There’s a lot more to being a backs coach than telling the three-quarters to practise a few moves. So when you split the squad into forwards and backs, what are the essentials that you must cover?
Although the backs have less “set piece” to cover than the forwards, they do have lots of decision-making skills that need working on. To be better decision-makers, they must be able to execute their skills at the appropriate level.
A backs session should start with work on the core skills. It then moves on to decision making before concluding with attacking and defensive organisation.
Eight core skills
Above and beyond the generic skills that all players use, when you have charge of the backs you need to concentrate most on the following areas:
Medium and long passing
Running angles
Switches, loops and miss passes
Taking a pass at pace
Side-on and chasing tackles
Kicking and catching a high ball
1 v 1 rucks
Evasion in the open field
As you can see, plenty to get through!
Decision-making
In both attack and defence, players must know how to react to the opposition. So, set up lots of scenarios for players to work on.
Start with a basic 2 v 1, with a defender coming in from different angles, right through to 4 v 2s, 5 v 4s and even, say, 3 v 4s.
Your challenge is to let the players work out what’s best for each scenario. Because the situations are so dynamic, it’s difficult to be too prescriptive.
Even in a 2 v 1, just saying that you should attack the inside shoulder might not be enough if the defender is running an unusual line.
Set plays
A backs coach shouldn’t spend more than a third of his time on set plays, especially set-piece plays. Instead, the plays should be built around the blocks of skill that players are working on.
However, moves should still play an important part of training. Practising a flashy move can be quite motivating and satisfying if it comes off.
But too much time spent on lots of moves might lead to confusion and less work on the fundamentals.
Blending skills
In the first section of your backs session, work on two skills together.
For instance, try a simple passing movement – such as a switch – and finish with a 1 v 1 ruck (like they’d do if they were isolated in a game).
The 9 is a different breed!
South Africa’s Faf de Klerk is tackled by Argentina’s Agustin Creevy
A 9 is a half back – both a forward and a back. So he should spend some time with the forwards when the units split up. This is best done when you work on the passing and running-angle skill sets which don’t require a 9 pass to initiate the movement.
Our players spend more time on the ground than any other ball-related sport. We need to think differently about how players interact with the ground when they are off their feet to improve their effectiveness in attack.
Wrestling and martial arts set up bouts where the contestant who is pinned to the ground loses. Rugby is different. While a tackler will want to fell a ball carrier, they aren’t allowed to hold them down after the tackle. MORE
These days, we, as coaches seem to be stifling attacking flair as we grow an ever-increasing fascination with attacking systems, structures and the latest trend: ‘shape.’ Could this infatuation be creating a generation of robots who know where to stand, but struggle to play the game? Let's aim to strike the balance in kids' rugby. MORE
How do you build on the players’ understanding of what they already know without confusing them and losing what they’ve previously learned? By Sarah Cottingham, Educational Neuroscience MA with Dan Cottrell. Let’s say you start the season with a plan to improve passing from the base of a ruck. You might have players who’ve been... MORE
We all instruct as coaches at some stage of a training session. However, direct instruction is either overused or, in reverse, underappreciated. Here’s a guide on why and when to use it. MORE