One More Original
The Counter Scrum
There's only one Counter Scrum, and this is where it's made. The machine that taught South African rugby that scrummaging is a technique you can train.
Now standard equipment in high-performance gyms across the country.
See the Counter Scrum in Action
Built to punish bad form, not just add weight.
Get your technique right
What is a Counter Scrum?
The Counter Scrum is a resistance machine built to train and test scrummaging technique in rugby forwards. Unlike a scrum sled or a straight weighted push, it's designed to reward force driven from the glutes and resist everything else.
Shift your weight onto your back, your quads, or lean to one side, and the machine barely moves. Get your technique right, drive from the right place, and it starts to work with you.
It's a combination machine: Part tension loading, part free weight, which means resistance builds the way real scrum pressure does, not in a straight line. Coaches use it for two things at once: building scrummaging strength in props who already have the technique, and finding out, in real time, which athletes have the technical foundation to play the position at all.
"It's 110% a technique machine. The better your technique becomes, the easier that machine works."
Werner Dreyer, Founder
Get your technique right
Built to punish bad form, not just add weight.
Most scrum training equipment measures one thing: how much weight you can move. The Counter Scrum measures whether you're moving it correctly. If your main drive isn't coming out of your glutes - if you compensate through your lower back, load your quads instead, or let your body twist to one side - the machine resists and goes nowhere. There's no way to muscle through bad technique. The only way through is the right way through.
That makes it as much a diagnostic as a training tool. Watch someone on the Counter Scrum and you can see their firing pattern in real time, whether force is coming from the right place, whether their body is working as one unit the way a scrum actually demands. For coaches deciding who develops into a prop, that's information no stopwatch or bench number gives them.
As technique improves, the machine gets easier. Not because the resistance changes, but because the athlete stops fighting themselves. It's designed to make correct technique feel like the path of least resistance, which is exactly backwards from most gym equipment.
In practice, that's an adjustable wall-mounted unit with a resistance band and foot-placement attachments, so a coach can set it up for one athlete at a time and run technique work one-on-one — the way it was designed to be coached, not just loaded and left.
Proven Product
Developed in our workshop. Adopted across the country.
The Counter Scrum came out of our workshop years before technique-specific scrum training started making headlines in South African rugby. It wasn't built to chase a trend — there simply wasn't a machine that trained scrummaging technique on its own terms, so we built one, working with players from Pro14 and Super Rugby to get the mechanics right.
Each and every union in South Africa has some of our equipment, and the Counter Scrum in particular is used by the Springboks' conditioning staff — along with club and school programmes across the country. We've also placed equipment with American Rugby. If a competing team doesn't have a Counter Scrum, they're training scrum technique the hard way.
It's since become standard equipment in high-performance rugby gyms across South Africa, used by union and franchise strength and conditioning staff to build and assess prop technique at the highest level. If a competing team doesn't have one, they're training scrum technique the hard way.
Trusted by leading school and university teams
Standard vs. Pro Package
Standard
Price
R22,000.00 ex. VAT
For
One-on-one technique coaching, single-athlete setups
Includes
One-on-one technique coaching, single-athlete setups
Build
Laser-cut steel, precision-welded joints, developed with Pro14/Super Rugby players
Installation & Training
Delivery, installation and training - Quoted separately. Installation guide included for self-install or for your own handyman.
Pro
Price
R25,000.00 ex. VAT
For
Higher-intensity and higher-volume coaching. More resistance options and load variety per session
Includes
Adjustable wall mount with band, foot placement attachments, heavy-duty pro shoulder attachment, heavy-duty grippers and springs, 3-band set, weight collar
Build
Same build, same development pedigree — heavier-duty componentry throughout
Installation & Training
Delivery, installation and training - Quoted separately. Installation guide included for self-install or for your own handyman.
Same build, same development pedigree. Heavier-duty componentry throughout.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Counter Scrum only useful for props?
It's built specifically for scrummaging technique, so props and hookers get the most direct benefit — but any forward working on lower-body drive and technique under load can use it.
Can I fit a Counter Scrum into an existing gym, or does it need a dedicated space?
It's a wall-mounted unit, so it's designed to fit into an existing gym rather than needing a dedicated room — [confirm exact wall space/clearance needed with Werner; not specified on the current product page].
What's the difference between Standard and Pro?
Both are the same wall-mounted Counter Scrum, built to the same standard. Pro Package adds a heavy-duty shoulder attachment, heavier-duty grippers and springs, and a 3-band set. Built for programmes putting the machine through higher loads or more athletes per week.
Do you install it and train our coaching staff on how to use it?
No. Delivery and installation are quoted separately, so you only pay for what you need. Every Counter Scrum comes with an installation guide, so you can install it yourself or hand it to a local handyman. If you’d like us to handle it, ask for a quote.
What's the warranty on the Counter Scrum?
Same as everything we build: manufacturing defects are repaired or replaced, and equipment that's been abused is repaired as cost-efficiently as possible rather than refused. See Warranty for the full policy.
Is this the same Counter Scrum used by Springboks/unions?
Yes, it is the exact same one. We can customize yours to fit your brand, school or club.
One machine for an existing setup or part of a full facility build, we'll help you work out what fits. Talk to us about your gym, your squad, and your space.