Stop Slow Ball Killing Your Game
A key feature of rugby is the speed the ball is recycled. Quick ball provides options. Slow ball causes teams to struggle.
How defenders cause slow ball
Watching international matches can be a persuasive advert for cheating. Players at the tackle have learnt to bend the laws by "hands on" until the referee kindly tells them to "hands off".
What this means in practice is the second player arriving on the defending side immediately puts their hands on the ball and does not release it until told to do so, despite knowing the ruck has formed.
Lazy rollers are another problem. Heavy forwards at rucks fall to ground in the "tackle". They make some, but not much, effort to roll away. Inevitably this causes a slower ball.
The only solutions, if the referee is not calling these misdemeanours, is to avoid "dirty ball".
Clean ball, dirty ball
Any ball that is not in contact with the opposition is "clean ball". Everything else is "dirty ball". The quickest ball is generated by having the "cleanest ball" possible. The worst is ruck ball.
So the first rule is avoid rucks! Something that's easier said than done.
However, the techniques required to avoid contact can also be used to ensure that your team is better able to set up "cleaner" rucking situations.
1. Footwork
The first way to create quick ball is avoid contact. Your players must look to run at "spaces not faces" or "doors not walls".
Training tip: Practise using footwork to find space in a crowded channel. Then reduce the space available. Increase the pressure with more players to beat. Narrower channels keep the challenge intense.
2. Good contact with the opposition
Good contact is where the ball carrier is in control. The longer they can stay on their feet, the better the position from which to drive forward and/or present the ball.
Training tip: 1-on-1 wrestling, ball carrier v defender. The ball carrier must stay on their feet. If they go to ground, they must present the ball back towards their team. Develop the game by having the players walk and then run into the wrestle situation.
3. Contact bounce
The player looks to take the contact, but immediately "bounces" off the opponent and back towards supporters.
Training tip: This is best tried first against tackle shields. The shields can either stay solid, twist to either side, or even fall backwards.
The ball carrier bounces backwards off the solid shield, or stays balanced and passes the ball back to a supporting player. Once the players are confident, the shields can be removed.
4. The offload – basic retrieval first
An offload is the last chance to recycle the ball before a ruck is formed. This can be more risky than a pass. An offload into the space right behind the tackle is usually safest. The support is more likely to be there and the opposition further away.
Training tip: Work three players, two attackers and one defender, in a very narrow channel. Success is measured by either the first ball carrier breaking through the tackle, or the second attacker receiving a clean ball from the tackle.