A 5 metre scrum is a scrum set five metres out from the try line, the closest a scrum can legally form to the line. It is one of the highest-pressure moments in rugby union: eight forwards on each side, one shove from a try or a turnover. This guide explains the law behind it, every situation that produces one, how teams attack and defend it, and what it reveals about a player.
What is a 5 metre scrum?
Every scrum in rugby union forms at a mark chosen by the referee, and that mark must sit inside the area the laws call the scrum zone. The scrum zone stops 5 metres short of each try line and 5 metres in from each touchline. So when an infringement happens on the try line, or a stoppage happens in the in-goal area, the referee cannot set the scrum where it happened. It moves out to the nearest legal point: five metres from the line. That restart is what players, coaches and commentators call a 5 metre scrum.
You can see the limit on any pitch. World Rugby's Law 1 requires a dashed line five metres from, and parallel to, each try line. Referees use it to place the scrum, and front-row players use it to judge how far they have to drive.
Why scrums stop at the 5 metre line
The law serves two purposes. First, it gives the defending team space: a scrum set on the try line would leave defenders with nowhere to stand and turn every attacking scrum into an almost automatic try. Second, it keeps the contest a genuine contest of strength and technique, because the attacking pack has to win five metres of ground before it can score.
Law 19 also adjusts the offside line near the try line. When a team's hindmost foot in the scrum is within five metres of its own try line, that team's players who are not in the scrum use the try line as their offside line. In practice, the defending backs and scrum-half have to stand in or right on their in-goal area, which is why a scrum this close to the line compresses the defence so tightly.
When is a 5 metre scrum awarded?
It is not a separate restart with its own rulebook. It is an ordinary scrum whose mark has been pushed out to the scrum zone. The situations below produce one most often.
| What happened | Restart | Who throws in |
|---|---|---|
| Knock-on or forward pass within 5 m of the try line | Scrum on the 5 metre line, level with the infringement | Team that did not knock on or pass forward |
| Defending team carries or plays the ball into its own in-goal, then is held up or the ball is made dead | 5 metre scrum | Attacking team |
| Referee cannot tell which team grounded the ball first in in-goal | Scrum on the 5 metre line, level with where the ball was grounded | Attacking team |
| Penalty or free kick close to the line where the team chooses a scrum | Scrum at the nearest point in the scrum zone | Non-offending team |
The second row of that table is the case that catches spectators out. Under Law 21, how the ball got into in-goal decides the restart. If the defenders took it there themselves, perhaps by carrying a loose ball back over their own line, and it is then made dead or held up, the attackers get the scrum and the throw-in. The defending team has given up ground on its own line, so the law hands the attack a set piece right in front of it.
When it is a try-line drop-out instead
For years, an attacker held up over the line usually led to a scrum on the 5 metre line, with the attacking team throwing in. That changed with the goal-line drop-out, first trialled by World Rugby and made full law on 1 July 2022. Now, when the attacking team takes the ball into in-goal and is held up, or the ball is grounded or made dead by a defender, play restarts with a drop-kick from the defending team's try line instead.
The aim was to reward good goal-line defence and reduce the number of high-risk scrums. World Rugby now calls the restart a try-line drop-out, and the July 2026 law updates extended it to some in-goal situations that used to be 22 metre drop-outs. The simple test is to ask who took the ball into in-goal:
- The attacking team did: usually a try-line drop-out to the defence.
- The defending team did: usually a 5 metre scrum to the attack.
Pushover tries and penalty tries
Under Law 19, a scrum ends the moment the ball in it reaches or crosses the try line. If an attacker is first to ground it, usually the number 8 dropping on the ball, the try stands under Law 8. That is the pushover try, the purest reward for a dominant scrum.
Defenders cannot stop the drive illegally. Collapsing the scrum on purpose, standing up or slipping a bind is a penalty offence. If the referee decides that foul play prevented a probable try, Law 8 allows a penalty try: seven points, awarded between the posts with no conversion. The offending player must also be shown a yellow card or sent off. That is why a close-range scrum where the defence is going backwards so often ends with a front-row forward in the sin bin.
Attacking and defending a 5 metre scrum
Attacking options
- The drive: the pack keeps the ball at the number 8's feet and drives for the line, aiming for a pushover try or a penalty.
- Number 8 pick-up: once the scrum is going forward, the 8 detaches with the ball and dives or carries over before the defending back row can break off.
- Scrum-half snipe: the 9 attacks the blind side, where only the defending flanker and wing stand between the 9 and the line.
- Strike move: the ball goes quickly to the backs while the defending backs are pinned on their try line by the offside rule above.
Defending
The defending pack's first job is to survive the hit and stay square without collapsing, because a collapse this close to the line invites a penalty try. Defenders often aim to win the "hit" and push the scrum backwards or across, hoping to win a penalty against the attacking front row or to force a reset. Behind the scrum, the defending backs must stay on their try line until the ball is out, so line speed has to come from the first step, not from standing deep.
What a 5 metre scrum tells a scout
For recruiters, this is a revealing passage of play. A tighthead prop who holds a scrum on their own line under pressure, or a pack that wins penalties going forward, is showing exactly the skill professional clubs find hardest to buy. That is why front-row players with good clips of close-range scrums stand out in a rugby highlight reel, and why strength numbers like those in our deadlift standards by position matter for numbers 1 to 3. If you are new to the positions involved, our guide to rugby team numbers explains who does what in the scrum.
It is also where our name comes from. 5 Metre Scrum is named after rugby's last set piece before the try line, the point where preparation and pressure decide the outcome. The platform gives players a free rugby CV with combine stats and video, so that when the pressure moment comes, the right scouts already know who you are.
Frequently asked questions
What is a 5 metre scrum in rugby?
A 5 metre scrum is a scrum set on the dashed line five metres from the try line. Scrums cannot form any closer, so an infringement or stoppage on or behind the try line is brought out to that point.
Why is a scrum taken 5 metres from the line?
World Rugby's laws limit scrums to the scrum zone, which stops 5 metres short of each try line and 5 metres in from touch. This gives defenders room to stand and makes the attacking pack win ground before it can score.
Who gets the put-in at a 5 metre scrum?
It depends on what caused it. After a knock-on or forward pass, the non-offending team throws in. If the defending team took the ball into its own in-goal and it was made dead or held up, the attacking team throws in.
Is a held-up try still a 5 metre scrum?
Not when the attacking team carried the ball over. Since the goal-line drop-out became full law on 1 July 2022, an attacker held up in in-goal leads to a try-line drop-out by the defending team. A 5 metre scrum still applies when the defending team took the ball into in-goal.
Sources and further reading
- World Rugby: Law 19, Scrum
- World Rugby: Law 21, In-goal
- World Rugby: Law 8, Scoring (penalty tries)
- World Rugby: Law 1, The ground (pitch markings)
- World Rugby: 2022 law changes summary (goal-line drop-out)
- World Rugby: July 2026 law updates