How To Cheat At Rugby
By Razcal March 4 2003
Who better than a Tiger's fan for 34 years to explain how to cheat at rugby? I have never played at the great heights of the game but I still learnt some of the tricks of the trade.
By Razcal March 4 2003
Who better than a Tiger's fan for 34 years to explain how to cheat at rugby? I have never played at the great heights of the game but I still learnt some of the tricks of the trade.
First a disclaimer. I do not encourage the use of, nor advocate the practicing of what I am going to describe. I coach minis and the most important aspect I emphasize to them is playing the game in the right spirit. So we'll just have to leave it to Stopsy to prepare the next generation of Tigers.
The front row - Show me an honest front row player and I'll show you some junior club's sixth team front row. You can't play at the coal face of rugby without cheating. Do you remember the Cardiff final and Jutge penalizing Darren for not binding?
If a tighthead doesn't bind the scrum is much more liable to collapse, posing the risk of serious neck injury. The advantage to the THP in not binding is that it is harder to push him back.
What Clohessy was doing in Cardiff was going down straight but as soon as Darren sought to bind on to Clohessy the Claw would turn his shoulders so that his outside shoulder was behind his inside shoulder, not level with it. This made it very difficult for Darren to bind because he has to reach further to bind on.
The ref, if he is on the other side of the scrum checking the put in might spot something as being wrong on the other side, rush round and find the THP not bound and penalize him. The only way to spot a prop cheating like this is to watch his bum. It should point directly towards his own try line. If it points towards the touchline he is boring in. If it points into the scrum he is turning the corner à la Claw. The back row player on his team sometimes binds much further forward to prevent the touch judge from seeing this.
Whether boring in or turning the corner, the idea is to make it easier to shove your opposite prop about and mess up their ball or make it easier to drive forward.
Hookers should bind above the shoulders of their props. But you try it in a scrum under pressure. It hurts more than a put down from ajack. So hookers often partially slip their bindings once they pack down. It takes some pressure off and makes it easier to strike against the head. Again as the ref is preoccupied with checking front row and back row bindings, that the backs are behind the back feet and the put in is straight it is easy to get away with.
The ball is supposed to be put into a scrum straight down the middle but we all know it isn't. A common ruse is to get the ref distracted by complaining that the other no. 8 is not bound properly. As soon as the ref looks you put the ball in crooked. This is actually unnecessary.
If the scrum half holds the ball so that the left hand end is lower than than the right hand point the ball will naturally land on the left hand point first causing it to do an off break towards your own hooker. If the other scrum half is putting the ball in and the ref is checking 360 degrees round him for numerous possible misdeeds you as the defending scrum half could pull the hairs on the legs of the other scrum half as he puts the ball in. It winds him up, can cause him to punch you and concede a penalty etc etc.
When you make a tackle you are supposed to roll away before getting to your feet. Just watch the best players. They make a tackle then get up by pushing themselves up off the tackled player. He is thus pinned to the ground and the tackler, once back on his feet can play the ball. Several times when you see a penalty awarded for holding on the tackled player has been disadvantaged by this tactic.
When a referee is playing advantage I have seen fly halves drop passes they would normally catch. It has been done on purpose to claim the penalty. In the Italy v Ireland match last week this happened. I think there is a case for reversing the penalty for a deliberate knock on in these cases.
At a ruck ( player tackled , ball on the ground, several players from both teams competing for it) a player must stay on his feet. You often see a player push or pull an opponent without the ball to the ground to try and claim a penalty. A classic example of this was in Cardiff last year. Munster's first penalty followed a line out incorrectly awarded near the Tigers 22. Tigers won clean ball but at the ruck the Munster 6 clearly grabs a handful of Rowntree's shirt in the stomach area and pulls him to the ground then immediately yells at the ref and points to Rowntree. Jutge ran round, saw Rowntree on the ground and penalized him. 3 points for Munster.
You are not allowed to collapse a maul. But if the ball does not come out of a maul then the defending side gets the put in. Some players are very skillful at infiltrating a maul so that they can clamp the ball carrier and stop him getting the ball out. Others let the opponents drive the maul past them then grab the ball carrier as he goes past them.
Tigers have scored less catch and drive tries this year. Many teams are using the tactic of having a player crouch down in front of the lineout catcher. As the maul is driven the ball carrier will fall over the crouching player. I have yet to see a player penalized for this.
I will not dwell on foul play cheating but there are many underhand ways to hurt opponents illegally. Second rows can punch hookers in the scrum and it is impossible to retaliate. One team I played against in France used to pat you on the head when you were on the ground but a finger would slide into your eye as they did so. Deliberate foul play as opposed to a rush of blood punch, seems to have reduced in the professional era. There are more cameras and a greater recognition that players lose money when injured so you do notdo it to someone else because you do not want it done to you.
There are lots of other ways to cheat at rugby and I look forward to some of you broadening my education with your own favourites. But cheating is different from playing on the edge. If the offside line is behind the back foot then 6mm will do to keep you onside. At away grounds you frequently hear the home fans accusing Martin Johnson or Neil Back of being offside when they are not.
