Essentials of the Argentinian 'Bajada' rugby scrum

Argentinian teams are renowned for the effectiveness of their scrummaging and the central importance of the scrum to their game. From an early age, Argentinian forwards are schooled in the 'Bajada' or 'Bajadita,' a radically different scrum method invented in the late 'Sixties by the legendary Francisco Ocampo.

The most obvious characteristic of the Bajada is that second-rowers bind with their external arms around the prop's hip rather than between their legs. But, as explained by Springbok coach Jake White (SARugby.com), one defining characteristic of the method is that "all the power is directed into the hooker. In other words, they scrum along an imaginary arrow drawn pointing inwards from either side of the No 8, which means all the power is directed towards the hooker."

The other defining characteristic is the "Empuje Coordinado" or "Coordinated Push." "The scrumhalf gives a three part call after the "engage". On "pressure" all members of the pack tighten their binds and fill their lungs with air. On the call "one" everyone sinks; the legs at this point should be at 90 degrees. On "two" the pack comes straight forward while violently expelling the air from their lungs. A key note is that nobody moves their feet until forward momentum is established. If the first drive is insufficient the scrumhalf begins the call again and the opposing pack is usually caught off guard and pushed back." Rugby Union from the Virtual Library of Sport

A more detailed explanation of the Bajada was recently published in the World Rugby Forum. It was written by Sergio Espector, a Level 3 coach with Club San Patricio in Buenos Aires. Sergio played for 27 years with the Club and has coached for nearly 20 years. He has kindly given me permission to reproduce his notes which I have reformatted - hopefully without too much distortion of his meaning:

Empuje Coordinado is the resultant of a lot of little details in the way that the props place their feet, the locks bind,and the flankers and the number-eight bind and push too. The eight players push at the same time and in three movements, put all the power to the center of the front row. But the most important thing is that here in Argentina we believe that the scrum is not just another way to put the ball in play.

To have a successful scrum with all eight forwards pushing in a coordinated way, the players' obligations are:

to respect individual techniques;

to respect group techniques;

to not initiate individual confrontations;

to stay in place before the opponent and focus on the task to be carried out; and

to undertake physical training appropriate to the demands of their position.

Individual skills

Backs to be straight

Heads lifted up

Hips lower than shoulders

Knees flexed to 90 degrees

All eight forwards must bind strongly and there must be no space between players

Feet placement must not change when the scrum is formed

All players must be able to see the ball at every moment in the scrum

Feet placement must be shoulder width

Correct body position

Front row

Props bind strongly on the hooker below the armpits, and the hooker binds on the props in the same way

Hooker's feet in line

Props' internal foot in line with the hooker's feet, and external foot a little bit backward

Hooker determines the right distance between packs

At referee's signal to engage crouch and drive forward

Never enter diagonally or across the opponent

Heads should be in contact with the chest of the opponent

The push must be FORWARD

Second row

They bind on the other second-rower around their back

They bind on the prop with their external arm around prop's hip and strongly pull together the front row

Before engagement must have the knee of their internal leg resting on the ground

Internal foot a little bit backward

The shorter second-rower binds under the taller one

Heads below props' and hooker's buttocks

Back Row

Flankers bind on the second-rower below the other second-rower's arm

Flankers' external hands on ground

Number-eight binds around the second-rowers' hips

All must have feet in line

Flankers put shoulders below prop's buttocks

Number-eight puts head between the second-rowers' buttocks

Pack Technique

After referee's command: "Engage"

First command by the scrum half: "Pressure" - on this command the eight players must grip strongly with their arms and fill up lungs with air

Second command by the scrum half: "One" - at this time all eight players must flex their knees to 90 degrees

Third command by the scrum half: "Two" - the scrum half puts the ball into the scrum, or his opponent puts the ball in, and the players must expel the air in their lungs while pushing violently FORWARD, never up or down, nor to the side

