Rugby Coaching

[mark_s]

Two things stand out. The cleverness of Scott Allen, and the poor skills of the wobbs in the second video. Request for next time, all black attacking strategies.

 

[Scott Allen]

Here are some thoughts on coaching younger players and the lessons I learnt from making plenty of mistakes when I started out coaching http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/coaching-teenagers/

 

[TSR]

Anybody on here doing the level 2 in Brisbane on the 1-3 March?

 

[Jets]

I did mine in 2008. I really enjoyed the weekend. It's also a great opportunity to meet a heap of other guys who are around the same level as you at the time. I still catch up with guys I meet on the weekend and talk about rugby.

 

[en_force_er]

I'll probably do my Lvl.2 this year.

Do you guys feel you gained much from it? Or it is more the people you meet?

 

[Jets]

It was good to spend 3 days talking about rugby. I think a lot of the stuff around planning sessions and teaching methods are valuable. Also having to keep a diary was useful.

I also organised getting together with other guys during the year to make sure we were up to date with what we needed to do. Probably provided me with motivation to get things done quicker than I would have if on my own.

 

[en_force_er]

It was good to spend 3 days talking about rugby. I think a lot of the stuff around planning sessions and teaching methods are valuable. Also having to keep a diary was useful.

I also organised getting together with other guys during the year to make sure we were up to date with what we needed to do. Probably provided me with motivation to get things done quicker than I would have if on my own.

I'd like to improve my game management, I feel my training and game planning is pretty good (though obviously it could always be better).

 

[Hugh Jarse]

The Rolling Maul has recently been used rather effectively a fair bit by the Saffer teams.

The counter to this tactic seems to be at best haphazard and frequently results in the defending team being penalised.

By adopting game structure where the piggies both attack and defend in pods, we seem to have lost the ability to concentrate our piggies as one unit for one purpose.

What is the most effective counter to a well structured rolling maul that will not result in a penalty, and why does it appear that this tactic is not being taught or practiced by our teams?

 

[Rassie]

The Rolling Maul has recently been used rather effectively a fair bit by the Saffer teams.

You must understand that the first thing our kids do in the cot when we throw them a rugby ball is the maul. At schools you will them a lot. I think Australia's problem its not seen as positive and as ugly so it will be teached out players and with the call for scoring tries and running rugby showing of skills at pace it is a forgotten tactic or ignored during development.

I myself coach youngsters here in the Cape Flats. I am not a professional but played at club level and reason for doing it is that the time playing sport takes up that time they normally go break into homes or dodging bullets or firing guns. Yes here its at the wild west.

Now I love watching teams and analysing them specially what they do off the ball and other tactics. I share it with them so they can start think tactically on the field. Always have awareness and always be 3 moves ahead.

I grew up in a small town. So your opponents were like from towns 30 to 300km away. Advantage from growing up in a small town is that you grow up together and you start playing together from the first moment you started playing rugby at school. Now when I wass in my last year of primary school we played a match that I personally will never forgett and I am sure those who played with me that never forget cause it was the proudest moment of what we achieved and the hardest game we ever played.

Now the thing is from the leagues in the smaller towns sometimes teams do not have a opposite team so you play against a team which is a age group higher or some of them play boys who are not in that age group because frankly no one checks.

Before we ran onto the field our opponents line up next to us. And I can tell you they were huge. I was the tallest guy in my team and my head reached the shoulders of their shortest guy which was their one wing. They kicked off to me I caught the ball and I just felt the force carry us back 15 meters. Within a minute they scored with a maul containing 5 guys and destroyed about 15 of us to stop it. I thought here it comes 60 70 zip loss. But one thing we were taught and learned together as a team during losses and wins is to think what to do. They are big and powerful. We always had a theme the bigger they are the harder they fall. Going into a power game with them we would be killed. They already showed us. So we tackled. Fear is a thing in the mind that can be overcome with believe. And we stood behind the poles after they scored that first try we just said. Tackle tackle and tackle. Go low and make them eat grass.

We spent the whole game between our try line and our 22. Tackling tackling. I never made so many tackles in my life and they could not get thru. They tried wide and our wing will hold on while the cover tackles him out. They had about 15 close calls of the guy being tackled into touch before going over. They could not start a maul again because we did not allow them to start one.

Sorry for the long and boring story but that is the best way to stop it. Is to make sure it do not start. At a line out the defending jumper grabbed their jumper around the waist and pull them to ground towards ourselves. That is what me and my other lock did and they could not start it. Ball being on the ground did not mean they couldn't still start it. So the supporting players (players who were lifting the jumper) should drive into the space left by their line-out jumper who has been brought to ground. We did that quickly cause that gap is there for a short moment then it would be sealed off.

Now what that did was we had access to the guy carrying the ball (link player who took it from the jumper) so we had access to the ball and we could tie it up and made it unplayable.

If your too late and they close that gap before you can do it drive aggressively towards the link player. Forget about the rest you aim for the guy with the ball. The key is to drive aggressively towards the link while its forming. Remember the can't use power while they forming it as they are setting up protection first. So the defense can use that moment to smash in aggressive and low aiming for that link player.

