GENERAL CONCEPTS
The key principles of winning rugby:
Gain/Regain/Maintain Possession
Move Forward
Provide Support
Maintain Pressure
are well known -- or they should be since they are on the first page
of almost every coaching manual.
Likewise the elements of each of these principles are generally well understood by players and coaches. It could be expected then that coaching would be aimed at helping players master as many of these components as possible.
However, life, sadly, is finite, training time is even more so and we can't cover everything. Thus, it is necessary to make choices. Obviously, it makes sense to coach components that we believe will prove most useful and I can easily understand how scrums, lineouts, backline handling and ruck and maul drills receive as much attention as they do.
However, before turning to the details of these activities I believe
that we should not forget a few core components which, although they are
apparently simple and obvious, are essential to attacking rugby. To my
mind these are:
Ticker
Moving forward -- I know it's a Principle of Play but there are aspects
of moving forward that don't get much attention.
Taking the ball at pace -- and delivering the ball so that it is taken
at pace.
Using optimum body position for tackle, ruck, maul and scrum.
Timing
Communication
Concentration
"TICKER" CONQUERS ALL
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the quality known as
"ticker" or "heart" or "team spirit" is the single most important factor in rugby success. It is upon ticker that every other factor is founded whether it is fitness,
ball skills, tackling, cover, support, or opportunistic attack.
Teams can win a game without ticker and can lose one even if they
have it but if they do have it David can conquer Goliath every time and they may lose but they're never beaten.
THUS
For coaches: Building ticker in your squad is your most crucial task.
For players: Your contribution to your team's ticker is the most
important thing you can bring. You must always remember that ticker is
a fragile quality. It must be nourished and cherished at all times and
you must be be scrupulously careful never to diminish it by your word,
deed or gesture.
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Ticker
The whys and wherefores of the coach's responsibility for building ticker,
motivation, heart or whatever you want to call it in the squad are the
source of considerable discussion. Obviously, I believe that it is the
coach's first priority. The team must have it to be successful (in the best sense) on any level and that means that nobody, player, coach or alicadoo, must ever do anything to diminish it.
Building ticker is a tricky exercise. Obviously, ticker is specific;
ticker-building efforts which work with one team almost inevitably fall
flat with another, what works at the beginning of the season looks foolish
as the play-offs near, etc.
Here are a few general rules:
1. If a demonstration of ticker occurs it must be identified
AND publicized.
2. If a ticker-destroying action takes place -- there are thousands
of examples I can think of here ranging from favoritism to selfish sloth
but all of them actions which serve to divide the team -- it must be dealt
with and promptly. The coach must face this situation and involve the players
in facing it. A "who cares" attitude betrays loss of ticker.
3. Every team has "spirit leaders" (SLs) who, knowingly or not, set the attitude
of the team. SLs must be won over to the side of ticker-enhancement. If
the SLs cannot be won over they must be either removed or nullified. (NOTE:
The coach is the most easily identified SL!)
4. "Empowerment" (I hate the word but can't for the life of me think
of a synonym.) is one of the tools that can be used to ensure that SLs
are on the right side. John Hart's approach to coaching the All Blacks
included making individual players responsible for aspects of play -- restarts,
line-outs etc. His critics saw this as a management technique which was
most useful to him when blame was to be apportioned! My own belief is that
he was right in a sense. To build ticker individual responsibility must
be pushed as far down-hill as it will reasonably go until, as perhaps an
unattainable goal, every player is not only empowered but KNOWS that he
is empowered.
5. Ticker-building opportunities occur EVERY time the team gets together.
Trainings included. When you hear a prop suggesting three more hard scrums
on the machine, a back insisting on running the handling exercise again
until it's right or somebody calling for one more set of sit-ups and getting
enthusiastic concurrence from his colleagues you know that you have a ticker-building situation. Mock-courts and team piss-ups where the entire squad is involved may also contribute. Coaches may expect to be included in such social activities, in fact they may think that they should be involved, but my strong feeling
is that a coach's best role in them is to ensure if he can that the exercise is indeed ticker-building and, having done so, to retire gracefully.
6. Dr. Johnson said "The form of government is of no consequence to the individual." I take this to mean that in isolation an individual has no politics -- only self-interest. Politics requires a group and ticker (as I'm using the term) requires the context of the team. A supremely self-motivated player may well contribute to the team's short term success by scoring a spectacular try but team ticker is only built when both he AND the team know (are aware, believe) that the try was scored for the collective good and not just for the individual's self gratification. Thus the type of motivation that works for sprinters and boxers is useful in rugby to lift an individual out of a rut but it is team ticker that lifts a losing team back into the game.
7. In my opinion there are few experiences that anybody can have that
are more valuable than to be part of a team with ticker. It is life-affirming
in every way and one which remains satisfying and rewarding throughout
our entire lives. It is, I believe, the very pinnacle of the rugby experience.
Moving
forward
Moving forward is a principle of play.
Obviously moving forward is a "good thing" since it moves you closer to the opposition try-line but it also has many
hidden advantages.
A player or team moving forward with the ball has the major advantage of momentum. This advantage must be seized, husbanded and protected at all costs and in all situations.