With this all the force is transmitted to the hooker

Players must never move their feet off the ground until they overcome their opponents and have positive inertia - it is very important that the hooker respects this even though he has the ball under his feet

It is not necessary to hook the ball, but in my club we use hooking when the ball is put in by us, and all players push when the ball is put by the opponents

We spend a lot of time in training, developing individual and group skills to be able to scrum the way we like, because we think scrum is a strength that not only produces benefits to our forwards' minds, but equally produces collateral damage in our opponents. This is because in the first place their front-rowers and second-rowers lose energy to contribute to open play, and in modern rugby if you don't have 15 players playing all the time you are lost, and in the second place their back-rowers lose speed in defense, because they are busy pushing.
rugby
Bajada
scrum
Read more...

Andy Sheridan - an aberration or is prodigious strength the future of rugby?

England's loose-head prop, Andy Sheridan, achieved instant legend status when he demolished Australia's scrum at Twickenham in November. The Wallabies' Al Baxter was firstly sin-binned for his inability to hold his footing, then his replacement, Matt Dunning, was stretchered from the field with a neck injury. The more cynical might wonder how genuine that injury was, but either way it amounted to an acknowledgement that Sheridan was simply much too strong for two experienced international props. He has since been lauded as the strongest frontrower in the world.

The most interesting question is whether his strength is freakish and abnormal or the product of the dedicated application of modern strength training.

There is no doubt that Andrew Sheridan had the genetic endowment to be very big and strong. At Dulwich College, a prestigious south London public school, Sheridan was the dominant player in a team that remained unbeaten from under-11 to first XV. His first rugby master recalled: "Never before have I seen one player inject so much fear into the opposition and dominate so many games with a combination of size, speed and strength."

But the boy was not content simply to exploit his natural advantages. "Everyone was competitive, driving to be better players even at a young age, and that continued right through our time at the school. We used to boost each other. There was a real competitive element. Our training sessions were very hard, and as well as the three rugby sessions each week, lots of players were doing extra weights sessions, extra running, always trying to improve."

The Dulwich years led to an obsession with relentless weights training: "Weight training was something I have always enjoyed. Something I got a high from doing. There is definitely something addictive about it. That's partly down to the improvement you can see, but it's also to do with how you feel afterwards.

"They talk about endorphins or something being released - not that you can go and pick up your car after a hard session, but you do feel good. I liked the feeling of being able to shift a weight that to the average person seems very heavy. It's whatever works for you."

While playing for Richmond and later the Bristol Shoguns, Sheridan did many extra sessions in the gym, striving to become massively strong. He set himself a target of bench-pressing 500lbs (227kg), eventually achieving 215kg. "The weightlifting wasn't directly related to rugby, but if I reach a goal like that, I am going to be more confident."

Visit Jerry Yanuyanutawa, rugby front rower, box-squatting 260kg for 6 reps

He has since acknowledged "Getting strong on the bench press won't necessarily make me play rugby any better. ... Perhaps when I was 19 or 20 it was more of an ego thing trying to bump it up, but I've gotten over that now." His focus has shifted to improving leg strength and back strength.

Sheridan's forwards coach at Sale, Kingsley Jones, says "I've been in rugby all my life, and he's the strongest guy I've come across in the game or outside it. And he's so dynamic with it. ... He can do the fast exercises; he can do the strong exercises. He's just an incredible athlete."

Sale's fitness coach, Nick Johnston, believes that Sheridan has not yet reached his full strength potential. "From a trainer's point of view," he says, "he could probably improve another 25 to 30%. Which is quite frightening."

If he had not developed a preoccupation with strength training, Andy Sheridan would still have developed into a big and powerful rugby player but almost certainly not one who would have reached the international level. His example suggests that players with appropriate genetic endowment can achieve massive strength specific to the demands of their sport through the long term application of strength training techniques. However, in order to do so, these players currently have to almost defy the rugby world's orthodoxy in relation to strength and conditioning.

