InstantForum.NET v4.1.4Better Rugby Coachinghttp://www.betterrugbycoaching.com/rugbyforum/forum@betterrugbycoaching.comThu, 09 Feb 2012 08:41:49 GMT20http://www.betterrugbycoaching.com/rugbyforum/Topic605-4-1.aspxHere is an article from the Better Rugby Coaching free archive:<P><A href="http://www.betterrugbycoaching.com/Article-470--1--How-to-Play-with-a-Small-Pack">http://www.betterrugbycoaching.com/Article-470--1--How-to-Play-with-a-Small-Pack</A>Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:05:20 GMTDanChttp://www.betterrugbycoaching.com/rugbyforum/Topic605-4-1.aspxI coach a team with the same issues. Technique is paramount - my boys beat a team that they haven't beaten for three years by moving their forwards around and preventing them from dominating the scrum. In the end better fitness and skills won through. A simple method for negating a heavy pack at scrum time is to get the front row very low - bigger boys will find it difficult to get down as low as your pack and won't want to take the pressure that comes on.Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:00:05 GMTAsyn Llwydhttp://www.betterrugbycoaching.com/rugbyforum/Topic605-4-1.aspxI am probably stating the obvious but here goes....</P><P>You don;t mention what age group but I am "guessing" this U13 or above, and hence full packs and with a few exceptions pretty m,uch the full set of laws available.</P><P>* its a truism that a good big un will always beat a good little 'un... so you have to do the best you can to ensure your small forwards are better players than their bigger rivals so that you have VERY good little uns. This means at least tackle technique, rucking technique, handling and support skills.</P><P>* it is unlikely that due to the size factor much can be gained from any play that can become dominated by a large pack. So approaches to scrummages and lineouts in particular need consideration - maybe they need to become mereb methods of reintroducing the ball to play... get it in, get it out e.g. channel 1 ball at scrummage straight to the scrum half, off the top ball at lineout. (This is very simplistic - you can create other options that will not rely on the ball hanging around in mauls or scrummages). Lineouts could be shortened to increase the space available to your jumpers, and keep their numbers away from your scrum half subsequently.</P><P>* it is naive as you suggest to expect the game to be played like 7s for an hour... contact is inevitable. Mauling to any length of time will probably not be a constructive approach, so maybe rucking has to become the favoured solution, but this will require excellent contact skills, ball presentation (long body?), and rucking technique. Scotland historically have been allegedly a smaller sized nation for forwards and have traditionally used a fast, aggressive rucking game that has worked very well (as an example). backs being able to equally ruck well allied to good handling amongst your forwards will obviate the need for your forards to alwys win the ball for your backs to handle it away from the oppo pack.</P><P>* fitness is paramount - if your smaller forwards can keep their bigger forwards moving long enough, fatigue may become your ally later in the game. Good support and keeping the ball alive out of contact could provide dividends in this regard. This doesn;t mean endless flowing rugby from one side of the pitch to another, it just means enough bodies at the right place to keep the ball away from long drawn out breakdowns.</P><P>* a genuine kicking game could work well if your smaller pack is fitter as well... keeps the ball away from their pack for a starting point... but defensively you will need to be sound to close down the oppo backs if/when thei retrieve the kick(s)</P><P>There's nothing there I am sure you haven;t thought of yourself. And it will be a difficult thing to instill and make work consitently. BUT - if nothing else, and results aside, if the above was even half acheived you will have created players that will be better served throughout their rugby playing lives as a result. Whatever size they may eventuially end up as!</P><P>diddsTue, 19 Feb 2008 13:05:09 GMTdiddshttp://www.betterrugbycoaching.com/rugbyforum/Topic605-4-1.aspxAt the weekend my team Buckingham lost in the dying minutes to Swindon 17-12. My problem generally is that we have very small forwards compared to every other team, particularly Swindon. Had we had the forward dominance that they had I am confident we would have put 40 points on them. How do we beat teams like this without just saying keep it in the backs as the breakdown and the set piece are big factors in the game? Any help would be greatly appreciated.Tue, 19 Feb 2008 09:50:14 GMTaizzard