There are a few basics in rugby, which players and teams
must always get right – whether they are
an international or a local amateur club side. Now, I may be
harsh, but I think getting any of
these wrong is simply inexcusable.
Kick-Off. The first opportunity a team has after
the clock starts and the whistle blows is the
kick off. Players can kick the ball anywhere on the field,
so there is no excuse for kicking it
out on the full. Yet, we see this every weekend – players
kicking directly into touch! Why?
Pressure, wind?
Tackling. The next bit of action would be tackling,
and most importantly, the first tackle. It’s a
contact sport after all! The days where it wasn’t the fly
halves job to tackle is over – now
that’s normally the first channel the forwards attack. Why
can’t players tackle around the ankles
anymore?
Rucking our properly. After the ball carrier is
tackled, teammates no longer clean the ruck out –
that’s why you have so many penalties. Players falling over
the ruck, slowing the ball down, etc.
If you ask me, the guys don’t clean out because they like to
protect the ball. They normally just
stand over it, and most times it just turns into a messy
affair. This can all be avoided by taking
a teammate and clearing out the ruck.
The wing running with the ball in the wrong hand. We
all can’t be Jonah Lomu running over our
opposite number. As a wing, the first thing you learn is
that you don’t have a lot of space
running down the touch line, so you need your inside hand to
hand off players. Yet every week you
see wingers running with the ball in the wrong hand.
The Hooker not finding his jumpers. This is also
something you see regularly – hookers trying to
find the no. 4 jumper or throwing to the back of the line
out, and loosing their own throw (even
with opposition not competing!). If your no. 4 or the back
is not working, bring it back to no. 2.
Surely it’s more important to win your own line-out than to
try and confuse the opposition and in
the process confusing your own locks.
And then there is the scrum. The no. 8 trying to
control the ball at the back of the scrum in his
own 22. Something you see from your top teams. I think it is
inexcusable. If you are on your
opponent’s goal line, then yes go for the push over try, but
come on guys – not when you’re under
pressure. Under pressure you put the ball in, get it
straight back and out where your scrum-half
or fly-half can releave some pressure.
I think all of this comes down to the way you train. The way
you train is the way you play. You
don’t need to have top players or coaches to play top rugby
– just change the way you train. Train
with opposition. When in a game situation you don’t tackle
tackle-bags or clean defending-bags at
the ruck. If you want to get the basics right, change the
way you train and train like you play.
By: Pierre Mackie
Original Text:
http://findrugbynow.com/2012/04/doing-the-basics-train-like-you-play |
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