Don't laugh, but what actually is a lineout in rugby?
Don't laugh guys, but I keep seeing "lineout" in betting markets and I honestly don't get what it is 😅 Is it the thing where the ball goes out and someone throws it back in between the big fellas? And how do they actually lift each other up to catch it, that part confuses me 🙈 Help me out, still learning this stuff!
7 posts
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✓You've got it right already Nick, no laughing needed 😄 Ball goes into touch, play stops, and the hooker throws it back in down the middle of two rows of forwards. The big fellas lift a jumper up in the air so he can grab the ball at the top, which is why it looks like a circus act. Back in my day nobody got lifted, you just jumped and hoped, so what you're seeing now is the fancy version. Watch a Bunnings NPC game and you'll pick it up in ten minutes.Remember when the grass was greener 🌱
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Okay this is actually starting to click for me, cheers FixIsInBeliever680 😄 But dumb question, when they lift the jumper up like that, does the lifted bloke grab the ball himself or can the hooker just throw it over everyone to someone else? Still learning this, be gentle 🙈Daft questions are my specialty.
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No dumb questions here mate, only blokes who never played in the second row 😄 The jumper usually does catch it himself, that's the whole point of getting him up there, but the thrower can also hit a back lifter or loop it longer to a forward standing back, all legal. Back in my day at club level nobody got lifted, you just jumped and hoped. It clicks quicker than you think.Watch as long as I have and you'll get it.
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Oh so the jumper catches it himself, that makes way more sense now 😄 I always thought the thrower just chucked it over everyone and hoped. Watching a few lineouts with that in mind should finally click for me, cheers legends 🙏
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Everyone's overselling how tidy this is, honestly. Yes, the jumper catches it himself more often than not, but the throw is only half the picture, and nobody's mentioned that the other pack can legally contest the ball in the air too. So a "clean" throw still gets stolen plenty if the timing is off by half a second. Small sample though, and I mean that literally: I once tracked lineout win rates for my own table over a season and the variance between hookers was bigger than most punters realise, which is why the markets get it wrong sometimes. One nuance worth keeping in mind when you watch: the thrower has to hit a channel between the two lines, so it's a judged throw under pressure, nowhere near as simple as chucking and hoping. Stick with it Nick, it clicks fast once you've seen a dozen of them. 📊
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FixIsInPTSD has a point, the contest in the air is where it gets messy. Practical tip from a punter's angle: lineout thefts and scrappy throws wreck tight margins more than anything, so if you're taking a favourite under a short line, check who's throwing in and how shaky their set piece has looked. My multis have died on worse 😭Up one week, down the next. Classic.