Analysis: The 'zero jump thirty' lineout taking over the Premiership
The accessibility of game tape from all levels of football has created a revolution in the NFL.
Coaches are scouring high-school level football for new plays in a ‘scheme war’, as the rate of innovation accelerates, even employing staff full-time just to search for new plays.
Information in Rugby as a whole is still in the relative dark ages. There is no ‘textbook’ of sorts, there are no widely accepted classification of styles of play, or explained reasons why teams do things their way. Many modern structures are here but the theories behind them remain in the dark.
These seem to be passed around by word-of-mouth and then adopted only by those who know someone who knows someone. As technology is adopted widely and video platforms like Hudl gather more and more tape from amateur levels up, rugby will undergo a similar revolution eventually, evolving the game at an exponential rate.
There are signs that this is on the horizon.
There has been one ‘trick’ play utilised by no less than three teams so far this season in the Premiership that shows that the speed of adoption is getting quicker and quicker.
A throwback to the olden days, teams have adopted a ‘zero jump’ lineout from the five-metre line in search of beating the opponent to the punch. A quick throw to a target at ‘2’, who never leaves the ground, enabling the team to get a head start on the mauling drive.
Typically in this situation the defence will not compete on the throw in order to prepare to flood the point of the maul with numbers. This has made jumping for the ball a disadvantage, as skilled defences can disarm a maul before it even gets started.
The Crusaders dismantled the Lions’ main weapon in the Super Rugby final leaving them searching for Plan B. If they had this play in the back pocket, maybe things would have been different for the Lions.
With 10 minutes remaining in their opening round clash with Saracens, the Newcastle Falcons kicked for the corner to set up an attacking lineout.
They run a 6-man lineout with a loose forward at halfback, indicating the maul will be used, but with only one lifter at the front the ‘2’ option doesn’t look likely.
Saracens key in on the tail of the lineout where they think the throw will go, stacking their big men at the back. At the front, one Saracens forward is left isolated with a lot of ground to defend.
The throw goes to ‘2’ without the jumper ever leaving the ground, while props Logovi’i Mulipola and reserve Adam Brocklebank latch on almost simultaneous to the catch.
In a split second the maul has formed leaving Saracens stunned.
The drive engages the only defender in front of it, and with no support behind him, it is destined to crash over before anyone can enter the maul correctly.
The lowest man wins, and the Falcons have all the leverage.
Saracens forwards try to join, from illegal angles but are too upright to do anything about this ‘Tsunami’ maul crashing through everything in its path.
They end up so far over the try line they could take it over the dead ball line if they wanted to.
They attacked the weakest point in the defensive lineout with a genius piece of innovation, taking away the defence’s ability to set by using a ‘zero jump’. The best thing is, you don’t even need a legitimate jumper at the ‘2’ spot to use this, which adds to the disguise. Any forward, and particularly one not considered an aerial athlete could take the catch and set up the maul.
The next week, Bath tried to run their own version of a ‘zero jump’ play by having Zach Mercer walk in at ‘2’ and take a quick throw.
And who else? Saracens themselves, who had been fooled by Newcastle with it, tried one against Gloucester on the weekend.
These two plays weren’t as effective as space wasn’t available at the front to use it, but they still got their maul going early to put pressure on the defence.
In Saracens case, using their main jumper Itoje at the front is always going to trigger alarm bells, as most opponents will be looking to defend him as Saracens’ primary lineout option.
The element of surprise is a beautiful thing and this play is catching on, showing teams are borrowing ideas from each other.
