Improve your lumbering forwards or poor backs players

A problem-solving approach to the many of the dilemmas facing rugby coaches.

No rugby team is the complete package. Even the All Blacks have a long list of areas they want to improve on. However, if the rugby coach tries to improve everything at once, he will ultimately improve nothing. He'll probably just end up frustrating himself and his players.

Instead, he needs a plan.

The key any improvement plan is to prioritise the problems, break each down into manageable pieces, and then assess and prioritise these smaller chunks. Fortunately, the game of rugby is already broken down into chunks. For instance, the scrum, passing, tackling, kicking, rucking.

If each of these areas can be improved, even by a little bit, you can often see a rapid improvement across the team's performance.

To start with, work through your list of priorities and pick one or two chunks to improve in each training session. Take the opportunity to use your warm-ups and warm-downs to work on generic skills, such as passing, support play and fast feet. Potentially, you may have to keep individuals or small groups of players back after the main session to work on specific skills.

The process will help you focus on what is really important to improve your team, as well as to monitor your players' improvement in each area and across the game as a whole. A couple of example improvement plans for a team with lumbering forwards and poor forwards follow.

Improvement Plan 1

Identified "chunk": The backs' passing is poor.

Priority: HIGH - we can't get ball beyond 12.

Our strengths:

Scrum half has fast pass.
Wings & full back reasonably quick.
10 has good pass off both sides.
13 is strong runner.

Our weaknesses:

Scrum half passing lacks accuracy.
10 takes ball to chest before passing.
12 likes to run with ball but doesn't think he can pass.

The plan:

Scrum half to work on accuracy + less pace with the pass.
10 to take ball deeper + keep hands away from body.
Swap 12 & 13?
Use more miss passes from 10 to 13?
Get back three (11, 14 & 15) into game more?

Action:

Individual rugby coaching sessions with scrum half to work on passing.
Practice with 12 and 13 swapped over.
Work with 10 to keep hands away from body.
Develop moves with back three running off 10 and 12.

Re-assess: Are we improving? What can we improve next?

Improvement Plan 2

Identified "chunk": Scrummaging

Priority: HIGH - we lose our ball too often.

Our strengths:

Some big forwards.
Front five reasonably strong.

Our weaknesses:

Front five all too high.
Props have bent backs.
Scrum doesn't engage well.

The plan:

Work on front five's body positions:
1. Straight backs, shoulders above hips, heads up.
2. Have a half squat position before engaging.
3. Body weight going forward - move on the "E" of engage.

Action: