Struggle at the ball with self-contained spirit (5)
I believe the answer is:
scrum
'struggle' is the definition.
(I have seen 'Disorderly struggle ' mean 'scrum' so perhaps 'struggle' could also mean 'scrum')
'with self-contained spirit' is the wordplay.
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'self contained' becomes 'sc' (abbreviation).
'spirit' becomes 'rum' (alcoholic spirit).
'sc' put next to 'rum' is 'SCRUM'.
'at the ball' is the link.
This may not be correct. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for scrum that I've seen before include "brawl" , "riotous struggle" , "Rugby-players crouch here" , "Milling crowd" , "Forwards at rugby union" .)