SINCE THE REMOVAL of the hit in 2013, the dynamic of the scrum has changed.
Back then, some players’ reputations were built on their ability to “win” the hit and get a dominant position.
It’s well detailed and explored in the autobiography of former Welsh prop Adam Jones, who openly admits that the changes had a big impact on his ability at the set-piece.
Another player whose stock has fallen since the change is Martin Castrogiovanni. The legendary Italian tighthead was a master at winning the engagement battle and securing a dominant position, but now that technique has become more important than power, his stock has fallen.
In the Six Nations it was a regular occurrence to see a scrum collapsing on his side as more technically minded props exposed him, and in the opening games of the World Cup against France, he was given a tough 50 minutes against France’s Eddy Ben Arous.
The stats from the scrum made for grim reading against France losing five of their eight put-ins. For reference, Ireland have lost just five of their 68 put-ins in the whole of 2015.
The scrum improved with the introduction of Michele Rizzo and Lorenzo Cittadini, and in their second match against Canada they secured eight of their nine put-ins, but their struggles against France are far more relevant from an Irish point of view.
On the opening scrum of the day, Castrogiovanni set the tone by conceding a penalty, and it was a simple decision for referee Craig Joubert to make.
The overhead view shows us how both Castrogiovanni and Eddy Ben Arous are both turned in at an angle. The physical nature of the scrum dictates that when one player turns in, the other will inevitably follow, so it’s difficult to get a gauge of who initiated the turn.
World Rugby
World Rugby
However, when the camera turns down to the regular TV view, we can see exactly why both players turned in so dramatically.
Castrogiovanni had collapsed to his knees, and with Joubert just a few feet away, a penalty was a simple call.
World Rugby
World Rugby
A reason why Castrogiovanni dropped to his knees, and indeed why he tends to collapse so many times is clear on the second scrum of the day.
The ideal posture for a prop is to have a bend of around 90 degrees at the waist, and around 120 degrees on back of the knees, allowing you to both support your weight and push into your opponent as best as possible.
As we can see below, while Eddy Ben Arous’ angles look to be spot on, Castrogiovanni has a much more obtuse angle at his hips.
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That’s causing his feet to be much further back from his body, and his shins are almost parallel to the ground. Essentially he’s scrummaging on the tips of his toes, something that’s incredibly difficult to do.
World Rugby
World Rugby
If a player scrummages like this and collapses, which the Italian does quite often, he becomes an easy target for referees.
Coincidentally, Ireland’s Cian Healy scrummages with similar angles, but somehow rarely collapses.
If you can do it and keep the scrum up, the benefits of it are obvious, as it brings your opponent lower to the ground, but it’s a very risky tactic, and incredibly difficult to execute.
In this Italian scrum, it’s the blindside the results in a French penalty, and Matias Aguero can feel a little aggrieved at the decision to award France the penalty.
In Craig Joubert’s defence, he didn’t get the best help from John Lacey working the touchline.
We can see below how a set of Italian knees have dropped to the ground, and Lacey is communicating the message to Joubert, who awards France a penalty.
World Rugby
World Rugby
But when we see a replay on the far side, we can see how France’s Rabah Slimani has pulled Aguero down to the ground.
World Rugby
World Rugby
With Italy struggling, they then tried to force the issue, and conceded a free-kick for an early shove.
With so many things happening at once and so much to look out for, creating the perception of dominance is just as important as generating actual dominance. By this stage in the game, France are in control, and it’s because of this that the 50/50 decisions start to go their way.
When this scrum collapses just after the half hour mark, Joubert gives France the benefit of the doubt based on their control of the previous scrums, even though it looks like Rabah Slimani jerks the scrum downwards, forcing it to collapse.
With Joubert watching the other side, he bases the call on instinct, rather than what he sees, and it’s a further example of why referees need more assistance to properly police the scrum.
World Rugby
World Rugby
With Slimani and Aguero having problems staying upright, Joubert keeps a close eye on their side of the scrum next time, warning the players beforehand that he’s watching their binds.