Comments on RugbyPass
Not sure the Bulls need another average utility back in their ranks. Chamberlain has been ok for the Sharks but is by no means an X-Factor player. Bulls bought several utility backs which they barely use. A typical example would be Henry Immelman who plays mostly Fullback. The Bulls however have rarely played him this year and he has played wing or centre. Bulls want to build depth but seems like they have too many surplus players
1 Go to commentsABs lost against a side playing without a hooker - The guy playing, had one shoulder. Line outs were a gimme for the ABs, and the last 8 minutes 14 played 14 against a team that had been smashed 3 weeks in a row… Yet with all that possession, with all that territory, with all the advantages they actually had, especially in the last 8 minutes, they couldn’t buy a point. Those last 8 minutes determined if they outplayed the Boks or not. History will show that the Boks completely outplayed the ABs, especially in those last 8 minutes, the business end of any rugby match
226 Go to commentsWould’ve, could’ve, should’ve, didn’t.
226 Go to commentsKok will become a fan favourite
1 Go to commentsI am really looking forward to Leigh Halfpenny playing his first Super rugby game for the Crusaders Playing a long side his former Welsh and Scarlets team mate Johnny McNicoll.Johnny has been playing great, back in a Crusaders jersey.The attack has strengthened big time. Also looking forward to David Havili at 10. David is a class act, it also allows Dallas McLeod to remain at 12. A good thing.
1 Go to commentsIf he had stopped insisting on playing in the backrow, instead of wing, where everyone told him he should, he would have been a Bok years ago….
11 Go to comments‘Salads don’t win scrums’ 😂 I love that.
19 Go to commentsCan’t wait for the article that talks about misogyny in Ireland. Somehow.
16 Go to commentsI would like to see a rule change, when the attacking team is held up over the try line, by allowing the defensive team to restart a goal line drop out releases the pressure for the defensive team, but what if the attacking team had to restart a tap 5m out from the defensive team it gives the attacking team to apply more pressure, there are endless options for the attacking side and it will keep the fans in suspence.
2 Go to commentsLess modern South African males predictably triggered.
16 Go to commentsMy heart is with Quins, but the head is convinced Toulouse have too much. Ntamack is back, his timing and wisdom has been missed.
1 Go to commentsWow, what a starting line up for the Sharks) Tasty up front,kremer vs Tshituka or venter …fiery ,,Lavannini ,,will he knobble etzebeth? Biggest game for belleau?
1 Go to commentsIt was rubbish to watch, Blues weren’t even present. Did what they had to do, nothing more. Should be better next week against canes.
1 Go to commentsI’ve just noticed that this match has an all-French refereeing team. Surely a game like this ought to have a neutral ref? Although looking at the BBC preview of the Saints game, Raynal is also down as reffing that - so there may be some confusion about who is reffing what.
1 Go to commentsIf Havili can play anywhere in the back line, why not first 5. #10.
11 Go to commentsThe dressing room had already left for their summer break before they ran out in Dublin that year, and that’s on the coach. Franco Smith has undoubtedly made progress, particularly their maul, developing squad players and increasing squad depth. And against a very tight budget too. That said they were too lightweight last year and got found out against both Toulon and Munster in consecutive games. Better this season so far but they’ve developed something of a slow start habit occasionally, most notably losing at home to Northampton who played them at their own game. Play offs will ultimately show whether there has been tangible progress on last year, or not…!
2 Go to commentsAustralian Rugby has been a disaster, by not incorporating learning from previous successful campaigns. QLD Reds 2011 - Waratahs 2014. Players, coaches and administrators appoint there representatives for scheduled meetings, organisation’s agreement’s assessments and correspondence. This why a unified Rugby Union under one entity works. Every Rugby nation has taken that path. Was most difficult in the Northern hemisphere with over 100 years of club rugby before the game become professional. Took a lot of humility for those unions to eventually work together.
7 Go to commentsThough Wilson’s sacking was pretty brutal, it wasn’t just down to that Leinster game; Glasgow had a lot of 2nd half collapses that season, in the URC and Europe, and only just scraped into the playoffs. Franco Smith has definitely been an improvement, some players are delivering far more than they did under Wilson.
2 Go to commentsjesus - that front 5!
1 Go to commentsShould be an absolute cracker of a game! Will be great to see DuPont & Ntamack in tandem once again🔥
1 Go to comments