Rugby tactics to beat the defence
Rugby coaching tips to help you identify your opponent's defensive tactics and refine your attacking strategy.
More tactical rugby coaches will often spend the first 10 minutes of the game behind the posts. Why? So they can read the movements and alignment of the opposition back line, in defence and attack. They can then relay this information to their fly half to adjust the team's tactics.
Where the wingers stand in defence
The most obvious area to observe is the position of the other team's wingers in relation to their defensive line outside their 22m. There are two positions where we might see the opposition openside winger:
- In the defensive line.
- Back from the normal defensive line.
Your attacking options if the winger is in the line
Tactic 1: Use the cross kick: Your open side winger must stand very wide, almost in the tramlines between the 5m line and the touchline, waiting to run on to the ball. Even if your fly half is not pin point with the kick, your winger still has an excellent chance of receiving the ball in space.
Some sides even use a "dummy switch" or "dummy cut", where the fly half fakes a pass to the inside centre (12) and then kicks the ball. Consequently the opposition winger is held in the defensive line for longer.
Click here to play a clip of a pin-point cross kick by Dan Carter for The Crusaders v. Stormers in Cape Town, 29 February 2008. There's also another clip on the page showing that the cross kick isn't just for the professionals (or for wingers to score from for that matter).
Tactic 2: Winger wide, full back in
Your winger stands wide to draw out his opponent, perhaps with the angle of his run, or just by making himself heard. This should allow your full back a little more space to run through the gap between the opposition outside centre and winger.
There is then an array of moves you can use to cut through the defensive line. Many of these can be found in my Rugby Attack! report, such as dummy switch miss (DSM), split miss and split hit.
Click here to look at your attacking options when the opposition winger is standing back from the defence.
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