Introduced last year centre field scrums resulted in a number of tries where teams failed to defend 4 v 4 (article – defending centre field scrums). With a whole off-season to plan I was interested to see what coaches would deliver in round 1.
Scrum Attack – The Trap and Wrap
I noticed a new attacking variation in round 1 which I’m calling the trap and wrap.
In the next clip the Storm line up 3 attackers and Souths mirror this in defence. To gain a 4 v 3 overlap the Storm ‘trap’ the ball in the second row and have their scrum half sprint around to the non-feed side ‘the wrap’ – defending scrum half Reynolds does not react and the Storm nearly score.
Later on in the same game Storm try a variation on this play – initially lining up with a 4/2 split then late switching Papenhauzen across as a fake. The ball is not trapped at all so the play breaks down but I liked the mis-direction.
The Sharks unveiled a very similar play:
Early on in the above clip they line up with Moylan left and Kennedy directly behind the scrum. On the ‘trap’ both Moylan and Kennedy sweep right. Fortunately for the Dragons Clune and Bird defend passively.
Later in the game though the Sharks run the same play with success when Lomax bites in.
The Sweep
The Titans unveiled another scrum attack variation – initially lining up 4 on the feed side before sweeping 2 players back to the non-feed side for a large metre gain (note Egan does a poor job assisting Chanel Harris-Tavita).
NFL Style ‘Pre-Snap’ movement
I also observed a lot movement by attackers from side to side just before the ball is fed in an attempt to confuse the defence. I’m excited to see how this type of NFL ‘pre-snap’ movement evolves.
I wouldn’t be surprised that in the future we see all attackers ‘in motion’ just as the ball is being fed.
Scrum Defence
Sharks continue to defend 3 v 4 on the non feed side. They put Brailey at 2RF on that side and he breaks hard from the scrum whilst the 3 defenders wait passively for him to get across (ie by passive I mean don’t move up aggressively and have each successive defender standing deeper as you move out to the wing).
This defensive scheme works well – the key points are that Brailey does not hang around but immediately breaks hard to help the 3 defender, the prop on that side must also work hard to protect Brailey’s inside shoulder.
In the above clip the inside defenders aren’t stressed as McCullough’s pass isn’t out in front. The below clip from their trial with the Bulldogs shows a good out ball will stress them – especially if the ball is trapped first preventing Brailey from breaking early.
In this case the play breaks down as Hopoate has to wait for Flanagan’s pass and they don’t run a block shape. I’ll be watching with interest how this defensive pattern goes against better attack.
Here’s the risk when the play is executed correctly:
Scrum pushes a defensive option?
A lot of attacking plays rely on quick movement from the base of the scrum – a big shove can mess that up. Keary and Tedesco were looking to put on a scrum half wrap in the clip below but a push in the scrum ruined that plan.
I’d like to see more defensive shoves – even if it’s only the 3 in the front row pushing. It’s a small effort with a high chance of ruining a good attacking play.
No Defending Scrum Half?
I thought I was seeing things when I saw 7 defenders back for Wests but given the Raiders loaded up with a 5/1 split Wests decided to not play a defending scrum half – not a bad idea in this situation.
Defence Overall
I didn’t see anything to suggest that defending 4 v 4 on the non scrum feed side is a bad one. I don’t have the statistics but I’m pretty sure the majority of tries from scrums have been scored on the non feed side. If teams persist with defending 3 v 4 on this side then I think the Sharks defence is a good one to copy.
As the trap and wrap is a new play which quickly creates a 4 on 3 it’s worth considering placing an extra defender on the non feed side when facing 3 attackers – just in case this play is executed. This would leave you short on the feed side but it’s much harder to generate attacking speed on this side (as the scrum half needs to do a 180 after feeding the ball) and the defending scrum half is already up. Look how easy the Tigers defend this attack short one defender:
Summary
I really like the ‘Trap and Wrap’ innovation – teams are going to have to quickly work out how they are going to defend this. The late sweep play by the Titans was a good metre gainer for scrums set in your own half.
I’m all about more ‘pre-feed’ players in motion and look forward to more innovations on this front.
I’ll start keeping stats on tries scored from scrums – which side they were scored on, the defender/attacker numbers and the plays executed as well.
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