matt Neely, Ohio club rugby player and public relations spokesman.

"It seems difficult when you first look at it, because it's not what Americans are used to," he said. "But once you find out where the ball is, it's easier to look at the game."

Like the line of scrimmage in football, size is a determining factor for success in a scrum. Bigger athletes play the forward positions and a game usually has 10 to 30 scrums per match.

Athleticism and strength, not just size, are vital to winning possession in a scrum, forward Josh Seyer said.

"Size is not so much important as power," he said. "You're only vying for three yards of space. All you're doing is pushing each other back and forth for those three yards. You have to be tight together, and you have to be very low to the ground so you can get leverage."

Winning scrums translates into victories, Neely said. The Ohio club rugby team is ranked nationally in the top 30. The team ended the 2000 season No. 6 in the Midwest and does not expect to finish any lower this year, he said.

"We're certainly not expecting to be ranked any lower than sixth, and I hope that maybe we can pull off an upset or two," Neely said.