By Dan Cottrell
Why do we want the feet and legs of a front row player in the best position for a scrum?
A good foot position means the shove
from the legs is working in the right
direction. A bad foot position can mean all the
effort produced from a good body
position is lost.
Good feet and legs
On engagement, the
hips of both players are
above the knees (pictured above). The thighs
are perpendicular, the feet
are pointing forward, and
the players are on the balls
of their feet.
Some coaching text books say that there is some evidence that an angle of 120 degrees for the leg
bend is best for applying the most force at impact.
After the initial shove, the hips
have moved forward, but there is
still some flex in the legs (pictured above).
Remember to keep stepping, so
the knees come under the hips
after the initial engagement.
Julian Davies, former London Welsh and Esher prop: "A
lot of people think it's about size and position but it's all about the
strength of your abdominal muscles - neck to waist. The further you can
put your legs back, the stronger the push."
Nigel Horton, British Lions scrummaging coach:
"The key to scrummaging is balance. It comes first from the feet and
then the legs. You can be as strong as an ox, but if you are off
balance, then the shove is dissipated."
|
Bad feet and legs
Check your players for signs of "bad" feet and legs.
A bad driving position (pictured above).
The legs are virtually straight.
The hips are higher than the shoulders.
The feet are neutral - there is no flex
for a shove.
Also note that the binding of the right
hand player shows him pulling the
other down.
Still no flex in the legs and the feet are
flat (pictured above).
Secrets of feet and body positions
"In general it is
recognised that having the feet offset allows greater variation when it
comes to creating options as it is difficult to react going backwards
with your feet together. Coaching generally centres around being offset
to absorb the impact and then taking small steps (in unison) to try and
promote your scrum."
Martin Toomey, fitness adviser to the All Blacks 1997-1999, quoted on www.coachesinfo.com
"Spine in line saves 999."
Jim Love, NZ Sports Academy manager and former assistant coach of NZ Maori. |
No comments:
Post a Comment