The shape
Two forwards fold into the ruck as pillar and post: the pillar tight to the near side of the ruck and the post a metre wider, both square to the attack. The rest fan out in a flat line with roughly equal gaps, late-arriving forwards filling from the ruck outwards and the backs holding the wider channels. The scrum-half or a wing drops in as the sweeper, five to ten metres behind the line, covering the chip and the break.
Roles
- Front row. Pillar and post at each ruck. Stay low and shut down the pick-and-go and the short carry off 9.
- Locks. Inside defenders beside the post, taking the first forward carry and folding to the next ruck.
- Back row. 7 is usually first to the next ruck and the key tackler, 8 takes the inside channel and 6 folds to the far side.
- Scrum-half. Sweeper when a wing is up, or marks their 9; talks the line through from behind.
- Fly-half and centres. 10 takes their 10 or the forward on the inside channel; 12 is the hard tackler; 13 leads the drift and calls the line speed.
- Wings and full-back. The open wing stays up until the ball goes wide, the blind wing sweeps when 9 is in the line, the full-back covers the kick.
Strengths
- Pillar and post take away the simplest attacking options at the ruck.
- A line that goes up together leaves no dog-legs for runners to hit.
- The sweeper gives the line the confidence to push up.
Weaknesses
- Slow folders leave a gap at the ruck and the pillar gets isolated.
- A line that drifts early gives the inside shoulder away.
- Line speed without a sweeper invites a chip or a grubber in behind.
When to use it
Every match once the set piece is over. In your own 22 the sweeper comes closer and line speed matters most; in the opposition half the sweeper can drop deeper because the chip is less dangerous. On a wet day tackles are the thing, so press less, tackle more and never jump out of the line. At under 12 and below, one pillar and a simple flat line is enough, and the first lesson is folding to the ball together.
What to coach in training
- Fold and fill: a coach moves a tackle bag as the ruck, and the forwards fold and set the pillar and post each time, calling "pillar", "post", "fill".
- Line speed on a whistle: the whole line up and back as one, with a coach checking nobody is ahead or behind; a kicker then chips in behind so the sweeper and full-back agree who takes it.
- Tackle technique at the level the age grade allows: shoulder, head position, leg drive; kneeling to walking to jogging before anything live.
Works well against
It copes well with a pod attack that carries around the ruck, because the pillar and post are set for exactly that. Against a two-playmaker attack with width, line speed and 13 leading the drift force the ball sideways and the sweeper takes the kick in behind. It also handles a team that relies on one midfield runner, since 12 and the folding back row cover the inside shoulders.
