How to teach the scrum from scratch
Nobody pushes at any minis grade and the scrum is only there to restart the game, which is the first thing to know if you never packed down yourself. Here's the order, from two children on their knees to a front row that holds its shape.
Free to read with no account. It works at a pitch with no signal too.
What an U10 scrum is for
Restarting the game after a knock on or a forward pass. That's the whole job. It isn't a shoving contest, it isn't where you win the ball back and it shouldn't be where your three biggest children live all season.
- Three players a side. A prop either side of a hooker, taken from the nearest three to the stoppage
- The fourth nearest is the scrum half. Which means everybody ends up doing that job too
- Nobody pushes. At all. Not a shove, not a nudge, not a lean
- Only the side putting it in may strike. That changes at U11 when both hookers may go for it
- Heads and shoulders never below the hips. No downward pressure, no charging in
The RFU's own phrase for how it should be staffed is "all players trained, late specialisation", which in practice means everybody in your squad packs down at some point over a season. That's deliberate rather than an accident of numbers.
Body shape first, with nobody touching anybody
Ten minutes, no opposition, no ball. This is the session that makes the next five work and it's the one every coach is tempted to skip.
- Feet about shoulder width, toes pointing forwards
- Knees bent. Bent knees, not a bent waist
- Weight on the balls of the feet rather than back on the heels
- Chest pushed forward so there's a dip in the back rather than a hump
- Head up, eyes open, looking at the far side
- Shoulders above hips, every single time
The fault to watch for is straight legs with a bend at the waist, which looks near enough right from the touchline and isn't. If they can't hold the position for ten seconds on their own, they can't hold it with somebody leaning on them.
On their knees, one against one
Pairs of similar size, both kneeling, facing each other a metre apart. This is where head position and binding get learned, at a speed where nothing can go wrong. Give it a full session and go back to it whenever the shape slips.
- Head to the left of their head. Every player's head ends up beside an opponent's rather than beside a team-mate's. Ear to ear
- Bind with the outside arm. Grip the shirt on the back or the side of the player opposite
- Never the sleeve, the collar or the chest. Those binds slip, which is how a scrum ends up on the floor
- Rock gently to and fro. So they feel the weight across both shoulders before they ever feel it standing up
- Call it properly from the first minute. Crouch, then bind, then set, in that order, every go
It looks like nothing is happening. What's happening is that eight children are learning where a head goes, which is the only part of a scrum that can actually hurt somebody.
Up onto their feet, still one against one
Same pairs, same calls, standing. Expect it to be worse than it was on their knees for a fortnight. A nine or ten year old often hasn't got the trunk strength to hold the position once their own weight is in it, so they'll bend at the waist or drop their head. Go back to kneeling for a week if that happens.
- Tilt forward from the hips before you crouch, not after
- Knees stay bent the whole way through
- Bind first, then come together. Never the other way round
- Hold still on set. Nobody goes forward
Building the three
Build it in the same order every time, so a child who's late or who's swapped in still knows where they are meant to be.
- Hooker first. They stand still and everybody else builds round them
- Props bind on either side. Arm round the hooker's back, gripping between the armpit and the hip
- Square up. Feet, hips and shoulders all facing the same way
- Last of all, face the other three. Walk them in slowly the first dozen times
- Three player scrum shape, 10 minutes
- Feed and strike, 9 minutes
The calls, so match day isn't a surprise
Use the referee's words at training from day one. A child who's only ever heard you say "ready then" will stand there on match day waiting for it.
| The call | What happens |
|---|---|
| Crouch | Both front rows sink into the position. Backs flat, heads up, nobody moving forward |
| Bind | Each prop reaches out and grips the shirt of the player opposite, on the back or the side |
| Set | The two front rows come together and hold. It is not a signal to push |
| The whistle | A collapse stops everything at once. Everybody stands up and it starts again from crouch |
Then the scrum half rolls it in down the middle of the tunnel, the hooker strikes and the ball comes out the back. The scrum half has to pass it away rather than run with it, which surprises them more than anything else on this page.
- Scrum and away, 10 minutes
What to say
- Eyes up. If you can see the grass, reset
- Flat back, like a table top
- Head to the left of theirs, ear to ear
- Grab shirt, not sleeve
- Bend your knees, not your middle
- Nobody moves on set. Freeze and wait for the ball
What going wrong looks like
| What you see | What to say |
|---|---|
| Heads down, looking at the grass | Eyes up. Reset and go again |
| Straight legs with a bent waist | Knees bent. Sit down into it |
| Somebody edging forward on set | Nobody pushes. Hold still until it's in |
| A bind slipping off a sleeve | Back or side of the shirt. Get a fistful |
| The scrum half running from the base | Pass it. You're not allowed to run with it |
| The same three children every scrum | Swap the front row round. Everybody learns it |
How it changes as they go up
| Grade | What it is | What to work on |
|---|---|---|
| U10 | Three players, uncontested, only the feeding side may strike | Shape, head position, the calls, everybody gets a go |
| U11 | Three players, both hookers may strike for the ball | The hooker's timing, a straight feed, winning it back |
| U12 | Five players a side | Adding the second row, binding on, staying square |
- Scrum with the clock on, 9 minutes
- Five player scrum, 11 minutes
Nobody pushes at any of those grades. The shove arrives above the age range this app covers, so if somebody at your club is teaching an U12 to drive, they're teaching something Regulation 15 does not allow.
Common questions
Do we teach them to push?
No. There's no push at any minis grade, so a season spent on it is a season teaching something they aren't allowed to do and can't safely do either. Spend it on shape, head position and getting the ball away quickly.
Who should play hooker?
Everybody, over a season. The RFU's position is that all players should be trained for the front row and that specialising comes much later. A squad where only three children can pack down has no scrum at all the week two of them are away.
One of them doesn't want to go in the front row. Is that allowed?
Yes. Nobody should be in there who doesn't want to be or whose technique isn't up to it. The rules say as much: a player whose lack of technique or strength makes them a danger has to be replaced. Keep asking them back every few weeks though, because most change their minds once they've seen it done gently.
When do we start practising lineouts?
You don't. There's no lineout at any grade this app covers. Touch is restarted with a free pass right through U13, the uncontested lineout arrives at U14 and lifting is held back to U15, so nothing before then needs a throw practised at training.
The scrum keeps collapsing. What am I missing?
Usually one of three things: a bind on a sleeve, somebody with straight legs, or two front rows going in at different heights. Stop it, put them back on their knees for five minutes and rebuild it from there rather than shouting at it standing up.
How long should we spend on scrums in a session?
Ten minutes, early on while they're fresh, once a fortnight is plenty at U10. It's a restart, so the rest of the session is better spent on what happens once the ball comes out of it.
The rules on this page are Regulation 15 and they are the RFU's. How to teach it is ours, written from the RFU's age grade coaching material and World Rugby's Tackle Ready, then tried at training. A club coach who has done this for ten years will have a better order than ours for some of it. Take theirs.
Read against the RFU's 2026/27 appendices in August 2026.
The RFU's own U10 rules of play · Their contact training guidance · Headcase, on concussion
The drills that go with it
What U10 is allowed to do is the rules side of this, which is where every number on this page comes from.