Ian Diddams

In these four essential guides, Diddams covers some of the key positions of rugby. Must reads for anyone considering playing first division.

Guide to Playing Scrum Half

The scrum half is in essence the lynch pin of a rugby team. It is his/her function to link the awesome power of the pack with the lithe, silky skills of the three-quarters.

Guide to Playing Prop

Prop forwards are the cornerstone of a rugby team. Let there be no misunderstanding; whilst the move is towards faster play, and hence more mobile and swifter players, you cannot play rugby union as it stands today without props.

Guide to Playing Flanker

Open side flanker is arguably the greatest position to play. Or so said my mate Backie to me one afternoon as we sat on the bus to the club. “Where else” he mused, “can one find oneself delving into the depths of a maul one minute, then speeding through a gap, ball in hand heading for the line the next?”

Guide to Playing Wing

Wingers are the forgotten men of rugby. There they stand, miles from the play; onlookers to the fun and games that elude them week in and week out. Voyeurs to the rolling, sweating masses. Bystanders in a murky world of grips, and binds, and jockstraps. And this is just in the changing room…