Passing Grip and Technique

Question
Hi, i am a 17 y/o scrum-half and at the moment i am in the off season, i would really like to strengthen my pass and get that perfect spinning bullet pass into my artillery, so i have a few questions firstly hand grip, i have noticed taht rugby ball sizes vary these days alot, gilbert tend to make narrower balls in their tru flight product range which are used alot in international and domestic comeptitons, but then there is the traditional fatter rugby ball, my first question is what type of hand grip should you use for these? i.e a wider grip with hands towards the points of the ball or hands close together in the mid section of the ball, my second queastion is the angle in which your arms swing when in the motion of giving the pass, my third question is how can you improve your wet weather or dewey conditons passing and my finall question is body position and transfer of weight, it would be greatly appreciated if you could help and posibly provide links? cheers

Answer
Hi Matt,

Okay, personally I hold the ball nearer the ends, and always coach that to juniors, because if you have a hand near the back end, you can get far more power than if it wasn't.

Okay, you want to keep the same grip for all balls, because it will build up the exact same muscles every time you throw that ball, meaning that it will go further, and more accurate (in theory).

Now, you mention that you are unsure of the motion of giving the pass. Myself, I like to throw mine off of the hip, mainly because I have powerful hips from doing karate longer than rugby. I find that if you hold the ball at the side of my body and rocketing the hip into it. This coupled with the hand motion that you should've been taught will be your bread and butter. Hope that helps the bullet pass part.

You want to improve your handling in wet weather. Well, there isn't a lot you can do without resorting to gloves. Holding the ball tighter and keeping it closer to your chest (where it is less likely to slip). I would advise for a scrumhalf like yourself, that you invest in some fingerless rugby gloves. They will provide you with great grip on the ball even in wet weather.

http://www.prosportuk.com/item/Rugby_Equipment/rugby_gloves.html?gclid=CO_yzeCt2...

That's a link if you live in the UK like myself, if not, you might have to find your own link.

You also wanted to know about body position and weight transition. I'm not a professor of biomechanics, but I can give you some hints.

You want to be almost side on to the player you are passing to (even if it's going WAY back), from here, you can get max hip twist. However, you sometimes see scrumhalfs using the 'dive pass' technique. This is useful, but not as useful as getting the precise weight transfer.

You want to be back until you're about to let go of he ball, this will mean that you have all your power behind the ball, and the added hip twist thrown in for good measure.

hope I helped.

-Ian-