Second row

Question
My son is 13 and 5'11 . He is the tallest by far in his school team which is
causing us problems. He is put at number 5 because of his strength but
his number 4 is 6 inches shorter and this discrepancy in height Is  causing
my son severe neck pain in scrummages. It doesn't help that the number
8 doesn't bind on properly and actually grabs the inside of my son's leg
thus restricting his power! We have spoken to his coach but they are not
interested - surely locks should be a similar height? We are uk based

Answer
Actually height is not the issue. When lock bid and then engage with the props their shoulders end up lined up. The forward force of the engage and pushing into the props compounds this effect. The locks are not joined at the hip so each has to figure out their own footing and push based on their own bodies bio-mechanics.

I cannot see why there is neck pain. It is hard to figure it out with out actually seeing your son scrumming. He needs to bind tight to the prop and push against the props "sit - bone" the part of the pelvic bone center of the prop's gluts max. If he pushes too low he winds up pushing against the props upper legg and de-powers the prop. Too high and he pops up over the prop.
The thing about scrumming is that he needs to assert himself. As the old saying goes "it is better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission". He needs to bind and set his feet so he is comfortable. As long as a lock is pushing with power through the prop no coach will complain.

As for the number 8 he isn't too far off just get you son to grab the 8's hand and make him bind by his shorts with his knuckles on his hip. ((the way he should bind to the prop)

Check out these links to assist:

http://youtu.be/Kcx8-w1qvbQ

http://youtu.be/gRNXPomTmiY

Keep using You Tube for tips like this but only use tips from professional coaches / clubs.