Inevitably though, the side of the scrum he isn’t watching collapses, and it’s Castrogiovanni’s fault yet again.
It’s difficult to make out with the camera so far back, but the Italian again has his feet way too far away from his body, before falling to his knees. Again, Ben Arous’ angles are perfect, while Castrogiovanni’s angle at the hips is extended too far.
World Rugby
World Rugby
Having only won two of their six scrums on their feed in the opening half, Castrogiovanni and Aguero are subbed off for Lorenzo Cittadini and Michele Rizzo just before the 50 minute mark.
The dominance achieved by France in the opening half of the game had an impact on the way Joubert interpreted the scrum thereafter, and there was another occasion where France were lucky to get the 50/50 call their way.
In this scrum shortly after the change in the front row, Rizzo seemed to scrum square and straight on Slimani, who was turning in.
This Refcam view shows how as the players set, Rizzo has a perfect straight back, with his head outside Slimani’s shoulder. Slimani, meanwhile, appears to be pointing upwards, and slightly crooked.
World Rugby
World Rugby
Eventually, the scrum caves in on their side. It’s difficult to make out with the shakiness of Refcam, but it looks from this point of view that Slimani’s initial crooked body position has caused the scrum to go to the ground.
World Rugby
World Rugby
And if we freeze it just before the scrum hits the deck, we can see how Slimani seems to drop his bind again and pull Rizzo down, something he had done with Aguero earlier on in the game.
World Rugby
World Rugby
But this all harks back to the importance of dominance, are at the very least the appearance of it.
It’s why players cheat so continuously at the scrums; the simple fact is that if in doubt, referees will tend to give the benefit to the team going forward, or the team in control of the previous scrums.
If Italy are to cause problems for Ireland on Sunday, Lorenzo Cittadini may be the man that’s needed. The once great Castrogiovanni is stuck in hit and chase mode, and his power is no longer able to make up for his lack of technique.
With so many of his scrums collapsing, his battle with Jack McGrath and Cian Healy will be the key part of the scrum, and it’s vital the Ireland start strong at the scrum, to ensure they get the benefit later on.
Analysis: Castrogiovanni is the man Ireland must target to dominate scrum battle
SINCE THE REMOVAL of the hit in 2013, the dynamic of the scrum has changed.
Back then, some players’ reputations were built on their ability to “win” the hit and get a dominant position.
It’s well detailed and explored in the autobiography of former Welsh prop Adam Jones, who openly admits that the changes had a big impact on his ability at the set-piece.
Another player whose stock has fallen since the change is Martin Castrogiovanni. The legendary Italian tighthead was a master at winning the engagement battle and securing a dominant position, but now that technique has become more important than power, his stock has fallen.
In the Six Nations it was a regular occurrence to see a scrum collapsing on his side as more technically minded props exposed him, and in the opening games of the World Cup against France, he was given a tough 50 minutes against France’s Eddy Ben Arous.
The stats from the scrum made for grim reading against France losing five of their eight put-ins. For reference, Ireland have lost just five of their 68 put-ins in the whole of 2015.
The scrum improved with the introduction of Michele Rizzo and Lorenzo Cittadini, and in their second match against Canada they secured eight of their nine put-ins, but their struggles against France are far more relevant from an Irish point of view.
On the opening scrum of the day, Castrogiovanni set the tone by conceding a penalty, and it was a simple decision for referee Craig Joubert to make.
The overhead view shows us how both Castrogiovanni and Eddy Ben Arous are both turned in at an angle. The physical nature of the scrum dictates that when one player turns in, the other will inevitably follow, so it’s difficult to get a gauge of who initiated the turn.
However, when the camera turns down to the regular TV view, we can see exactly why both players turned in so dramatically.
Castrogiovanni had collapsed to his knees, and with Joubert just a few feet away, a penalty was a simple call.
A reason why Castrogiovanni dropped to his knees, and indeed why he tends to collapse so many times is clear on the second scrum of the day.
The ideal posture for a prop is to have a bend of around 90 degrees at the waist, and around 120 degrees on back of the knees, allowing you to both support your weight and push into your opponent as best as possible.
