Rugby Coaching

RUGBY PHILOSOPHY

" The basic pattern in the game is that of alternate concentration and dispersal. The laws are so designed that there's a constant clearing of the field, with a large number of players concentrated in a small area - at scrum, line-out, ruck or maul - so that there's a large amount of space for the remaining players."
Jim Greenwood Total Rugby.
When you watch your side play and you see how much fatigue effects their performance as the game progresses it is a sobering realisation that our game actually only has the ball in play some 20 minutes or so due to its stop-go nature! It also should make you realise that the more efficiently your players use their energy the less fatigue should impinge on their performance. Part of that efficient use of energy can be fostered by a clearer understanding of the game. Watch your players. Do they do simple things well? This game of ours really is quite simple. Think about it - if fatigue is the greatest enemy of performance then the best way to break down a defence is to induce fatigue in it (don't allow it to rest i.e. continuity in play). Doing simple things well should reduce mistakes, less mistakes mean less stoppages (the ref only blows the whistle for mistakes), less stoppages mean more fatigue, more fatigue means poorer performance. But that will happen to both attackers and defenders I hear you cry. True - but if the attacking player is doing the simple things well - running straight, using width, avoiding contact he will not be working as hard as the defending player who is having to chase the ball around the pitch. (think about it - how hard have your players worked if they have good run lines and can pass well - they could move the ball the width of the pitch in 3 or 4 passes - the defending players will need to chase the width of the pitch)
Understanding the game allows players to develop expectancies - they know what is likely to happen in certain situations, this allows anticipation to give them an edge over the player who doesn't understand the game and who is constantly having to react to what has just happened. So just what do your players need to understand?
Gain line
Tackle line
Offside line
Attack line
Remember, these occur at every stop-go situation so your players must understand them and how to take advantage of them if they are to be effective.
Gain line and tackle line are of prime importance. Each possession means that your team will move the ball back behind the gain line and then try to go forward and promote the ball beyond the gain line. To do so they must take the ball through the tackle line. This means that at each possession you risk losing the ball between the tackle line and the gain line if you go forward!!
Fig 1
Clearly the offside line gives the defence some potential advantage - they can start close to the gain line and so try to push the tackle line further into the attacks side of the gain line. For the same reason turn-over ball clearly makes getting over the gain line more likely as the "defence" has an attack depth to it, and the "attack" is flat and so close to the gain line. Ask your players where they would try to cross the gain line - close in, up the middle, out wide - for both planned possession and turn over to check how much they understand (ask yourself too - it's the same worthwhile check!)
Once your team has gain line it has a set of forwards going forwards, but bear in mind the further out you cross the gain line the more angled their runs will become (so they will work considerably harder for the same yardage gain) From a defensive point this means that you can expect bigger stronger players attempting to cross the gain line close in so your strongest tackles must be in that area (they are more likely to be head on and confrontational contacts too) - back row area and 10, 12, 13. Remember too, that if your team can be aggressive and push the tackle line further into the attacks side of the gain line your forwards will now be going forwards and the attacks forwards will have to go back to recycle the ball.
From an attack standpoint your players must understand the implications of all this if they are to take on, deceive or outflank this first up defence. There is an argument to go to contact early. The stops allow the defence to organise - a formal stop like a scrum or line out clearly give plenty of time to organise, if they can slow the ball down at ruck and maul they can buy time to organise here too. Early quality second phase ball (pre planned structure to the first and second phase, even third phase?) will disrupt the defensive organisation and provide a much better chance of a successful attack. But you should also demand that your players look for offloads at contact - putting players in behind the opposition defensive line at the earliest opportunity.
Developed expectancies will lead to a degree of predictability in how your players should expect a defence to behave. (a big argument for not running attack plays unopposed in training) You must encourage a set of tactics for the repetitive situations in the game - perhaps two or three options to use at say a line out on the left had side of the pitch between opposition 10m and 22m lines or a scrummage 20m from the opposition try line on the right hand 15m line. Clearly your TDM's (tactical decision makers) must have the most finely honed expectancies in your team so that they will choose the best of the two or three options you have practiced in training for this particular situation and opposition.