Crossing the gain line with the ball multiplies the value of the advantage by at least two because defenders must retreat and turn before they can attempt to stop the move forward. (In the same way, stopping an attack in front of the gainline diminishes its potency by a factor of two.)
There is simply no substitute for moving forward and parallel to the
touchlines. The second best option is probably to stand still! Moving sideways
comes a very poor third just ahead of going backwards.
This concept is
so important that care must be taken never to set up a situation which
has a chance of resulting in sideways/backwards motion. A No 8 deciding to attempt a pick-up move from a scrum that has hooked but is being driven back is the most obvious of such situations. (It is such a basic fact that such an attempt is doomed to disaster and I am gobsmacked that 99% of all No.8s seem never to have heard it.)
Hence the rule: Aim to move forward under all circumstances. Only use
No 8 moves if the scrum is going forward. Note that a fortuitous hook against the head is usually the perfect opportunity for a No. 8 move since it almost certainly means that the scrum is moving forward.
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Taking the
ball at pace
The entire concept of taking the ball at pace (TTBAP) is foreign to many players.
In almost every game you will see forwards lurking behind the ruck or maul who are ready, willing and able to launch themselves across the gain-line but because they are effectively static when the ball gets to them they can't build up the pace necessary to get there before the defense. You'll also see backs who carefully adjust their pace to
exactly match the pace of the ball-carrier so that when they receive the ball they are travelling no faster (and usually slightly slower) than the passer.
At it's most basic level TTBAP requires that the receiver is
actually moving forward! Not to be sneezed at under any circumstances.
On a more sophisticated level, moving forward to TTBAP gives the receiver
a major advantage because it makes defense doubly difficult.
Having said all this, I have to admit that putting the concept into
general practice is not easy. I've found that explaining the concept to
players in the abstract simply doesn't seem to have much impact. This may
be because using the concept does not guarantee a break, it just improves
the chance of it and players are rightly skeptical. "Oh yeah? How much?"
is what they say. (I suppose they also know that there's going to be more
work involved when the coach introduces a concept likely to change the
way they've been playing.)
At training I try to concentrate on drills where the receiver MUST move forward
to take the ball -- again always bearing in mind that these must be set
up carefully to defeat the natural tendency of the passer to always pass into
the body of the receiver. Old habits do indeed die hard.
Correct placement of runners behind the ruck and maul is also useful.
I've found that requiring the runner(s) to set up directly behind the scrum-half
is the first step here. Then, if the scrum-half does his job, he will deliver
to the runner moving forward fastest and on the best vector. Runners too
far forward and/or static will, and, of course, should, be ignored. If
all the potential runners are static or too far forward the scrum-half
will usually become vocal -- and quickly!
In the backs the, receiver must be properly placed to accelerate
as
the ball-carrier makes the pass. Thus, instead of running at a steady
pace he must get used to moving in bursts alternately lagging 2m or 3m
behind the ball-carrier and accelerating so as to pass him immediatly upon
receiving the ball. This has been described to me as the "skipping rope"
or "sling-shot" effect, the idea being that the receiver seems to use the
speed of the ball-carrier to spring-board (excuse the mixed metaphors!)
himself forward.
As an afterthought, my strong feeling is that some back moves, particularly
loops, which were presumably developed to "insert an extra man" actually
work because they
cause TTBAP situations. The looper or extra man joining the line HAS to accelerate to be in time to receive the pass.
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Optimum
body position
All you have to do is ask the squad to move the scrum machine to see
that every player instinctively knows the body position that will deliver
the most horizontal force with the least effort.
Why then in rucks and mauls are half the players found either upright
or in the traditional inverted L-shape which, while it takes almost no effort,
delivers almost no force either?
It's one of life's great mysteries -- on a par with why the wiper blade
on the driver's side always wears out first!
The
point of joining a maul is to drive it or attempt to isolate the
ball-carrier. The
point of driving for the line in the best possible body
position is to score.
One way to encourage optimum body position is to set up a drills which
penalize players e.g. for joining a ruck or maul where they're not needed.
This has the effect of energizing the players who are needed and
teaches the late-comers to make decisions. Should I join and shove or would
I be more effective setting up to make or support a run? Needless to say
if the player does join but doesn't contribute he gets a double penalty!
Pick-and-go drills where penalties are given to both the "blower" who
doesn't shift his defender and the "goer" who is knocked back also work.
Involving the rest of the squad who are not actually participating by having
then act as the jury to call the penalties adds to the value of these drills.
This use of bystanders as a jury is akin to encouraging the pack to
hold a private feed-back session during the obligatory "trot around the
posts" between each set of scrums on the machine. The players know
who wasn't in the best position or giving his all -- for a myriad of reasons
they don't usually tell, though.
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Communication
Of all the skills that must be imparted the ability to communicate is
one of the most important. Players must understand what has happened, what's
happening and what's going to happen next and the only way for them to
do this is to talk it up. Unit members must keep DMs informed, DMs must
transmit plans to both their own unit and to the rest of the team. The
Captain and the DMs must regularly assess progress or lack of it, propose
changes, decide on them and communicate the decision. The fear of speaking
out of turn must be discouraged -- even the most junior member of the team
may come up with the game-winning nugget of information.