As we can see below, while Eddy Ben Arous’ angles look to be spot on, Castrogiovanni has a much more obtuse angle at his hips.
That’s causing his feet to be much further back from his body, and his shins are almost parallel to the ground. Essentially he’s scrummaging on the tips of his toes, something that’s incredibly difficult to do.
If a player scrummages like this and collapses, which the Italian does quite often, he becomes an easy target for referees.
Coincidentally, Ireland’s Cian Healy scrummages with similar angles, but somehow rarely collapses.
If you can do it and keep the scrum up, the benefits of it are obvious, as it brings your opponent lower to the ground, but it’s a very risky tactic, and incredibly difficult to execute.
In this Italian scrum, it’s the blindside the results in a French penalty, and Matias Aguero can feel a little aggrieved at the decision to award France the penalty.
In Craig Joubert’s defence, he didn’t get the best help from John Lacey working the touchline.
We can see below how a set of Italian knees have dropped to the ground, and Lacey is communicating the message to Joubert, who awards France a penalty.
But when we see a replay on the far side, we can see how France’s Rabah Slimani has pulled Aguero down to the ground.
With Italy struggling, they then tried to force the issue, and conceded a free-kick for an early shove.
With so many things happening at once and so much to look out for, creating the perception of dominance is just as important as generating actual dominance. By this stage in the game, France are in control, and it’s because of this that the 50/50 decisions start to go their way.
When this scrum collapses just after the half hour mark, Joubert gives France the benefit of the doubt based on their control of the previous scrums, even though it looks like Rabah Slimani jerks the scrum downwards, forcing it to collapse.
With Joubert watching the other side, he bases the call on instinct, rather than what he sees, and it’s a further example of why referees need more assistance to properly police the scrum.
With Slimani and Aguero having problems staying upright, Joubert keeps a close eye on their side of the scrum next time, warning the players beforehand that he’s watching their binds.
Inevitably though, the side of the scrum he isn’t watching collapses, and it’s Castrogiovanni’s fault yet again.
It’s difficult to make out with the camera so far back, but the Italian again has his feet way too far away from his body, before falling to his knees. Again, Ben Arous’ angles are perfect, while Castrogiovanni’s angle at the hips is extended too far.
Having only won two of their six scrums on their feed in the opening half, Castrogiovanni and Aguero are subbed off for Lorenzo Cittadini and Michele Rizzo just before the 50 minute mark.
The dominance achieved by France in the opening half of the game had an impact on the way Joubert interpreted the scrum thereafter, and there was another occasion where France were lucky to get the 50/50 call their way.
In this scrum shortly after the change in the front row, Rizzo seemed to scrum square and straight on Slimani, who was turning in.
This Refcam view shows how as the players set, Rizzo has a perfect straight back, with his head outside Slimani’s shoulder. Slimani, meanwhile, appears to be pointing upwards, and slightly crooked.
Eventually, the scrum caves in on their side. It’s difficult to make out with the shakiness of Refcam, but it looks from this point of view that Slimani’s initial crooked body position has caused the scrum to go to the ground.
And if we freeze it just before the scrum hits the deck, we can see how Slimani seems to drop his bind again and pull Rizzo down, something he had done with Aguero earlier on in the game.
But this all harks back to the importance of dominance, are at the very least the appearance of it.
It’s why players cheat so continuously at the scrums; the simple fact is that if in doubt, referees will tend to give the benefit to the team going forward, or the team in control of the previous scrums.
If Italy are to cause problems for Ireland on Sunday, Lorenzo Cittadini may be the man that’s needed. The once great Castrogiovanni is stuck in hit and chase mode, and his power is no longer able to make up for his lack of technique.
With so many of his scrums collapsing, his battle with Jack McGrath and Cian Healy will be the key part of the scrum, and it’s vital the Ireland start strong at the scrum, to ensure they get the benefit later on.
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Analysis France Ireland Italy lorenzo cittadini Martin Castrogiovanni matias aguero michele rizzo rwc 15 Scrum Analysis