The Conor O'Shea Column
A masterclass in matching the maul
Conor O'Shea
December 19, 2014
Once it starts, the rolling maul is tough to halt © Getty Images
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As the old adage goes, "forwards win matches, backs decide by how much". Over the past weeks, throughout the autumn internationals and also rounds three and four of the European Champions Cup, we have seen forwards laying the platform for their teams through dominant mauls and their scrum.

The maul has become a great weapon for the attacking team and we are seeing teams turn down the three points on offer from a penalty in favour of kicking into the corner and going for the try. They are doing this for a number reasons with the biggest one being the maul is almost impossible to stop when set properly. The psychological damage done to teams when they see their pack hurtling back is huge. As it gets harder and harder to breach defences that are well drilled and physically fit it is through these set piece opportunities that you can get under the skin of the opposition and put down a psychological marker within a match.

 
"Like in all areas of the game you don't want to see teams just maul and scrum, you have to get the right balance to allow your team to be unpredictable"
 

What choice does the defending team have against the maul? First and foremost - and it may be simplistic to say it - the maul has to be formed and to do that you need to win the ball. So the easiest option for a defending team is to contest vigorously, try to steal the ball and pressure the hooker to throw it crooked or over throw. The problem with that is: if you are contesting the ball you don't have the numbers on the ground to defend it when the maul gets formed. Often you will see one pod getting thrown up to disrupt the throw and then everyone on the ground rams the maul as it descends and gets set. Attacking teams are becoming more robust and can take this hit, move the point of contact and off they rumble. Once set and running it can lead to a vicious circle because the only way to stop it is to pull it down; that can lead to another penalty, another lineout and another maul. Pull it down again and you can be in yellow-card country and as well as getting the psychological benefit of dominance up front you get a one-man advantage for 10 minutes.

In defending the maul we have seen a real rise in teams not engaging at the line out. In doing so they send a man around the back of the unengaged maul to tackle the man at the back. It doesn't look right and in some ways, although legal, takes away a physical battle that is part of rugby.

However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to defend a well-set maul so this way of managing it just keeps the opposition thinking. The problem is this defensive policy leads to a lot of misunderstanding for supporters. You have to be spot on in your decision-making and the referee has to see it the same way as you do and that can be a challenge when you hear the jeers and boos of supporters ringing in your ears when they don't like what they are seeing.

England's forwards celebrate a try following a powerful five-metre scrum, England v Australia, Twickenham, November 29, 2014
England used the driving lineout well in the autumn internationals © Getty Images
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What steps do the defending team have to follow to defend this way?

1. They cannot step away from the lineout
2. No defensive player can engage with an opposite number
3. The defensive player who goes around the back to make that tackle can only do so once the ball has been transferred to the back of the maul

It is a fascinating sub-plot within any match nowdays; when you see you have dominance you really try to ram it home and how a team chooses to counter that in defence can decide whether they have a chance in a match.

Like in all areas of the game you don't want to see teams just maul and scrum, you have to get the right balance to allow your team to be unpredictable. It is hard for backs to play off slow ball so they won't want to see interminable mauls and long scrums, they will want off-the-top-ball from lineouts and quick, channel-one ball from scrums so the backs can strut their stuff. So, yes, we are seeing more of the maul in the modern game but there are ways to counter it and it can never be the only way to attack. That is the beauty of our game, there are so many different ways to set up to win the battle at hand.

As we enter the festive season let's hope, speaking as an ex back, that we see plenty of ball in hand and when you are enjoying your turkey you know the players will be sacrificing a lot of the normal trappings of Christmas to keep you entertained.

See you in the New Year

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