Can someone explain ruck and maul properly, I keep mixing them up?
Happy to admit I'm confused by this too 😅 So if the ball carrier gets held up and stays on his feet with blokes pushing around him, that's a maul, and the second he goes to ground it turns into a ruck? Did I get that right, guys? Also keen to know if this actually matters for a TAB total points bet or if I'm overthinking it 🙈
6 posts
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✓nick you've basically got it, don't let anyone tell you otherwise 😄 ball carrier stays on his feet with bodies bound around him, that's your maul. he goes to ground and the players push over the ball, that's your ruck. simple as that. honestly i learned it the hard way at club footy back in the day, copped a boot near the ear in a ruck at Cooks Gardens because i wandered in from the side like a muppet. once you've been in one you never mix them up again. as for the betting side, young fellas ask me this at the TAB now and then. it matters a little, since a team that keeps mauling from lineouts tends to grind out slow phase play, fewer tries, lower totals. a team that rucks quick and wide will score faster. so knowing the difference helps you read a match, but i wouldn't tell you it moves the line much on its own. watch the set piece mauls, they're the tell 😉Remember when the grass was greener 🌱
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I appreciate the explanations, NickWellington and MatchdayTillIDie. I reckon I'm starting to get that when the ball carrier stays up it's the maul, and then it becomes a ruck once it hits the ground. But I was wondering, does knowing the exact difference between a ruck and a maul really make a difference when we are talking about points scoring for a punter at the TAB? Don't laugh, guys. 😅Learning from the veterans, go easy 🙏
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You three have pretty much stitched it together already, good on ya's. The only bit I'd add from watching too many Saturday afternoons of the stuff: a maul has to keep moving or the ref blows it up, and once that ball carrier's knee or backside touches turf, everyone pushing over the top of the ball is now in a ruck. Same heap of bodies, different trigger. Back in the day nobody even used the word ruck much, we just said "get over the ball" 😄 As for the punting side of it, honest answer? It won't make you rich. Knowing the difference might help you read why a team keeps it tight and slow through the forwards, which tends to grind the game down, but the TAB doesn't offer a "next ruck or maul" market anyway. For totals or next score you're better off watching which side's getting dominance at the breakdown, that's the bit that actually moves points. Young LeeLegend, you're further along than you think.Seen it all, lads.
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you've all got the guts of it, nothing to laugh at there. one thing i'd add from watching too many cold saturday afternoons at the ground: a ref will call "use it or lose it" at a ruck fairly quick, and a maul that stops going forward gets pulled up too. so if you're having a punt on next score with the TAB, keep in mind a collapsed or immobile maul often hands a scrum and a decent attacking platform to the side defending, which can be worth more than it looks. 😄Been here longer than some have followed.
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Honest answer on the betting side, it barely moves the needle. Rucks and mauls both eat clock, so if anything maul-heavy sides help an under land on the total, but the TAB prices that in already. I've had weekend multis go down on a held-up maul turnover more than once 😭 Know the difference so the commentary makes sense, but don't talk yourself into a bet off it.Bankroll discipline wins.