A media scrum is an impromptu press conference, often held immediately outside an event such as a legislative session or meeting. Scrums play a central role in Canadian politics and also occur in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. The same term is now also used for similar gatherings of journalists in the United States. == Origin of the term == A scrum in rugby is a procedure to restart the game. From the outside, it may seem to involve players from both teams clustering tightly around the ball competing for possession. Analogously, in a media scrum reporters cluster around a public...

A scrum (short for scrummage) is a method of restarting play in rugby that involves players packing closely together with their heads down and attempting to gain possession of the ball. Depending on whether it is in rugby union or rugby league, the scrum is utilized either after an accidental infringement or when the ball has gone out of play. Scrums occur more often, and are now of greater importance, in union than in league. Starting play from the line of scrimmage in gridiron football is derived from the scrum. In both sports, a scrum is formed by the players who are designated forwards binding...