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Forum Guru
 
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I'm a coach at the university level in the USA. One of the challenges we face at this level is that the majority of the players coming into our program have never played rugby before coming to us. That said, many of the players that come to us are good athletes and many pick up skills fairly quickly.
The hardest aspect of the game to teach is reading the game/decision-making. More and more, I'm leaning toward implementing attack patterns or sequences, with varying levels of autonomy.
For instance, from a particular set piece, we run this set piece move; 2nd phase we run this, 3rd phase this, and then evaluate if we've broken down the defense, and attack that area that has been broken down.
OR (an example with a little more freedom), this possession, we're going to attack the same direction until we reach the opposite touchline. Once there, we'll move the ball back to the open side of the field. You decide what options to take at each phase.
The idea being that, given the framework of a pattern to operate in, decision-making can be reduced from 5-10 options to 2-3 options.
It's important to note that we're not trying to impose rigid, robotic structures, like NFL plays, but rather reduce the number of decisions that a player has to make.
I'd be interested to find out how other coaches are using patterns or sequences, and maybe even what some examples are of patterns that you're using.
Nipper
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When I am coaching Age grade sides (U15, U16, U18, etc) I tend not to give the players specifics, instead I give them Objectives. What we are trying to achieve in different areas of the park and how to recognise areas of weakness. I also give them an idea of what to expect from the handful of planned moves we use and in training try to get as many players as possible comfortable with the key roles in all of those moves. Therefore we can call a "Rangy" off 4th phase with a Lock, Hooker, Flanker and Fullback; and they all know what to do. It takes a lot of work but when liked with conditioned games and match related exercises in training they begin to learn how to read the situations that appear in front of them. I would suggest that you try something like that to improve your players abilities to read the game and try to relate everything to games that they do understand. Good luck.
If you always do what you've always done You'll always have what you've always had.
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Supreme Being
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Hi Nipper,
If you have players with [American] Football experience do use it. Football plays are very structured but do happen amazingly fast, faster than anything any rugby team will ever have seen. Imagine a scrum half handing off to a full back on a straight running "dive" play. In rugby your fullback can be in motion before the scrum half has the ball. With a good handoff he could be past the oppo openside before he even realises what is going on - and into the backfield. Better still, the whole team knows where the play is going and can immediately move to support, creating numerical advantage.
Consider also how to use blocking and block shedding techniques. As soon as a ruck or a maul forms, players who do not have the ball can be played (some cynic once said that as far as the All Blacks are concerned the whole field is a ruck!) These techniques be used on both sides of the ruck within the rules of the game. I seriously recommend you visit www.ironrugby.com, have a read and download the book.
In phase play you can be as structured or unstructured as you like. In RL it is not unusual for teams to have sets of 6 worked out in advance, and call them when appropriate. If that suits your players, use it. Rugby is often like option football though. Giving a framework within which to operate is a good idea. In RL attack, they tend to use a triangles system for basic shape. Basically looking at the basic shape the team lines up in in attack and identifying natural triangles within the structure. Sub-units within the unit if you will. I guess it is a bit like the idea behind pods one reads about.
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Forum Guru
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Thanks for the resource, CJP. I will have a read -- sounds like an interesting alternative approach; one that may suit us.
Nipper
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Nipper (27/06/2007)
Thanks for the resource, CJP. I will have a read -- sounds like an interesting alternative approach; one that may suit us.Hi Nipper, I have just cast a quick eye over the Iron Rugby (Manual) I would agree with you to a degree, it is indeed a great resource for Defence and I would strongly recommend that you use this for that aspect of the game. I intend to review some of my defence coaching and strategy as a result of viewing this, however I would suggest that you disregard much of the offence. I believe it would make you too one dimensional and as such easy to defend against, not to mention the basic premiss of Iron Rugby that you select for defence and let offence take care of itself. While stopping the opposition scoring is a great basis for a game plan if your going to be successful you have got to score points and I just don't see this robotic style making your side a points scoring machine. I have looked at some American football stuff in the past and I believe that there are some very positive principles to take from it in terms of offence, but I don't think this guy has isolated those at all. Best of Luck with your season.
If you always do what you've always done You'll always have what you've always had.
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Supreme Being
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My pleasure Nipper.
Scrumsrus - I know what you mean. It looks to me like the Iron Rugby thing is very much a work in progress. However there is some good stuff there and it certainly makes one look at things with fresh eyes. It can often be the case that things are done a certain way because we have always done them that way. It often takes someone coming at it from a very different angle to question it. Statements like "passing slows plays down" and "spin passes are not the best way to pass the ball" do challenge RU othodoxies and cause no little hurrumphing in RU circles. The latter is no surprise to RL who have long held that view. Gridiron use a spin pass for long passes not short ones and have developed specialised techniques for receivers to best deal with a fast moving ball coming at them point on. The former takes a bit of getting your head round. "Passes are predictable". Once that ball is airborne, the defence knows where it is going and can react accordingly. When in the hands of a player there is far less certainty. Sounds odd I know but there is logic to it.
What Coleman says about "option football" strikes a chord with me. Rugby has over the years become used to using more and more set plays, be they back moves, forward moves (from set pieces etc). I guess all Coleman is doing is taking what he knows from gridiron set plays and trying to apply those principles to RU. Take the concept of moves etc we are familiar with but do them a lot more quickly and precisely. I am also drawn to the idea of speeding up offence and defence by giving players set jobs on a play in the gridiron style. Learning to run backwards and sideways properly are also interesting and useful skills to consider. If it is robotic to avoid ones worst ball carriers carrying the ball and ones worst decision makers finding themselves having to make decisions, give me robotic! We all have seen props on the wing, have seen gaps open in a defence only to realise that the man in the position to exploit it is the player least likely to be able to do so!
The work certainly rewards repeated reading and careful study even if the eyebrows will be in the raised position for a good bit of the first read through.
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Forum Guru
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Last Login: 22/12/2010 15:51:42
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Thanks to both of you.
I typically don't take anything I read as "gospel", but try and pull different things from different resources, to match the makeup of my team.
There are some interesting defensive ideas there in the IronRugby book, and some ideas that aren't really practical. But, an interesting perspective, nonetheless.
Nipper
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