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PRINCIPLES OF PLAY

You already know the basics if you have played the game :-

Go Forward

You know its what you want your players to do! But can you be specific as to why? First one - probably - to score a try - after that? Try:-
Going forward with the ball gets you over the tackle line and hopefully gain line (at very least close to the gain line). The effect of this is that the defence line now has a kink in it. The effect of that is that some defenders now have to retreat to the new offside line. In theory, the attack can now go forward against a retreating defensive line (in theory because speed of release of the ball from the contact and depth of alignment of the attackers will determine whether the defensive line has time or not to get back on the front foot - as a rough guide a release less than 2/3 seconds would allow you to attack the defence whilst it is retreating anything longer and a decent defence will have got back on the up.)
Going forward forces the defensive line to focus on one small area - it should create attacking space elsewhere on the pitch by preventing drift in the defensive line.
Going forward allows the distribution of the ball to other attacking players who have momentum.
Going forward in defence takes away time and space from the attack, increasing the possibility of mistakes and so turn over ball for the defence. It pushes the tackle line closer to the oppositions try line
Who goes forward? The answer is everybody.
Forwards - by retaining possession and by driving forward (on their own and as a pack) can deliver ball to the backs that should allow them to run at a retreating defensive line. Your TDM's should be dictating the time of release at contact or just before to allow your backs this opportunity (back to understanding the game!)
Backs - by evasive running, deceptions (of pass or run), accuracy of pass, kicking and turn over ball (regaining possession in open play by interception, opposition spilt ball, or regaining possession at the tackle
Everybody - at the breakdown in defence - both sides of it. Go forward defence allows your team to progress toward the opponents try line when not in possession of the ball.

Support

So, what do you ask your players to support?
I believe the simplest idea for all players to grasp is that you support the ball. They must endeavour to follow the ball so that they provide the ball carrier with alternatives once it becomes clear that he can no longer go forward with it ( off load before contact, during, after contact, to set up ruck ball or to maul - I'm sure you can think of other alternatives too).
That simple principle allows you to ask your players how they can most effectively do that. Your more aware players may give you the answer. From directly behind the ball. Why directly behind the ball? Well, it forces the defence to defend left and right of the ball as the support can decide late whether to go to the left or right of the ball - a clear problem for two on two where one defender must go to the ball. The other must now guess which side to defend - he can't be left and right of his team mate! Secondly it reduces the likelihood of the support over running the ball carrier and allows the support to continue the play with momentum i.e. he is accelerating onto the ball.
In defence the support is very different. Now it must be on the inside and outside of the player directly active in the defence. He needs the security of knowing that if an attacker goes inside or outside him he has support to defend that space. In essence you should be asking your team to defend in units of three no matter where on the pitch, no matter whether it is ruck, maul, scrum, line-out or open play, the attacking ball carrier should be faced by a defender who has inside and outside support. (e.g. Scrum defence 7,8,9 then maybe 7,10,12, a ball back inside may change that to 7,8, 10. Get the idea?)

Continuity

By continuity I mean trying to play without stoppage (no ref's whistle, the ball stays in play, in our possession, it can involve ruck, maul and open play (run and pass) in a variety of combinations).
Continuity is created by a combination of the effectiveness of the individual support running and the quality of the decision-making of the ball carrier based on a team philosophy of trying to play without stoppages. The quality of the decision making will determine the level of continuity. Good support may enable recycling of the ball from ruck and maul but the quality of the decision making will determine the success of the continuity in terms of ground gained toward the opposition try line (there is no value in continuity that goes side to side across the pitch it must have "go forward").
The support running must give the ball carrier options if he is to cause the defence problems. It is much easier to defend when you only have one decision to make (i.e. this player must receive the ball) - when you have multiple decisions to make (i.e. is it runner 1 or 2 or 3 who will receive the ball) it is much harder obviously.

