Scrumdown

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A formation in rugby where players pack closely together with their heads down to compete for the ball between the two teams
2. A situation in rugby where opposing players closely engage in a structured formation to contest possession of the ball that is placed on the ground
3. A physical contest in rugby characterized by a tight grouping of players from each team, attempting to gain control of the ball held at the scrum

Etymology: "Scrumdown" combines "scrum" and "down", and the second part describes the action. A scrum is short for "scrummage", an alteration of "scrimmage", a word for a confused struggle or skirmish. Rugby took that sense of a crowded melee and turned it into a set piece, so the tightly packed group of forwards became the scrum. The "down" refers to the way players get into position: they crouch, bind together and lower their heads until the two packs meet. "Scrum down" is the verb phrase for forming the scrum, and the noun names the formation itself, the moment the packs lock and contest the ball. The sense of lowering the body is the same one found in phrases like "hunker down".