There is a general failure to recognise firstly that rugby players are typically not particularly strong given their size and secondly that superior dynamic strength can yield huge advantage in the sport of rugby. However, the gradual recognition and exploitation of these truths is beginning to revolutionise the game.


rugby
scrum
Andy Sheridan
frontrower
Dulwich College
Richmond rugby
Bristol Shoguns
Read more...

Northampton Saints endorse the ScrumTruk

Premiership club Northampton Saints pioneered the use of the ScrumTruk in the U.K. Performance Coach Tim Exeter installed two ScrumTruks prior to the 2005-2006 season. Exeter, a former Scotland A centre, worked in strength and conditioning with West Bromwich Albion FC, Coventry FC and Portsmouth FC, before coming back to rugby with Richmond RFC from 1997 to 1999 then joining the Saints in 2001 where his innovatory approach has revolutionised the performance department.

Tim Exeter credits the ScrumTruk with helping to improve the Saints' scrum performance:

The addition of ScrumTruk has enhanced our training. It is position specific and gives better transfer than traditional exercises. It helps de-load the lumbar spine which traditionally is restricted post match for some days. We mix in with some traditional exercises and this helps give the necessary variety and stimulation to the players. We have adapted exercises using double leg, single leg and walking up and back and found functional improvements in strength and stability and the players like it!"


The ScrumTruk also receives strong endorsement from Tom Smith, who says: "I have found ScrumTruk invaluable as a tool to improve strength specifically related to scrimmaging whilst reducing the impact on lower back and shoulders." A world class prop, Smith, who has been a Saints player since 2001, was a 61-cap veteran with Scotland, as well as playing 6 back-to-back tests on the last two Lions tours.
rugby
Northampton Saints
Tim Exeter
ScrumTruk
Tom Smith
Read more...

Bands, chains and broad biomechanical correspondence

[Summary: The addition of bands or chains to free weights permits adjustment of the resistance to the muscles' load-bearing capacity throughout an exercise movement. This broad biomechanical correspondence allows exercises to be performed explosively over their full range, effectively conditioning the body for actual sporting and athletic activities. The development of sophisticated mechanisms employing the same principle has important implications for sport-specific strength development.]

There are two main types of variable resistance exercise equipment:

Close biomechanical correspondence

Manufacturers of cam-driven machines claim to vary their resistance to closely match the torque curves of natural joint movements. In other words they assert a close biomechanical correspondence (CBC) between resistance and muscular capacity. However, given the variation between individuals in relative limb lengths, muscle attachment points, genetically endowed strength relativities between various muscles, etc., it is doubtful that such claims of accurate correspondence between load and load-bearing capacity are justifiable.

CBC machines are basically designed for single-joint movement of isolated muscle groups performed at a measured pace. Their very limited applicability to sports training is highlighted by Zatsiorsky's comment: "The important limitation of many strength machines is that they are designed to train muscles, not movement."

Broad biomechanical correspondence

The other type of variable resistance apparatus does not attempt to achieve any precise correspondence between resistance and muscular capacity.Rather the rationale for their use is that substantial benefits are achievable from load variance so long as the changing load-bearing capacity of the muscles involved is approximated. Bands and chains are examples of apparatus that rely only on such broad biomechanical correspondence (BBC).

In operation heavy rubber bands or steel chains are attached to either end of a loaded barbell and anchored to the floor or other fixed points. This enables a progressive increase in resistance for exercises such as squats and bench presses. A distinguishing feature of these exercises is that they are heavy load and involve multi-joint or whole limb movements.

The deceleration problem with free-weight exercises

Explosive strength is fundamental to many sporting or athletic activities but free weights are defective in building explosive strength. In the squat or bench press, for example, various studies have shown the bar decelerating for much of the final section of the range of motion. In the deceleration phase there is significantly decreased motor unit recruitment, velocity of movement and power production. In addition, when free weight movements are performed forcefully, antagonistic muscle action takes place to slow down and halt the limb to avoid soft tissue rupture or joint dislocation.

