At its core, the lineout is a shell game.

Simple in theory, but endlessly complex when you start to look into it. If you can make the opposition think the pea is under the wrong “shell” by hook or by crook, then you are sure to win the shell game, for this round at least. At their highest level, lineouts are a battle for space between multiple units of jumpers and lifters but when you’re just starting off building a lineout for your underage, school or club team, you need to get rock-solid fundamentals in place.

In practice, this means identifying your core jumpers, lifters and, crucially, your hooker and building around them. Too much is made of the hooker’s role in a failed lineout – it’s a lot more complex than just his throw going wrong – but there’s no denying that the hooker’s ability to accurately deliver a number of different throws is a vital component of any lineout from underage all the way up to test level.

It isn’t enough to have one good throw as a hooker, you have to have at least seven different shapes and distances comfortably in your skillset to be effective.

I’ll list them in this article as a starting point, and combine them with the lifts and positions that they are used to target.

First, we’ll get our terminology in place so we know exactly what we’re talking about from a positional sense. The 2/4/6 numbering system doesn’t refer to numbers on the back or specific players. We need to look at them like like they’re targets for the hooker to aim at.

The hash spaces between the colour coded targets are half spaces that determine the jump target – whether the jumper is jumping forward, straight up or backwards. At a club I worked with in Italy, the colour coding for throw targets was based on the above system. A throw to a player jumping forward at 4 was called “Arancione orso” – “Orange Bear” because bears always go forward – and a throw to six going backwards was “verde canguro” – “Green Kangaroo” because kangaroos can’t go backwards, which is a strange, but true, fact. Jumping straight up at 2 was called “rosso razzo” – “Red Rocket” because rockets go straight up. The calls don’t have to make sense, they just have to be memorable. Red Rocket. Orange Bear. Green Kangaroo. Colour sets the position, animal sets the profile of the throw.

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As a hooker, it isn’t enough to practice straightness and varying distance as each of these targets are accessed most successfully with shaped and pace tailored throws, rather than purely judging distance and timing. A throw to a player jumping straight up at 4 is completely different from throwing to a player jumping forward at 2.

Throwing to targets means that you aren’t committed to always throwing to full lineouts. You could have five, four or even two jumpers in your lineout and you would still be throwing to the same targets.

We’ll start with the big rocks of any hooker’s throwing game and build our throws from there as we go forward with this series.

Throwing To 2 – Red Bear

Starting Point: 5m line.
Body Profile of Jumper: Leaning forward, arms bent, opponent side shoulder leading in to absorb interference.
Throw Characteristics: Hard, flat, low.

Our jumper is going to be coming forward, ahead of the opponent and the key for the hooker is to ensure speed and dynamism on their throw. This is where your throwing technique needs to be tight, flat and fast. Any “fat” on your throw – defined as lateral movement of the “nose” of the ball – will slow down the throw and give the opposition a chance to attack our jumper.

Throwing To 2 – Red Rocket

Starting Point: 7m approx
Body Profile of Jumper: Straight up, arms bent, opponent side shoulder leading in to absorb interference.
Throw Characteristics: High lob, hand position post throw should look similar to the aftermath of a basketball free throw.

This is a risky enough throw but it allows you more mauling opportunities and ball off the top action than the previous throw while minimizing the opposition competition to their front pod. The biggest hurdle here will be the accuracy of the throw because any fat on the throw from a pace or height perspective gives the opposition time to attack our launch pod if they choose to launch forward. Our hooker has to hit our jumper at the peak of his jump. If you have good-sized jumpers and lifters (their shoulder height/lift span on their arms sets a “floor” for your jumper) and excellent timing between launch pod and hooker, you can use this throw if you’re confident of a jumping advantage over your opponent.

Throwing to Four – Orange Kangaroo

Starting Point: 13m approx
Body Profile of Jumper: Use the step back to launch backwards, arms straight, leaning into back lifter.
Throw Characteristics: Medium lob, speed, hand position post throw should look similar to the aftermath of a basketball free throw, target is on the hands not at the hands. Ball finish should be close to horizontal to aid the catch.

This is a technically difficult throw because it combines a lob to beat any counter jumps at Orange Rocket with enough speed to travel the extra distance to make our jumper. The key to this throw is shaking off the opposition counter launch, getting a strong back launch (you need your strongest lifter in place for this one) and making sure you don’t ice your hooker by taking too long to get into the air. Ideally, launching Orange Kangaroo with enough deception will allow you to take this one uncontested if you time it correctly.

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That’s just a few of the throw profiles that we’ll want from our hooker with a focus on the “lob” aspect of the throw once we go to more complex shapes outside of Red Bear. If you can master these three throws – flat throw, high lob and then fast lob – you’ll have a basis to build for more complex throws.

UP NEXT: Lineout Course #2 :: Decoy Movements and Jump Mechanics