Rugby coaching strategies to overcome cheating

It is helpful to know how cheating happens, so you can work out what coaching strategies to use to overcome it.

... of beating the front row cheats

I don't condone cheating in any form. But the reality is that some sides or specific players may try to cheat to gain an advantage. Here are some examples of how players cheat in the front row.

A thumb in the shorts: An opposition player reaches over the top and then puts their thumb in your prop's shorts. They then pull the prop outwards.

Binding on the shorts: Instead of binding on the back or the side of the shirt, the opposition prop will bind on the shorts with a straight arm. This gives another "piston" from which to shove.

Slipping the binding: It is remarkably difficult to work out who is binding on who in the front row, particularly when looked at from the referee's point of view. Some unscrupulous props and/or hookers may slip their inside binding and punch or gouge their opposite number.

Stamping on toes: If a front row has some ascendancy on the initial engagement, then they may stamp on the toes of the opposition. Hookers are often targets for this type of treatment.

Head on the hooker's knee: The opposition hooker places their head on your hooker's striking knee making it difficult to strike for the ball.

Head on head: The prop puts his head on the opposition second row's head, making it a very uncomfortable pushing position from the second row.

Engagement miss hits: Just before the engagement, the opposition prop hits your prop's shoulder with their arm to change the angle of impact. This reduces the effectiveness of your scrum's initial impact.

Boring in: This is where a prop turns in on the opposing prop or hooker. Often the opposition loose-head prop and hooker work together to target the tight-head prop. They will start by making a very small space for the tight-head's head to engage on impact, and then they will drive in. The aim is to destabilise the scrum and so reduce the effectiveness of the shove.

Dropping the scrum under pressure: A very dangerous tactic whereby the opposition front row fold forward to bring the other front row down with them. If the referee is finding it difficult to pick out the perpetrators, then it is used to disrupt the rhythm of the other scrum.

Popping up under pressure: If a hooker or prop feels they are at a disadvantage on impact, they may well "pop" upwards and out of the scrum. They might even "pop" up just before impact as well.

This article is taken from Secrets of the Front Row, my ground-breaking coaching and skills manual that shows you how to get more power from your scrum and deliver top quality first phase ball. Click here to read more about it and to order.