At the same time it must be stressed that talk on the field should be
either informational or inspirational. The disparaging word is a great
eroder of ticker and must be avoided at all costs. Thus, if someone or
some unit didn't perform in a specific phase of play complaining doesn't
help but a suggestion as to how to improve often does.
It is only the exceptionally
thick player who doesn't know when he has screwed up and it is only the
exceptionally thick or the exceptionally arrogant player who doesn't have
remorse for his failure. What the vast majority of players need at times
like these is to be reminded that they're still part of the team and still
have an important part to play -- and here's how to do it...
The habit of communication begins on the training field. Every drill
and every exercise should be accompanied by players passing on what they're
going to do, what their team-mates should do etc.
Timing
Timing is everything.
Knowing the precise moment to run, pass, tackle, make the hit in the
scrum, throw-in, or cycle the ball is almost always the difference between
success and failure.
Unfortunately, timing is hard if not imppossible
to coach since it is a skill which every player must learn for himself.
I suppose the best we can do is provide guidelines and standards so
that individual players can measure their success. We can also remind players
of the importance of correct timing and, when they get it right, make sure
they know it.
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Concentration
It is impossible to over-emphasize the importance of concentration applied
to every aspect of the game.
Take ball skills. Basketball coaches routinely
encourage new (and not so new!) players to buy a ball and carry it around
everywhere they go. I do the same. Players need to get used to the rugby
ball's eccentricity, its feel, the way the seams are arranged, its smell,
in short to become totally familiar with it. Pass it, throw it, kick it,
dribble it, use it as a pillow! Just as baseball, cricket and tennis champions
see the seam on the ball great rugby players develop a mystical relationship
with it. They all know what the ball will do.
This is neither second-sight
nor luck -- it is total familiarity and it is the result of concentration.
Most training sessions begin with handling drills. These may be as easy
or as difficult as is appropriate to bring the team to the level of confidence
and enthusiasm required but they should share the single constant criterion
of absolute concentration and striving for perfection.
Example -- Passing SkillsLike every player of my
generation I was taught to hold the ball between my palms and to pass by
swinging my arms across my body while pushing the other hip away to balance
the movement. This was supposed not only to deliver the ball properly but
also to wrongfoot defenders -- although I've never been able to satisfy myself
that the latter was true! It was, however, an elegant and satisfying movement
to do.
Sadly, today's game rarely allows the time or space for this type
of ballet. Instead, today's player must be taught to hold the ball in
his FINGERTIPS and rather than swing their arms to move his wrists and
forearms sharply with as little torso movement as possible. This movement
has the minimum effect on running speed. Greenwood's proposition of "guide
hand" and "push hand" is very useful particularly as the resulting movement
can be gradually refined until a spiral is achieved. Ball-handling drills
should emphasize this method of passing again with the objective of every
pass by every player being executed perfectly.
As I mentioned above the fact that the laws require that the ball not
be passed forward
does not mean that the ball must be passed back!
In order to ensure that the ball carrier is moving forward with maximum
effect
EVERY pass must pressure the receiver to take it at pace and hence
to have the best chance of crossing the gain line. In attack this means
flat passes. Passing backwards is an indulgence that demonstrates the passer's
incompetence, insults the receiver and costs the team ground and this point
must be emphasised and reiterated every time every player passes the ball
-- including practice!.
It would be interesting to know whether more passes are actually dropped
through bad passing than bad catching. The argument would be put that a
good catcher concentrating properly should be able to catch anything thrown
at him so it's never the passer's fault.
Nonsense, I say, even if do have
to admit that receivers regularly drop the ball even when the pass is perfect.
It seems to me that, like many things in rugby, this is more a failure
in preparation (which presupposes concentration) than technique. There
are those few superhumans who do seem to be able to catch anything instinctively
but I think that the great majority of players need to prepare.
Take the case of the average unpressured 15 under a hanging garryowen.
He knows that he has to be under the ball, he certainly studies its flight
and unless he's totally out of position he can usually get himself into
place before the ball lands.
What happens next? He either catches it or
drops it. But why should he drop it? OK, there are sudden gusts of wind
and passing seagulls that can deflect the ball but these sorts of events
have got to be rare. It has to be failure of either preparation/concentration
or technique. The technique is not hard to learn nor particularly difficult
to do. It can be done standing flat-footed on the ground or high in the
air -- watch the ball, arms up, pull it in to the chest etc. But what often
happens? 15 takes his eye off the ball, dithers about and snatches at it
at waist level, knock-on -- lack of mental preparation!
I mean by this lack of both the ability to rehearse the required action
mentally and to execute it while putting all other thoughts aside (in this
case the time available to mentally prepare is not an issue) i.e. concentration.
Returning to the pass where the time available is much less: How can
we reduce the number of dropped passes? It seems to me only by practice
with constant correction of technique and, much more important, by continually
stressing the preparation/concentration it takes to execute perfectly.
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