Getting the Winning Habits
Better Rugby Coaching offers some tried and tested ways of improving your winning chances.
Before match day get mind and body right
Remind each player of the following: "What is your opposite number doing this week to improve his chances for the game? Can you be doing more?"
If you can convince a player they are working harder than the player they are playing against, then there is a greater chance of them feeling confident. Of course physically if they are better prepared (no late nights, and so on) then there is an advantage as well.
Before kick off somebody is watching you
Warm ups can give away a lot about a team and its match tactics, such as who plays where and what size they are. So don't show off your best moves to the other side. Sometimes it is worth practising across the pitch before a match, so the opposition cannot see your lines of running or lineout variations as clearly. In the changing rooms be careful what you say as "walls have ears". So, talk tactics on the pitch as well.
The kick off – have a plan and be calm
Focus on what is going to happen in the first few plays. The first lineout, first backs move. Players can then move quickly into position in the helter-skelter of the first moments of the game.
This is the moment to ensure players are not over heated, so they are less likely to charge off, giving away penalties from over zealous play. Whether you are receiving the kick or kicking off, a course of events should be mapped out with each player clear in their mind their exact roles.
Mental rehearsal just before kick off is fantastic, with players imagining what they are going to do. There is enough scientific evidence to suggest that the mental preparation and a reduction in the players' levels of excitement ("arousal" to scientists) will make their first few minutes of the game far more effective.
Set the rhythm and move at your pace
Set the rhythm of the game by the way the team approaches the restarts. Slow things down by moving slowly to a set scrum or lineout, but then change the tempo later in the game by being in position before the opposition arrive, shouting the systems or calls to make the other team hurry up.
Rhythm can also be set by the nature of your kicking game or quick tap penalties. Kick long to change the pace of the game, making their forwards move to places they have not been to yet. Run every penalty to keep the opposition moving.
backwards, even from your own 22m area. The game breaker(s)
All sides has one, if not more players, who are more likely to make the crucial breaks to score tries or set up tries. Set up plays which disorganise defences, then use the gamebreakers. In other words, teams will be geared up to stop the best players, but they will find it more difficult when they have been forced out of position.
Patience
Winning teams are often patient teams. They have confidence in their plan and their ability to carry out the plan. Not every move will break through, but constant attrition will eventually wear down a side and produce the opportunities to score. The decision makers in the side need to be aware of this and keep to the plan until a collective decision is made to change it.
The referee
Rugby referees, good or bad, are vital to the way a game is played. To win games, it is important to bend and compromise, learning the way that the referee wants the game to be played. The key areas are the tackle, lineout and scrummage. The captain needs to ascertain quickly where players are going wrong and endeavour to make sure they don't get penalised for the same actions again.
Despite all efforts at mind games, complaining or disagreeing with the referee does not cut much ice whatever the level.