Team defence like Rugby League

What rugby union can learn from rugby league. How to adapt rugby league training drills to use in your coaching sessions.

The England rugby union team is not the only side that has trawled rugby league for ideas and players. I have spoken to a number of coaches in the UK who took advantage of their summer recess to travel over to watch some rugby league training sessions. So what did they conclude we could learn from our rugby cousins?

Defence

It is easy to see the difference that defensive coaches, such as the former England defence guru Phil Larder, have brought from their league days. There is a commitment to an organised defence with a pattern, rather than a man on man style. It is not about individuals making tackles, it is team defence.

London Wasps have been using a rush defence to harry opponents into making mistakes.

As Jonathan Davies, whose outstanding career spanned both codes, wrote in The Independent (a UK newspaper), the sophistication of defensive systems learnt from league can make attacking rugby very hard. He added, however, that "league got them into this situation and now can get them out of it."

Play the ball and rucks

In league, when the tackle is completed, the player puts the ball through his legs to a player behind, who can then run or pass. This is known as "play-the-ball". In league, the quicker the "play the ball", the more dangerous the next play, since defences will be moving backwards to get onside.

Lessons for union: Ball presentation in the tackle area always needs work, particularly clearing out at rucks.

The value of the "ball scrounger" at the tackle area, someone who can present the ball away from the tackle, is worth more, perhaps, than a big hitting player.

Line breaks

The defensive line in league and union is just that, a line. The ability to go through the line, either by finding space or simply busting through is called a "line break".

Passing to break the line

Andy Robinson, the former England coach, identified that league could help players improve the "execution" of their passing. The accuracy of the pass was a particularly strong theme.

Lessons for union: Plenty of work on providing the perfect pass. This means perfecting the weight, height and distance of the pass.

Though league players do spin pass, there is more recourse for them not to do so. It is easier for a player to receive a ball that is not spinning.

Union players could work on varying the length of the pass to beat a defender. The key here is recognising the running line of the ball receiver to be able to judge the length of the pass.

Offloading to break the line

When a player takes a tackle and tries to pass the ball to a supporting player, this can exploit the space immediately behind the tackler. Rugby league makes a habit of using this type of play to break the line, with the supporting players running into a position to receive the pass at pace.

Lessons for union: The timing of the supporting players and the angles they run means that league players make a relatively more effective use of the offload opportunity. League players in the tackle are comfortable to look for the offload, though will not give a fifty-fifty pass if they can help it.