Pressure

When you have got the ball you need to subject the defence to such sustained pressure that eventually it cannot cope and you are able then to exploit the gaps in it. You can do this by :-
Identifying and then attacking the defences weaknesses
Producing quick ball and making good use of it
Kicking well and chasing well
Bunching a defence and then quickly attacking out into the spaces
Continuous, quick recycling of the ball until the defence runs out of defenders to cover it
Elusive, evasive and/or direct running into space
When the opposition have the ball you can subject them to sustained pressure by :-
Aggressive tackling as far beyond your side of the gain line as you can get
Turn overs - aggressive tackling helps - drive attackers back - hope to dislodge the ball
Slowing the opposition ball down at second phase - coach your players to get back on their feet quickly and to go for the ball - buy time for your defence to organise
Quick, organised, committed cover defence

Communication

If you listen to a top flight game you will hear lots of talk between the players. For the main part it will be instructional and informative. They are telling each other what is going on and what to do next. You can help your players improve their communication skills in a number of simple ways:
First, make sure they can actually talk clearly. It amazes me how many players have to take their gumshields out to make themselves understood. A well made, well fitting gumshield is well worth the expense ( it will protect their teeth better and allow clear speech).
Secondly, insist that your players use communication in all the drills, practices, team runs. Getting them to actually give a commentary on what is going on is a useful exercise.
Make sure that the talk is specific, accurate, don't allow calls like "yes" and "no" - insist on specific instruction, "short left", "long right" and on the use of names so each players knows it is them who the call is directed at.
Insist on conformity of calls and instructions within the team - everyone uses the same terms - "drift", "socks", everyone knows all the plays and the calls for them, develop calls for going wide, salvage ball etc so that everyone will react immediately when a call is made.

These five principles can all be looked at in four distinct phases of play:-

Winning possession of the ball - Kick off / Scrum / Line-out / from opposition in open play (turn over ball)

Keeping possession of the ball - through good continuity skills

Using possession of the ball - to overcome the defence by penetrating it / outflanking it / going over it (kick)

Defence

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PLAYING POSITIONS

Positions

Forwards Backs

Prop Scrum Half

Hooker Fly Half

Second Row Centre

Wing Forward Wing

No8 Full Back

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KEY SKILLS

To be able to play the game of Rugby with any degree of success it is essential that players master the key skills of the game.

HANDLING

RUNNING

KICKING

CONTACT

RUCK/MAUL

SCRUM

LINEOUT

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ABOUT ME

A little bit about me. My name is Norman Stalker, I am a full-time P.E. Teacher and part-time Rugby Coach, currently living near Wrexham.

I started playing Rugby League at 5 years of age and was introduced to Union at Grammar School, aged 12. I played both codes until I was 18.

I trained as a P.E. Teacher at Chester College and played my rugby for the College, then on to Widnes RUFC, Chester RUFC and Wirral RUFC, where I played my last League game in 1998 at the age of 41.

I became assistant Coach at Chester RUFC in 1990, and became Club Coach in 1994, the year I gained my Level 2 RFU Coaching Award. I became Director of Rugby at Wirral RUFC in 1997, the year I gained my Level 3 RFU Coaching Award.

In 1999 I took up a post as Backs Coach at Caldy RUFC (I have been teaching P.E. at Calday Grange Grammar School since 1990 - the Caldy Club being the Old Boys Club for the school). 2002 saw me have a season at Oldershaw RUFC.

I was Backs Coach at Wrexham RUFC in North Wales until the end of the 2004/5 season and then Coach to Whitchurch RUFC of North 1 Division. I returned to Wrexham however that same season taking them on to promotion. I am now the Forwards Coach with the North Wales Regional Team (Gogledd Cymru) and the Cheshire Womens Team.

As well as my coaching in the school environment and my Club coaching I was a member of the Cheshire RU Coaching Committee for many years and have worked as a Tutor/Assessor for RFU Coaching Award Courses.

Click to email me

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PRINCIPLES OF PLAY

PLAYING POSITIONS

KEY SKILLS

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