If others join is the idea is to fracture it and drive it backwards. Always commit 6 guys to the mall no more. The two guys you have left defend each side when the maul comes around. When it does aim and drive aggressively towards the center of it. You must split it and disrupt it. Worked for us and its a tactic we used at club level as well.

As for the game well our center intercepted the ball a minute before the end and went and score under the posts where we converted and won the game 7 -5. Our coach told us the best team did not win that day but one with the most believe had. Its all about commitment and working together

 

[Jets]

Hopefully the final chance to learn from Robbie as Wallabies Head coach. At $385 a pop it looks like it could be a revenue raiser.

http://www.rugby.com.au/tryrugby/Coaching/NationalCoachingConferences.aspx

 

[RedsHappy]

You must understand that the first thing our kids do in the cot when we throw them a rugby ball is the maul. At schools you will them a lot. I think Australia's problem its not seen as positive and as ugly so it will be teached out players and with the call for scoring tries and running rugby showing of skills at pace it is a forgotten tactic or ignored during development.

I myself coach youngsters here in the Cape Flats. I am not a professional but played at club level and reason for doing it is that the time playing sport takes up that time they normally go break into homes or dodging bullets or firing guns. Yes here its at the wild west.

Now I love watching teams and analysing them specially what they do off the ball and other tactics. I share it with them so they can start think tactically on the field. Always have awareness and always be 3 moves ahead.

I grew up in a small town. So your opponents were like from towns 30 to 300km away. Advantage from growing up in a small town is that you grow up together and you start playing together from the first moment you started playing rugby at school. Now when I wass in my last year of primary school we played a match that I personally will never forgett and I am sure those who played with me that never forget cause it was the proudest moment of what we achieved and the hardest game we ever played.

Now the thing is from the leagues in the smaller towns sometimes teams do not have a opposite team so you play against a team which is a age group higher or some of them play boys who are not in that age group because frankly no one checks.

Before we ran onto the field our opponents line up next to us. And I can tell you they were huge. I was the tallest guy in my team and my head reached the shoulders of their shortest guy which was their one wing. They kicked off to me I caught the ball and I just felt the force carry us back 15 meters. Within a minute they scored with a maul containing 5 guys and destroyed about 15 of us to stop it. I thought here it comes 60 70 zip loss. But one thing we were taught and learned together as a team during losses and wins is to think what to do. They are big and powerful. We always had a theme the bigger they are the harder they fall. Going into a power game with them we would be killed. They already showed us. So we tackled. Fear is a thing in the mind that can be overcome with believe. And we stood behind the poles after they scored that first try we just said. Tackle tackle and tackle. Go low and make them eat grass.

We spent the whole game between our try line and our 22. Tackling tackling. I never made so many tackles in my life and they could not get thru. They tried wide and our wing will hold on while the cover tackles him out. They had about 15 close calls of the guy being tackled into touch before going over. They could not start a maul again because we did not allow them to start one.

Sorry for the long and boring story but that is the best way to stop it. Is to make sure it do not start. At a line out the defending jumper grabbed their jumper around the waist and pull them to ground towards ourselves. That is what me and my other lock did and they could not start it. Ball being on the ground did not mean they couldn't still start it. So the supporting players (players who were lifting the jumper) should drive into the space left by their line-out jumper who has been brought to ground. We did that quickly cause that gap is there for a short moment then it would be sealed off.

Now what that did was we had access to the guy carrying the ball (link player who took it from the jumper) so we had access to the ball and we could tie it up and made it unplayable.

If your too late and they close that gap before you can do it drive aggressively towards the link player. Forget about the rest you aim for the guy with the ball. The key is to drive aggressively towards the link while its forming. Remember the can't use power while they forming it as they are setting up protection first. So the defense can use that moment to smash in aggressive and low aiming for that link player.

If others join is the idea is to fracture it and drive it backwards. Always commit 6 guys to the mall no more. The two guys you have left defend each side when the maul comes around. When it does aim and drive aggressively towards the center of it. You must split it and disrupt it. Worked for us and its a tactic we used at club level as well.

As for the game well our center intercepted the ball a minute before the end and went and score under the posts where we converted and won the game 7 -5. Our coach told us the best team did not win that day but one with the most believe had. Its all about commitment and working together

Just loved that post Rassie. Everything good about rugby and the way and why we love it is in there. Thanks for taking the time to put it all together.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

A fairly good question on Coaching from the ISA 2013 Schoolboy thread.

A question to everyone about coaches.
Where do your coaches position themselves to watch their teams play ??
Are they on the sideline close to play and reserves ??
Are they in the grandstand along the sideline with a better view ??
Are they at the end of the field (under the goal posts) ??
Are they perched up on high somewhere to see everything ??
Where do you think coaches should be during the game and why ??

 

[Inside Shoulder]

A fairly good question on Coaching from the ISA 2013 Schoolboy thread.

Best position I reckon is elevated on a line with the touchline behind the field.
Reasons:

1. gives you both lateral and length perspective
2. vision not obscured by players
3. can see the bigger picture
4. If you are too close to the action your emotions come into play - from this position you are really looking at the game tactically or strategically and not getting bogged down in the detail of whether that pass was forward or whatever. I reckon lack of emotion (at this point of the job) is the mark of the great coaches.
5. Obviously not so good if you're trying to coach a front row how to scrum!

