James Calder Mar 29, 2012:

Luckily ... ... I never played against him. I stuck to cricket and football. Yes Simon, the pace of the game these days is frightening.

Simon Bruni Mar 29, 2012:

@ James re Martin Johnson Wow, he is a legend. My biggest claim to fame is that, as a kid, I played against current Exeter Chiefs stalwart, Richard Baxter. I now watch him play in the Premiership every week, which is rather odd. I wouldn't last 5 minutes on a rugby field these days.

Lisa Mann (asker) Mar 29, 2012:

I'm glad you've hashed that out! Thanks Simon! Unless someone vehemently disagrees with you I'm going with "the breakdown".

James Calder Mar 29, 2012:

No worries Simon That's what the Disagree button's for. No harm in using it at all. I haven't been playing rugby since I was seven but I did go to school with Martin Johnson!!

Simon Bruni Mar 29, 2012:

Sorry about all the disagrees! It probably seems a bit mean, but I am supremely confident about this one having been involved in rugby since I was 7 years old. I would add that in English we never say "breakdowns", but always refer to it as "the breakdown"

James Calder Mar 29, 2012:

I've misread your question. I thought you were looking for the term for a "melé espontánea", which is a ruck. Your translator and Simon are right, "the breakdown/breakdowns" is the correct term. Sorry for confusing the issue.

Lisa Mann (asker) Mar 29, 2012:

Wikipedia made me doubt Well that's what the translator put (breakdowns), and she's good about doing her research so I'm inclined to believe her, but then I read the Wikipedia definition: "Breakdown
The breakdown is a colloquial term for the period immediately after a tackle and before and during the ensuing ruck. During this time teams compete for possession of the ball, initially with their hands and then using feet in the ruck. Most referees will call "ruck" or "hands away" as soon as a ruck is formed. Most infringements take place at the breakdown, owing to the greater variety of possible offences at a breakdown, for example handling in the ruck, killing the ball, offside at the ruck and so on."
And it seemed not to match... (in case you haven't noticed, I know zero about rugby).

James Calder Mar 29, 2012:

The difference between the two ... ... is that in a ruck the ball starts on the ground, and in a maul the ball starts in the hands of a player, to paraphrase the site I used as reference. That fits the description in your Spanish text.

Rucks, mauls and scrums (set pieces where one of the sides has the put-in, awarded by the referee) are collectively referred to as "breakdowns", which are simply a "break" an open play, ie when the ball's not being kicked or passed or someone's runnning with it.
Hope this is clear Lisa.