Rugby Scrum Rules: Formation, Feed and Offside Lines

What a scrum is for

World Rugby describes the scrum as a way to restart play with a contest for possession after a minor infringement or stoppage. It is not a punishment in itself.

Common triggers include a knock forward or forward throw, an unplayable ruck or maul, and certain restart errors. The non-offending team usually feeds, although Law 19 contains a table for less obvious cases such as injury stoppages and failed mauls.

The scrum is one part of the broader rugby union laws. Its complexity comes from combining a restart, a strength contest and player-safety rules in one action.

The eight-player formation

With 15 players available, each team uses eight: two props and a hooker in the front row, two locks behind them, and three back-row players.

Props bind to the hooker. Locks bind to the props immediately in front and to each other. Back-row players bind onto a lock with at least one arm. Teams with fewer than 15 players may use reduced numbers in defined circumstances, but a scrum cannot have fewer than five players.

Age-grade variations are stricter. Under-19 law limits pushing and changes what happens when a scrum wheels because developing players require a different risk balance.

Crouch, bind, set

The referee forms the scrum through three calls. On crouch, front rows adopt a position with heads and shoulders no lower than hips. On bind, props grip the back or side of the opposing prop’s jersey. On set, the packs engage and create the tunnel.

Each stage waits for both sides to be square, stable and stationary. The hooker’s brake foot remains in place until set, reducing axial loading during engagement.

The scrum still has not begun at engagement. It begins when the ball leaves the scrum-half’s hands. Only then may the packs push.

The feed and the hooker’s strike

The scrum-half chooses a side and feeds without delay, in one quick forward movement, so the ball first touches the ground inside the tunnel.

The feed must be straight. The concession is positional: the scrum-half may align one shoulder with the middle line, standing a shoulder-width closer to their own pack. That is not permission to roll the ball toward the second row.

Front-row players may strike after the ball reaches the tunnel. The throwing team’s hooker must strike. Players in the scrum may use feet or lower legs but may not lift the ball by hand.

Pushing, collapse and resets

Teams may drive straight and parallel to the ground. Pulling, lifting, forcing an opponent upward, intentionally collapsing or deliberately kneeling are penalty offences.

If the scrum collapses or a player is lifted, the referee stops play immediately. With no identified infringement, a collapse, break-up, excessive wheel beyond 90 degrees or failure by either side to win possession produces a reset.

A reset preserves the original feed. A penalty identifies illegal or dangerous conduct. Confusing the two makes every collapse look like guilt when the law explicitly allows a neutral restart.

The offside lines and the end

Non-participating players stay at least five metres behind the hindmost foot of their team. Scrum-halves have their own position choices near the tunnel or behind the offside line.

The scrum ends when the ball emerges anywhere except the tunnel, is picked up at the back, reaches the try line, or the referee whistles. The “use it” call applies when the ball has been available at the back of a stationary scrum for three to five seconds.

Many scrum feeds follow a knock forward, while repeated tactical infringements can interact with rugby’s card and red-card procedures. The restart may look like a wrestling contest, but every phase is controlled by a sequence: form, engage, feed, contest, release.