The scrum: crouch–bind–set
Two packs of eight forwards, bound, in a 3-4-1 (three in the front row, four in the middle, one number 8), engage on a command sequence. For seniors and World Rugby it is crouch – bind – set; the French youth command is spoken FLEXION – LIEZ – PLACEMENT.
Eight-player scrum — World Rugby, Laws of the Game; FFR age gate: contest from M14 (PJD), M12 educational no-impact 3+2.
The scrum is not one thing: it changes shape with the format played. All else equal, it is the format and the age that decide whether you push, by how much, and whether the ball is contested.
| Format | Scrum contest |
|---|---|
| XV — senior | Full contested push. |
| XV — Under-19 variation | Push limited (≈ 1.5 m max), no wheel > 45°; uncontested if there is no trained front row. |
| Rugby sevens | Contested, but 3-player. |
| FFR youth | M12: educational, no-impact, 3+2, push only to win the ball; contested from M14 (front-row passport). |
The age gate: no contested scrum before M14
This is the hardest safety rule in youth rugby, and it deserves to be written in full.
- No scrum at all below M12.
- M12: educational, no-impact, 3+2 — push only to win the ball, never re-taken, credential-free and never contested in competition.
The two facts sit side by side without conflict: the earliest scrum in the pathway is M12 — a no-impact, 3+2 shape, credential-free, never contested; the first contested scrum is M14, behind the PJD, with a 5-minute temporary exclusion for the youth categories. M12 introduces a shape; M14 introduces the contest.
The front row, a credentialed position
Playing loosehead prop (1), hooker (2) or tighthead prop (3) is a credentialed role in every federation studied. It is not a question of level but of entitlement: without the credential, you do not play that position in a contested scrum.
| Federation | Credential to play front row | Youth passport |
|---|---|---|
| FFR | Medical mention “autorisé 1re ligne” on the licence + the annual front-row certificate | Passeport Joueur de Devant (PJD) — required from M14 / M15F for a contested scrum |
| Suisse Rugby / FSR | Passeport 1re ligne (DTN-validated) — held at anchor level; confirm the exact process | (as above) |
| World Rugby (global law) | The Law 3.8 cover table must be satisfied, or the scrum is uncontested | The Under-19 variation governs youth scrums |
When the trained front row is missing, the law decides for the coach: the scrum becomes uncontested (in the Under-19 variation, played with 8 players, no push, no strike for the ball). Here is the table that triggers the switch.
| Matchday squad size | Trained front-rowers required |
|---|---|
| ≤ 15 | 3 |
| 16-18 | 4 |
| 19-22 | 5 |
| 23 | 6 |
The FFR uses no weight bands. Where other sports categorise by size, the FFR’s protection runs through the credential + reclassement: when a player is physically mismatched, a reclassement is decided by the DTN and the medical committee, and a double age-group jump is forbidden. By contrast, some USA Rugby state unions do publish youth weight charts — a genuine federation difference, to model as a per-country option, never a global rule.
The lineout: the 5 m, the 15 m, the lift
The lineout is the other set piece. It forms between the 5 m and the 15 m lines — the two dashed lineout lines, visible on the pitch in the next section. Like the scrum, it is learned from the simplest to the fullest, and the lift comes late.
| Stage | Bands | What you work |
|---|---|---|
| Catch game only no scrum, no lift | u9 | A ball-in-the-air catching game, with no scrum and no lift. |
| Lineout catch | u13 | Receiving the lineout, without the lift. |
| Lifting lineout | u17, sen | The lineout with the lift — lifting appears only here. |
u17. The finer lineout laws (number of players, gaps) are a competition setting — confirm against the law in force before stating a number.The pitch and the ball
Both set pieces sit on a pitch whose every line is a World Rugby value.
Rugby union pitch — World Rugby, Laws of the Game. Rugby sevens plays on the same field: only the squad changes (7 + 5 subs vs 15 + 8).
- Full pitch: up to 100 m between the try lines, up to 70 m wide, with in-goal areas up to 22 m deep; posts on the try line. Halfway, 22 m and 10 m lines, and the dashed 5 m / 15 m lineout lines.
- Rugby sevens plays on the same full-size pitch — only the squad changes (7 + 5 replacements vs 15 + 8). It is a defining tactical fact: huge space for seven players.
- Youth pitches are reduced and grow with the category: FFR M6 ~22 × 15 m, M8 ~30 × 20 m, up to full at M16 (youth dims = rung 2, via the 2024-25 fiche mirror).
- Ball size steps up with age: T3 (M6/M8/M10), T4 (M12/M14), T5 (M16 / senior).
Frequently asked questions
At what age does the scrum become contested?
What happens with no trained front row?
Is rugby sevens played on a smaller pitch?
Sources
World Rugby, Laws of the Game (Law 1 pitch and in-goal; Law 3.8 front-row cover table and uncontested scrum; scrum crouch – bind – set; Under-19 variation: push ≈ 1.5 m max, no wheel > 45°; lineout between 5 m and 15 m; sevens on the full pitch) · FFR, École de Rugby fiches 2025-2026 (educational no-impact 3+2 scrum at M12, push only to win the ball; first contested scrum at M14 with the PJD, 5-min exclusion; command FLEXION – LIEZ – PLACEMENT; “autorisé 1re ligne” mention + annual certificate; no weight bands: reclassement by DTN + medical committee; double age-group jump forbidden; youth dims M6 ~22×15 m, M8 ~30×20 m via the 2024-25 mirror = rung 2) · Suisse Rugby / FSR, Passeport 1re ligne (DTN-validated, held at anchor level, process to confirm) · USA Rugby, youth weight charts published by some state unions (federation difference) · ball sizes T3 / T4 / T5 by age — Paak rugby corpus. Content verified August 2026.
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