The notion that Tigers cheat more than other teams is ridiculous. All coaches are trying to get their teams to play on the limits of the laws but without conceding penalties. But if you find yourself getting to the break down after Neil Back the temptation to take a short cut and go in from the side increases.
The front row - Show me an honest front row player and I'll show you some junior club's sixth team front row. You can't play at the coal face of rugby without cheating. Do you remember the Cardiff final and Jutge penalizing Darren for not binding?
If a tighthead doesn't bind the scrum is much more liable to collapse, posing the risk of serious neck injury. The advantage to the THP in not binding is that it is harder to push him back.
What Clohessy was doing in Cardiff was going down straight but as soon as Darren sought to bind on to Clohessy the Claw would turn his shoulders so that his outside shoulder was behind his inside shoulder, not level with it. This made it very difficult for Darren to bind because he has to reach further to bind on.
The ref, if he is on the other side of the scrum checking the put in might spot something as being wrong on the other side, rush round and find the THP not bound and penalize him. The only way to spot a prop cheating like this is to watch his bum. It should point directly towards his own try line. If it points towards the touchline he is boring in. If it points into the scrum he is turning the corner à la Claw. The back row player on his team sometimes binds much further forward to prevent the touch judge from seeing this.
Whether boring in or turning the corner, the idea is to make it easier to shove your opposite prop about and mess up their ball or make it easier to drive forward.
Hookers should bind above the shoulders of their props. But you try it in a scrum under pressure. It hurts more than a put down from ajack. So hookers often partially slip their bindings once they pack down. It takes some pressure off and makes it easier to strike against the head. Again as the ref is preoccupied with checking front row and back row bindings, that the backs are behind the back feet and the put in is straight it is easy to get away with.
The ball is supposed to be put into a scrum straight down the middle but we all know it isn't. A common ruse is to get the ref distracted by complaining that the other no. 8 is not bound properly. As soon as the ref looks you put the ball in crooked. This is actually unnecessary.
If the scrum half holds the ball so that the left hand end is lower than than the right hand point the ball will naturally land on the left hand point first causing it to do an off break towards your own hooker. If the other scrum half is putting the ball in and the ref is checking 360 degrees round him for numerous possible misdeeds you as the defending scrum half could pull the hairs on the legs of the other scrum half as he puts the ball in. It winds him up, can cause him to punch you and concede a penalty etc etc.
When you make a tackle you are supposed to roll away before getting to your feet. Just watch the best players. They make a tackle then get up by pushing themselves up off the tackled player. He is thus pinned to the ground and the tackler, once back on his feet can play the ball. Several times when you see a penalty awarded for holding on the tackled player has been disadvantaged by this tactic.
When a referee is playing advantage I have seen fly halves drop passes they would normally catch. It has been done on purpose to claim the penalty. In the Italy v Ireland match last week this happened. I think there is a case for reversing the penalty for a deliberate knock on in these cases.
At a ruck ( player tackled , ball on the ground, several players from both teams competing for it) a player must stay on his feet. You often see a player push or pull an opponent without the ball to the ground to try and claim a penalty. A classic example of this was in Cardiff last year. Munster's first penalty followed a line out incorrectly awarded near the Tigers 22. Tigers won clean ball but at the ruck the Munster 6 clearly grabs a handful of Rowntree's shirt in the stomach area and pulls him to the ground then immediately yells at the ref and points to Rowntree. Jutge ran round, saw Rowntree on the ground and penalized him. 3 points for Munster.
You are not allowed to collapse a maul. But if the ball does not come out of a maul then the defending side gets the put in. Some players are very skillful at infiltrating a maul so that they can clamp the ball carrier and stop him getting the ball out. Others let the opponents drive the maul past them then grab the ball carrier as he goes past them.
Tigers have scored less catch and drive tries this year. Many teams are using the tactic of having a player crouch down in front of the lineout catcher. As the maul is driven the ball carrier will fall over the crouching player. I have yet to see a player penalized for this.
I will not dwell on foul play cheating but there are many underhand ways to hurt opponents illegally. Second rows can punch hookers in the scrum and it is impossible to retaliate. One team I played against in France used to pat you on the head when you were on the ground but a finger would slide into your eye as they did so. Deliberate foul play as opposed to a rush of blood punch, seems to have reduced in the professional era. There are more cameras and a greater recognition that players lose money when injured so you do notdo it to someone else because you do not want it done to you.
There are lots of other ways to cheat at rugby and I look forward to some of you broadening my education with your own favourites. But cheating is different from playing on the edge. If the offside line is behind the back foot then 6mm will do to keep you onside. At away grounds you frequently hear the home fans accusing Martin Johnson or Neil Back of being offside when they are not.
The notion that Tigers cheat more than other teams is ridiculous. All coaches are trying to get their teams to play on the limits of the laws but without conceding penalties. But if you find yourself getting to the break down after Neil Back the temptation to take a short cut and go in from the side increases.
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