Roll Me Over...
By Hangover
June 30 2014
It would appear to me that in the arms race that is the Rolling Maul the attacking side now seem to have all the advantages. When teams have a line-out 5-10 metres out they invariably score a try against Wasps.
Our current plan to deal with this situation is to allow the team to catch the ball unmolested, then we push as hard as we can with most of our guys and try to disrupt their rolling maul. The result is almost always a penalty for pulling the maul down or coming in at the side. In which case they go for another line-out or they drive us over anyway. This is even more true of the 'power' sides like Northampton, Leicester & Sarries but they can all do it on a good day. It is costing us dear every season and we don't seem to be trying anything. Well here is my suggestion based on beating the old adage of 'doing the same thing and expecting a different result .'
ATTACK their line-out instead of being passive. In particular get a lighter type of guy right at the front of the line-out and boost him miles in the air right in front of the hooker. The Lions used to do this with Tom Croft and it absolutely killed the oppositions line-out. Also get your other guys up in the faces of their other 'pods'. Then even if they do get the ball it will hopefully be a real mess and you can then disrupt them much easier. Whatever, put the fear of god into their hooker from the start and he may not be able to even hit his jumpers after a couple of throws. This is obviously most effective when they are close to your line but I would say attack them all day. At the very least we would be doing something different and aggressive rather than allowing them a perfect catch, drive and score as if they were on the training park. Wasps of old were always known for doing things differently and getting results. Next season lets try and give these sides something to think about.
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You don't contest a line out close to the try line because if you don't win turn-over ball you are at a disadvantage and the attacking team will be able to get into a driving formation quicker than you making it even more difficult to defend. If you stay on the ground you can drive the moment the catcher is on the ground. If you drive with enough ferocity you can force the attacking team backward, hopefully driving them off their feet and if the referee is good enough to recognise that your actions were positive, you will win a turnover. Problem is, 9 times out of 10, the bias to the attacking side will mean that if a maul collapses the defending team will be (incorrectly) penalised.
Even if you can't drive a team off their feet, you will usually see the attacking team driven back as much as 10 meters, by definition this is an unsuccessful maul, the Laws clearly state that a maul must be moving towards the opposition dead-ball line. Under the present interpretation the call should therefore be "That's once" meaning the next time the maul stops moving forward they must "Use it or lose it" Generally the attacking team is allowed to get settled, get their maul formation sorted, all while moving back or stationary, and then finally start to move forward. All waved on by the referee. Personally I would like to see a backward moving maul deemed the "that's once" and if it then becomes stationary while they try to get their formation sorted "Use it now!". If they don't it is a turn-over, scrum to the opposition. An attacking team should not get a third attempt to drive forward.
The "coming in at the side" law is also a lottery. The laws clearly state that if you ender the maul behind or alongside the hind-most player and bind you CANNOT be off-side as long as you remain bound. If the attacking team wheel the maul and you end up on their side YOU ARE NOT OFFSIDE, but how often do we see this penalised? Hughes was even yellow carded for this in the Amlin QF against Glous at AP.
The whole premise of the sport is a fair contest for the ball, that was behind the scrum engage changes last season so it was no longer who can slam into the opposition the hardest. The maul interpretation desperately needs to be similarly reviewed so that there is a fighting chance of defending a maul legally. At the moment it is near-impossible and can only successfully be defended with a lot of luck on top of strength and technique.
KevinTheB
www.justgiving.com/kevinbroadbent
I think the trick can work the first time you do it, but a smart team will then counter that. So probably best thing is to save the non-engagement till a 5-10m maul, and compete in the rest.
It can be very tough to stop a maul, but the best efforts I've seen have involved the defending team not trying to outmuscle in an overblown scrum, but for members to hurl themselves at the front of the maul in an attempt to continuously splinter it apart. It needs to be done before fully set, but seems far more effective than just engaging in a pushing contest.
I don't know if competing in the lineout is the right option unless you've got a very good lineout competitor in your arsenal, since if you fail to disrupt it'll be very costly.
The problem with not joining the maul is that it only takes one of our guys to get held in or tangled up and that constitutes a maul and they will have a clear walk in from 5 metres as all your other defenders will have backed off.
Practising quick calls from the hooker once he recognises non engagement will nulify the tactic - indeed it would be suicidal not to engage from 5m and allow the attacker to make ground.
Much of what Nigel says is spot on - I would just ask the refs to be diligent about ensuring that the ball is not transferred until the catcher is on the ground (as per Saints at home 2 seasons ago) - that allows the immediate sack - the best way to frustrate the tactic. The referees rightly focussed on the lifters obstructing but we now need to focus on the catcher as well.
How do you stop it once it is started - only 2 ways - the octopus and the tortoise. Octopus is the Shawsie method - get your arms all over it asap - the tortoise after the Roman formation - lots of bodies low and driving.