THE FORWARDS:

These are a proud bunch . . . the worker bees, the relentless tide. It is their responsibility to scramble, chase, heave and ho in effort to gain possession of the ball and then take it forward or present it very nicely t o the backs to do something with. They are then expected to remain in dogged sup port of whoever carries the ball. Their work is never done and they are also ref erred to as the pack or the scrum.

A SCRUM is also the name of the formal conglomera tion of forwards who bind together in specific positions when a scrumdown is cal led. It is the basic set formation of rugby and occurs after various minor infri ngements of the law, when the ball becomes tied up, and other times you'll learn about later. It is a face-off of sorts and a favorite among forwards. Form and timing are more important than brute strength

1: Loose Head Prop (sturdy and fearless)

2: Hooker (small, quick, ready to take control)

3: Tight Head Prop (see #1)

4,5: Second Rows (Locks) - (big and strong)

6,7: Wing Forwards (Flankers) - (quick, aggressive)

8: Number Eight (smart, foot and hand skills)

9: Scrumhalf (smart, experienced, quick) -- technically not a forward, but the link between forwards and backs - special rules apply to the scrumhalf.

9: Scrumhalf (as you know)

10: Flyhalf (great hands, cool head)

12: Inside Center (good change of speed)

13: Outside Center (same and faster)

11: Wing (burner)

14: Wing (ditto)

15: Fullback (very good foot, able to read game)

Once the scrum is formed the scrumhalf puts the ball in the middle. He rolls the ball into the gap on one side of the scrum as each team tries to press forward and/or hook the ball backwards so they can gain posession. Then both teams try to push each other and use their feet to kick the ball backwards for their scrumhalf to get. The scrum is set by the referees after a violation occurs.

When someone is tackled, normally the forwards have to come to pick up the ball. With both team's forwards there, it isn?t an easy task! So the forwards of both sides try and shove each other AWAY from the ball, leaving the ball for their scrumhalf (rugby equivalent of a quarterback) to pick up and pass to the backs. When these situations occur, either a ruck or a maul has occurred."

On a ruck the player who was tackled managed to remain standing and is surrounded and being "carried forward" (he does not have to release the ball).

In a maul the player has been dropped to the ground and must release the ball so it can be "dug" out as teammates surround him from behind and the other team tries to anticipate which direction the ball will be tossed out onto the ground (sideways and/or backwards).

The "ruck" and "maul" might look like a general melee. Indeed, they are less organized than a "scrum". However, the teams stay on-side with the ball between them; they cannot run around behind the other team or push other players off the ball.