Conditioning the muscles for deceleration during the final stage of an exercise movement is counterproductive if the objective is to enhance ballistic-type sporting actions like throwing or jumping. This is also true where there is an inertia-dissipating or energy-absorbing mass to be moved, as in tackle engagements in football. Similar dynamics apply at the line of scrimmage in American football or in a rugby union scrum. In each of these cases the appropriate simulation is an acceleration through the whole range of limb movement.

Adding BBC characteristics to free weights enables exercises to be performed explosively or ballistically with the progressively increasing resistance providing a braking effect. Peak power occurs near the extreme points of angular motion.

A new generation of BBC machines

Recently MyoQuip have introduced a new system of lever and fulcrum technology that achieves the same basic effect as bands and chains but permits the development of sophisticated mechanisms with a high degree of specificity to particular sporting activities.

Because of their primitivity the use of bands and chains has largely been restricted to the power-lifting community. A major limitation of the equipment has been the difficulty in incrementally changing load. The fixed load component can be readily altered by adding or removing weight plates, but there is no way of making minor adjustments to the variable element provided by bands or chains.

With MyoQuip's machines, incremental load changes are effected simply by adding or removing weight plates, and the rate at which the load changes during a movement can be altered by choosing a different pin setting.

The MyoQuip technology also permits considerable flexibility in the orientation of effort. For example, the ScrumTruk machine is operated in the horizontal rather than the vertical plane, while the HipneeFlex, which is used to develop the leg flexor muscles, is configured for decreasing instead of increasing resistance.

The further development of machines delivering full-range muscle activation in either extension or flexion across multiple joints is likely to have important implications for strength training for sport.
bands
chains
biomechanical
multi-joint
explosive strength
Read more...

A solution to uncontested rugby scrums?

Writing in the Sky Sportzine English international rugby referee Steve Lander states that "It has long been an open secret amongst coaches, players and referees that the law" in relation to uncontested scrums "is open to 'manipulation'."

Uncontested scrums "change the shape of the game and the dominant scrum is effectively depowered. Furthermore, without the contest and the need to scrummage, back row players are free to close down space ... ." However, there is little that a referee can do to prevent manipulation of the law. "From a match official's perspective. if a coach, physio or player indicates that he is injured then he is injured. In terms of safety, it is as simple as that."

Lander points out that the law requires that "both teams must provide front row cover within the 22 players selected to replace the hooker on the first occasion for injury, blood, sin bin or sending off. Similarly, for either, but not both props on the first occasion for the same reasons."

"A coach has complied with law if he has replaced a hooker and prop on the first occasion. If the team cannot provide a suitably trained player for a subsequent injury to a prop or hooker" he is entitled to request uncontested scrums.

I suggest that the problem can be virtually eliminated at least at the professional level by requiring teams to nominate a 23rd player as "designated front row substitute." The player would have to be physically capable of taking any of the front row positions.

The designated substitute would only be entitled and required to take the field if the normal substitution possibilities for either hooker or prop positions had been exhausted. The first circumstance in which they would enter the game would be if both the hooker and the reserve hooker had left the field "for injury, blood, sin bin or sending off." The other circumstance would be if two of the three players chosen as props or reserve prop had left the field for any of the same reasons.

If such a requirement were introduced, uncontested scrums would be almost eliminated and the opportunity for coaches of teams with inferior scrums to exploit the laws would be removed.
rugby
scrum
Steve Lander
Read more...

Does intensive pre-season strength training protect rugby players from non-contact injury?

[Summary: Players at a leading Australian rugby club who undertook a high-intensity off-season strength training program experienced dramatically fewer non-contact injuries during the playing season than their less committed club mates. It is suggested that the lower incidence of injury might be attributable to an emphasis on improving basic strength and the use of rugby-specific strength equipment.]

