Martin's Rugby Coaching Forum

I have not been able to find anything on the site on the rolling maul. Do you have, or know anyone that can advise as to when it becomes illegal?

I notice that law 17 states: "A maul ends successfully when the ball or a player with the ball leaves the maul."

Does this mean that if a team "rolls" its maul, they must take one defending player with them or the maul ends?

Yes, defending the rolling maul is very difficult. Good idea to check the rule book. And I agree: you must at least have one defender in the maul. Even more specific: this one defender must be in front of your maul so that other defenders must come in behind him. If the one defending player is "somewhere else" in the maul then defenders must still enter from their side of the maul (not sideways) but will mess everything up.

This is why you now see the "trailer" in the maul: the player carrying the ball. Keep him away from these defenders.

How to defend? Keep players out, enter the maul as a unit once it has rolled away. All very complicated and difficult to train. Compliments to the Irish National team.....

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Martin, Rugbyhead

I think there are 2 steps to defending a rolling maul.

1 do not wait for the opposition to establish a maul. Quickly in a game you will identify whether a team can use a maul and from which situation, Lineout or Broken play.

In your defense teach your player body position and tightness and get them to push as soon as they are able not to wait for the opposition to start pushing.

2 A good team will change the focus of the drive by letting players break off (this is very difficult to do well as it requires 2 or 3 players to move together) as soon as they break tackle them to the ground. this means having one player and the scrum half defending left and right.

Remember you are not playing against the English team and teams we play against will not be as tight or react as quickly

The ELV's are clearly to stop the rolling maul (great, finally end this boring aspect of rugby)

ELV 3: a player is allowed to pull the rolling maul down: bring an attacker down after gripping him between his hips and shoulders NOT HIS LEGS

All existing offside and truck-n-trailer rules are not influenced by the ELV's. Like: it is illegal to pull a player out of the maul (now there is a loop hole).

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Martin, Rugbyhead