Rugby Union: Guide To Rucks And Mauls

Step 1: The Ruck

In a Ruck, the grounded player lies on the floor and, as much as possible, must roll away. Other players form up and attempt to push opposing players back in order to gain possession of the ball.

Legally, you're only allowed to join a Ruck from the back. Coming in from the sides in a Ruck is a big no-no, and you'll get called on it immediately.

Likewise, there's no touching that ball. Falling onto it or otherwise interfering with it is illegal unless the ball's over the tryline and you're going to score a try from it.

Successful rucking is all about drive. Pushing the opposition back far enough to gain control of the ball is paramount here, so you'll need to have strong forwards with a lot of power who can get to a ruck in double-quick time and then provide the necessary force to drive hard.

When the ruck becomes ‘unplayable', the ref will stop everything and call a scrum. If you're the stronger team and you were advancing, you'll be awarded the put-in.

Step 2: The Maul

Mauls are extremely similar to Rucks except the ball isn't on the floor, it's usually held up by one of the players.

A maul is formed when three or more players are in contact, contesting for the ball. Legally, you're only allowed to join from the back of the maul, and you've got to have at least one arm bound round a team-mate.

The raw power of the maul should mean that it's moving towards a goal-line; if you're moving forwards, you've got the ‘advantage' and will get a scrum if the maul collapses and the ball isn't immediately retrieved from the ground.

A maul ends if the ball touches the ground, or if a player emerges with the ball, in which case play resumes.

Like rucks, the very instant a maul is deemed ‘unplayable' by the ref, play is stopped and a scrum is formed. Normally, this is after the maul's been stationary for five seconds or has collapsed in on itself.