Page 75 - All Shapes & Zebras From Treorchy

“They appear to be muddled and befuddling to some, but to those in the know, they’re a mini competition in themselves, and an opportunity for players to assert their dominance over their opposite number. ”
Being mindful of digressing somewhat, it’s the scrums, rucks and mauls that offer the opportunities for various acts of skulduggery - ranging from the inventive and comical, to the darn right insidious. Today, the game’s lawmakers have cleaned up the ruck area, and subsequently, gone are the days of over enthusiastic rucking. Yet still, today at an amateur level, the crowd is so close to the action that they can watch the machinations and intricacies of the set pieces, rucks and mauls up close.
Scrums get a raw deal in the professional game, with the seemingly countless ‘resets’ testing the patience of even the most loyal fans. At amateur level, resets aren’t nearly as much of a problem, and spectators can enjoy the set piece as a chance for the forwards to go toe to toe with each other. Regarding the ruck area, when players are caught on the wrong side, it’s quite a spectacle to witness a stuck player as he is “rucked” (or, in layman’s terms, “stamped on via a backwards motion,”) for his indiscretion. I recall, as a fresh-faced youngster, being stuck on the wrong side of a ruck whilst playing against a Monmouth side with a seasoned and gnarled pack. I got my fair share of the boot, only to look up and see my own blindside flanker giggling at my expense, later sagely informing me, “You won’t do that again...”
And mauls? Well, they’re a mass of contorted bodies wrestling wildly over a ball like some angry game of mob football from days of yore. For some, these facets can
ALL SHAPES & ZEBRAS FROM TREORCHY 73