Each year the Sydney University Football Club selects a group of players for its Elite Development Squad to prepare for the next season. For 2005 a squad of 50 was chosen which did not include any of the Club's seven Wallabies nor any of the players on Super 12 contracts. Players committed themselves to around fourteen weeks of intensive training involving six to seven sessions per week of weights, skills and fitness work despite either being full time students or working full time.

At the conclusion of the season the Club's doctor, Katherine Rae, and physiotherapist, Keiran Cleary, jointly issued a Medical Report analysing the injury experience of the Club's eight teams. They particularly highlighted the members of the Elite Development Squad, noting that during the season "the EDS squad suffered only two non contact injuries, both muscle strains, which resulted in only four games lost to injury."

More specifically, among the 36 players who completed the full EDS program there was "only one calf strain and one hamstring strain ... . They had no back pain or groin pain necessitating loss of game time." By contrast, for the Club as a whole, there were 28 instances of low back pain, 27 hamstring injuries, 27 groin injuries and 6 quadriceps strains.

Two non contact injuries in over 1000 hours of playing time is an extraordinarily low figure in itself, and certainly by comparison with the Club's other players who accumulated over 80 comparable injuries. The injury incidence for the Club as a whole seems to be broadly in line with that reported in various scientific studies including those focussed on professional players.

It is obviously unwise to attach too much significance to the experience of one club over a single season. However the disparity in injury rates between those in the EDS group and their team mates is so great that it is very unlikely to be attributable to mere chance. Therefore it is necessary to explore possible reasons for this very favorable outcome. I believe that there were three relevant factors at work:

Duration and intensity of the training program

An off-season involving around 90 uninterrupted training sessions creates a near ideal opportunity for players to enhance their basic strength and fitness for rugby.Very few non-professional players would have the commitment and dedication to stick to such an exacting schedule. And very few professional players would have such a large block of time available. For example, Australian full-time players normally participate in at least two of the three tiers of club, provincial and international rugby and are therefore playing through most of the year.

The EDS squad also had on-campus access to physiotherapists, doctors and nutritionists plus regular dietary supplementation. Thus, even though the squad members were not paid, they were training in a very professional environment.

Emphasis on basic strength development

Strength and conditioning in the EDS program was structured and administered by Martin Harland, a sports scientist who had previously worked with professional rugby league, Australian football and basketball teams. His programs for rugby players place a high degree of emphasis on basic strength development and rugby-specific fitness. A distinguishing feature of his approach is a concentration on heavy lower body work through exercises such as squats, deadlifts and cleans.


Use of the ScrumTruk

In addition to their free weights exercises the group regularly used the rugby specific MyoQuip ScrumTruk as a core component of their leg strength work. Certain unique attributes of this apparatus might be relevant to protection against injury. Although it works basically the same muscle groups as the barbell squat, the fact that the resistance is in the horizontal rather than the vertical plane means that there is no adverse loading on the lumbar spine. It is also more quadriceps specific than the squat and exercises effectively the muscles of the calf.

But its main benefit in injury minimization may be in relation to the hamstrings. The ScrumTruk specifically works this muscle group as well as adjacent areas such as the glutes, quadriceps and core stabilizers. But the most important effect might relate to the frequently observed importance of eccentric loading in developing the hamstrings. Both the barbell squat and the conventional leg press deliver constant resistance. When performing these movements concentrically the muscles involved are only under very partial load as the hip and knee joints move to full extension. By contrast the ScrumTruk's operation provides continually increasing resistance throughout the exercise movement. Because of this, the muscles involved are strongly activated over the full exercise range and most critically are working at close to full load at the conclusion of the movement. It would seem to follow logically that the more that muscles are being activated concentrically, the greater the eccentric load when the movement is reversed. Thus there is heavy eccentric loading on the hamstrings when they are near fully extension.

The low injury incidence by Sydney University's elite training squad seems to suggest that other teams might benefit similarly by implementing a long and intensive off-season training program concentrating on the development of basic lower body strength through complex free weight movements and the use of the ScrumTruk. The potential improved injury outcomes are additional to the very substantial strength gains from such a program.
Read more...