When two front rows of three men each pack down against each other, one of the two props will have his head between two of the opposing players, while the other will have his head free.
The prop with his head free is known as the “loosehead prop” and the other as the “tighthead prop”.
The position of the loosehead prop is important for the scrumhalf who is putting the ball in. He will always, if he knows anything about his job at all, put the ball in from his loosehead prop’s side of the scrum.
This means that his own hooker will be between him and the opposing hooker and have a much better chance of winning the ball. Those who watch closely will notice that the loosehead prop always packs down on the left of the scrum, and so the scrumhalf always puts the ball in from the left side.
The Scrum in the Laws of Rugby
This is not just a convention but inevitable from the way the Laws of Rugby specify that the front rows must bind. While it’s not explicitly stated the relevant section of the Laws is: “scrummage 6c”, which reads:
“The outside (loosehead) prop must either (i) bind his opposing (tighthead) prop with his left arm inside the right arm of his opponent, or (ii) place his left hand or forearm on his left thigh. The tighthead prop must bind with his right arm outside the left upper arm of his opposing loosehead prop. He must grip the jersey (not the sleeve or arm) of his opposing loosehead prop with his right hand and he must not exert a downward pressure”.
What the Laws Mean in Practice
Without actually getting hold of members of one’s immediate family, or anyone else who will cooperate, and practicing packing down a few scrums, what exactly is going on here is not very clear.
Perhaps the simplest way to look at it is to note the position of the loosehead prop’s left arm. If the loosehead can place his left hand or forearm on his left thigh (ii), he must be binding with his right arm around his hooker. Similarly the tighthead prop must be binding with his left arm around his hooker. So it follows that the loosehead prop must always be to the left of his hooker, with the tighthead on the right.
A Win "Against the Head"
Given the advantage of putting the ball into the scurm, the team with the feed almost inevitably wins the ball. On the rare occasions when the defending team wins the ball on their opponents' feed, it is known as a "win against the head", or a "Tighthead".
The section on the scrummage in the Laws of Rugby is one of the largest sections, about five A4 pages of typescript.
Stuart Duncan - My interests have always been wide, but when later in life I turned to writing as a career it was sports writing that I initially fell ...