 

[Hugh Jarse]

I like to be behind the goal line because I think monitoring the lateral perspective is more important that the field position.

There is benefit in being detached from the second to second detail of the game. Leave that to the on field leadership and decision makers. If the coach hasn't got that right before the team runs on, then the Coach should strap a pair of boots on and be a player coach.

The level at which I have coached has not provided me with the opportunity to sit in an elevated position, however I can appreciate where Inside Shoulder is coming from based on experiences as a spectator at big games.

The positioning of the bench players and management of such presents a slight challenge if the Coach/Head Coach is not with the Bench. Many competitions stipulate that the bench must be in a certain position. If there are wireless communications from Head Coach to Assistant Coach who is running the bench then this is not an issue.

Believing in trying to make playing time as equal as possible across my squad, I usually have a pre-planned basic strategy for running the subs on at set times. Barring injuries I try to stick with that. Pulling a player for a forward pass/knock on or some other butchered decision/execution does very little for that players ongoing development. A different approach is probably more appropriate when coaching at higher levels of the game, than in the juniors where I coach.

 

[Jets]

It all depend on the ground where you are playing. I prefer behind the goal line as you can follow patterns and see what the players see when looking for opportunities in attack and weaknesses in defence. I also don't mind being high in a grandstand if that is an option as it gives you a good perspective too.

I'm not that keen on sitting with the bench al la Link but will do if that's a competition requirement or if I don't have a radio so I can make changes when required and talk to the players before they go on.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

We see so many chances go begging while players take the ball into contact and the inevitable well practiced ball recycle while gaps and overlaps exist in the wider channels.

Do we spend too much time in 5m x 5m grids at training?

These are good to practice individual skills under pressure and make efficient use of limited real estate at training, but do we have too much time in the grids, and too little time in full field opposed or semi opposed training runs?

 

[Hugh Jarse]

<snip>
Body height was a major preoccupation of Dave Brockhoff and it's one part of his legacy that deserves to be revived. I have always believed that if a forward is working at a comfortable body height they are too high. A few years ago I wrote an article titled, "Why do rugby players scrum and maul at such different body heights?" It annoys me to watch rugby players in a maul simply hinging at the hips assuming that this is an effective pushing position. It annoys me even more than coaches are so ill-informed that it never occurs to them just how biomechanically inefficient such a position is.
.

The linked article from Bruce Ross is a recommended read, and timely given all the brouhaha currently going on about our piggies being shamed in the TRC tests:
http://www.myoquip.com.au/Maul_height_article.htm

Anyone done the level 3 coaching course?

What do they teach there about biomechanics and body positions?

 

[en_force_er]

Do we spend too much time in 5m x 5m grids at training?

These are good to practice individual skills under pressure and make efficient use of limited real estate at training, but do we have too much time in the grids, and too little time in full field opposed or semi opposed training runs?

Can only speak for myself but I know at your average level 2 course they talk in length about progressions. So, you might start with a couple of progressively harder 5x5 drills, then move to a game, and finally move that skill into a training run.

But yes, we are pretty obsessed with 5x5s and coloured co-ordinated cones nowadays. To go on a tangent, you should see a AFL training session, it flows and it's so expansive. Obviously their primary skill (the kick) is 2-3x longer than a medium pass but it's still striking. Maybe we could learn something from them?

 

[yourmatesam]

Can only speak for myself but I know at your average level 2 course they talk in length about progressions. So, you might start with a couple of progressively harder 5x5 drills, then move to a game, and finally move that skill into a training run.

But yes, we are pretty obsessed with 5x5s and coloured co-ordinated cones nowadays. To go on a tangent, you should see a AFL training session, it flows and it's so expansive. Obviously their primary skill (the kick) is 2-3x longer than a medium pass but it's still striking. Maybe we could learn something from them?

Progression is the key.

Develop the skill in a closed environment with no pressure, then move to a semi open environment with increased pressure and decision making then into a open environment where decision making is required.

I would argue that too many coaches don't understand why they run certain drills and that they just run them because it takes up time or they like a particular drill. As opposed to reviewing a game/training session and assessing the positives and negatives and working on the areas that need improvement and enforcing the good points.

The key to progression is planning.

 

[en_force_er]

Progression is the key.

Develop the skill in a closed environment with no pressure, then move to a semi open environment with increased pressure and decision making then into a open environment where decision making is required.

I would argue that too many coaches don't understand why they run certain drills and that they just run them because it takes up time or they like a particular drill. As opposed to reviewing a game/training session and assessing the positives and negatives and working on the areas that need improvement and enforcing the good points.

The key to progression is planning.

100%. I think the main issue is we get a good drill from a former coach or a guide book and just run it.

If the former coach was any good, he'd of had a good idea of why he was running it and how it fitted into his big plan. The average park footy coach doesn't and just runs the drill because it's familiar.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Anyone bought Bob Dwyer's Coaching Manual which is advertised on G&GR for only $55?

Reviews anyone?