What is meant by attacking the line and how can you use this effectively in your tactics?
It is crucial for any first receiver to make at least one positive step forward when they receive the ball.
It can be tempting, especially if you are a fly-half (10) and you have called a move where the ball will be going wide, to immediately set off running wide. The problem with this approach is that it allows the defenders to drift over and cover the space.
Make at least one positive step forward towards the defence and you will preserve more of that wide space.
Filming your fly-half as they run some moves can help with this. It is likely that they don’t know that they are immediately starting running wide.
Show them and it will probably lodge in their head more.
Alternatively, a game I have found successful, is to have a cone where your fly-half will receive the ball and another cone, about 2m further forward, that they need to reach before they can break to the outside.
Do that for a few minutes at the start of the session and you will find your fly-half is much more threatening when they receive the ball.
Here are some ideas to improve your 10’s attacking play:
Fly halves (10s) that angle away the source of the ball before they pass, force their own backline across, losing attacking space wider out. Help your 10 stop drifting. MORE
The fly half is known in some parts of the world as the “pivot player”. From his controlling position he can launch his team away from the bunch of opposition forwards and into the open spaces. He therefore needs to be comfortable with the options in front of him. This session builds the awareness to appreciate these options.
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Start putting more pressure on your fly half (10) in training so he can perform better on match days. You can also work all the players who might fulfil this role. There are three main ways to create pressure: Reduce the time for the player to make decisions. Reduce the space for the player to... MORE
By standing deep I mean how far back from the "gain line" (the line across the pitch where the restart is) a fly half stands. The nearer they are to the gain line, the flatter the fly half is. Basically, the flatter the fly half stands, the greater the risks involved and the lesser the space available. MORE
“The supporting player starts in front of the ball carrier, while the defender has his back to the attack. When you shout play, with the supporting player walking forward and the defender out of position, the players will have to think quickly to come up with winning solutions.” MORE
Develop ball carriers with some grit and determination to power through the tackle situation. If they don’t break the tackle, at least they provide a good target for their support players. This session creates ways to test their mettle. MORE
Create a fatiguing decision-making exercise for your players. In this 4 v 2 game, the players have 90 seconds to score as many tries as possible but can choose which line to attack each time. MORE
Understand how to create then take advantage of 3 v 2s by isolating and splitting the two defenders. The chaotic starts mean more options and decisions for all the players involved. MORE
