Rugby coaching to get unstoppable tries

Plan for interceptions during rugby training with tips from the South African in the 2005 Tri Nations.

Strategy or luck?

The crunch game for South Africa in the Tri Nations in 2005 was against New Zealand. There were plenty of tries scored. Unusually, the main source of points for South Africa was from interceptions. In fact, the Boks scored a number of interception tries around this time.

When they beat the Australians in the Nelson Mandela tournament before the Tri Nations, these tries seemed a lucky accident. It now seemed, however, that South Africa's defensive alignment was aimed at creating opportunities to intercept. Though unusual, it illustrates a strategy that your team could use.

Counter attacking tactics

Interception tries are often unstoppable because the attack has committed its players into going forward, leaving no defensive cover.

The South Africa tactic was to try to get the inside backs (centres and fly half) in between the attackers' passes when it was clear a complicated move was happening around them. Meanwhile, the outside backs, the wingers mainly, looked to charge up as a long attacking pass was being made. They lined up opposite gaps, between the attacking players.

This is a risky alignment, as it gives the opposition wingers the possibility of a free run. However, South Africa did have some defensive cover, particularly from players "corner flagging" (tackling behind the gain line) as soon as the ball had passed them.

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