The coaching manual tells us (or certainly it should) that there are two types of defence – organised and disorganised. An attacking team needs to disorganise a defence to then penetrate. Some players look outstanding against a broken defence and yet are seemingly becalmed by an organised defence. Carlos Spencer (the former New Zealand fly half, 10) and Brian O’Driscoll (the Ireland outside centre, 13) are two such examples.
Of course, I’m not saying that Spencer and O’Driscoll are poor players. Players at all levels find it difficult to play against a strong defensive line. The reason is that they have little opportunity to find even the little space they need to weave their magic.
And herein lies the problem. Let’s say you have a player who can be a great game breaker. Do you give them the ball and expect them to achieve the break every time they receive it?
More realistically, teams need to disorganise a defence before they can expect to use the game breakers to the best effect. This means using tactics to probe defences with big runners, or stretching defences by playing the ball wide. However, the best tip is to keep your backs, and more essentially the game breakers, “on their feet”.
That is, don’t let them go into rucks and mauls or take up crash balls. Instead, let team-mates work off them until the chances appear.
If you’re looking for more ways to make the most of your game breakers, then my Rugby Attack! manual could be the answer. Containing 27 pre-prepared plays, Rugby Attack! will help you produce co-ordinated attacks that suit your team’s strengths and target weaknesses in the opposition.
Use this activity to develop your players’ understanding of their roles and responsibilities from a scrum. You could use this against a scrum machine as well. MORE
Wales scored a magnificent try against England, executing FOUR "2 v 1" situations in quick succession to score a try that started inside their own 22m area. Two attackers against one defender is a classic decision-making training scenario. There are lots of different ways to set it up. Here are four activities which ensure that there are plenty of variations to keep the players focused on using accurate skills under pressure. MORE
Work on your forwards’ and half-backs’ decision making after a lineout play like a back peel. From this midfield position, players should have three options to attack. MORE
Every player who's not carrying the ball in attack needs to think about how they can be effective "off the ball".
In simple terms, it means realigning to receive the next pass, or the pass after. However, in the chaos of a game, players who are not close to the ball will find it harder to do things like "hold their width" or "maintain their depth". Lots of jargon already, which can be difficult to comprehend for more novice players, let alone more experienced players trying to be more effective. MORE
Build pressure on opponents by going forward and retaining possession in the “red zone”, that’s near to the opponent’s try line. Use this activity to create that scenario. MORE
Not all our players are comfortable passing the ball long distances, so use this activity to mix up your team across their abilities and still attack the wide channels. MORE
