15 years from now Ireland will see the real consequences of a first Grand Slam in 61 years and a first Championship in 24 years.
Success is contagious. As the grown-ups struggled through the sweetest of hangovers on Sunday morning, how many kids drifted outside, imagining the cathedral of the Millennium Stadium, 20,000 desperate Irish fans and a big ‘H’ on the back wall of the house, right between Mum’s windows?
Munster Rugby has provided the Irish public with many moments like Saturday evening. However not everyone is from Munster. Achieving success on the international stage in such dramatic circumstances transcends provincial boundaries. Everyone is allowed to tap into the moment. Everyone can feel genuine ownership of the team and plays they make. Every kid can be O’Gara or O’Driscoll or Ferris.
I do not know what future holds for Irish rugby, but I do know that the IRFU have never been in a better position to shape the image of the game and navigate its direction.
Clubs need support, mini’s need coaching and crowd control, goal-posts need painting and teams need sponsorship.
In our current economic situation, we may not have the funds to grow our game, but we do have the social capital, the hunger, the time and the fertile minds of the next generation of players to sow whatever future we want.
Players are made, not born. This grand slam success is the jackpot for rugby development in Ireland, lets not blow it in a haze of self-satisfaction and backslapping. Now is the time to act.
It can be very difficult to change your methods, especially if they are working. Change is hard. Change is uncomfortable. Change makes people feel redundant and insecure.
Despite this, change is an essential factor in success, be it in business, sport or life. Change prevents staleness and inoculates against complacency. However, it is not all bad. You do not have to change everything in order to find or maintain success. The trick is in the details.
Consider the following changes:
Keep your players, but change positions.
Keep your defensive system, but change how you tackle.
Keep your methods, but change your motivation.
Keep your line-out calls, but change your lifters.
Keep your place-kicker, but change his routine.
Even one of these small changes may have big benefits for your team. Change something, see it what happens, you can always go back!
O’Gara is a fantastic player. We know what to expect. We’re going to be up against a good kicking game from someone who manages the game very well. His game management is up there with the best in the world; he is massively experienced, as you would expect from someone winning his 90th cap.
- Toby Flood on Ronan O’Gara
Many people say that rugby is a game of equality. In many respects it is. Everyone is treated equally and everyone has a contribution to make that is essential to the inner workings of the a successful team. Yes, every position counts.
But there is one position in this game that demands more from a player than any other. 10, out-half, fly-half, stand-off, whatever you want to call it, this position is the most likely to influence the outcome of any game. Bad teams win with good 10’s, good teams lose without bad 10’s. It appears to be a simple equation, but I fear people forget what makes a good 10.
Good 10’s know when to kick. Good 10’s knows when to play the corners. Good 10’s know when to relieve the pack. Good 10’s understand the rhythm of the game and the frailty of the mind. There is nothing worse than back-tracking 60m down field after 15 phases and a turnover.
Flood knows this. Ronan O’Gara knows this. Its the reason he has 90 caps. Young players are told to see how Wilkinson hits and how Carter attacks. Thats fine but its not fundamental.
O’Gara can just about protect his channel in defence and lacks gas but watch how he manages a game. Watch when he kicks, where he kicks, watch how he always talks to his team, watch his support lines and how he follows his pass and how, every so often, he pops up to finish off a move. Thats why he has 90 caps. He can manage the game.
The sentiment from the English camp in the aftermath of the Welsh game on Saturday was that sin-binnings cost them a win in the Cardiff. Mike Tindall and Andy Goode were both yellow carded for infringements at the breakdown. Tindall for going off his feet and Goode for killing the ball. Both actions resulted in slow ball for Wales inside the English ‘22 and the cards were correctly awarded.
I point this out because although the Welsh never quite pulled away from England, these yellow cards did have a significant impact on the game. Both were a direct consequence of a coaching philosophy that has been cultivated by Hansen, Ruddock, Johnson and now Gatland and Edwards. A philosophy that is based on superior fitness levels, better conditioning, a commitment to handling skills and the minimizing of errors (England had one scrum on Saturday). This is a philosophy that will potentially reward Wales with their third Grand Slam in five years.
Wales avoid playing rugby on the deck. Every player attempts to keep the ball alive and play at a high tempo. Rugby Union has still not come up with a viable way of defending this tactic. Defences are based on phase play, however to set your defence you need a ruck. Wales continue to cause havoc with defences because they play the ball so fast out phase. The ball is gone inside 3 seconds. Ireland were anything up to 6 seconds against Italy and England were approaching 7 seconds before the ball was recycled.
Quick ball means unorganized defences. If you throw in broken play runners like Roberts, Williams and Byrne, you have a team can do damage in an instance. Yet Wales’ real strenght is their commitment to playing this kind of game. It means that professional players must continue to improve their skill set, regardless of the number on their backs. There were occassions when the ball passed effortlessly through 3 sets of hands, prop to prop to lock. That kind of play has to be empowered by the coaching staff and bought into by the players. They have to work at it. They have to believe in it. They have to enjoy it.
For the amateur coach, this brand of rugby is entirely, especially to young players. It is exciting to play and entertaining to watch. Just remember the fundamentals.
Improve fitness levels.
Increase handling skills to minimize errors.
Encourage your players to attack space and spread the ball.
Demand quick ball from the base of rucks to attack unorganized defensive systems.
Rugby Union lifted the blueprint for defence from Rugby League. Logically, we should also examine the game to find ways of beating that blueprint. League is based around structured defences that force teams to kick in their final phases. Up to 60% of tries that are scored in League are the result of grubber or chip kicks within 15 yards of the goal-line. As Union defences continue to tighten at all levels from schoolboy to professional teams, innovation in breaking these defences has been noticeable only by its absence!
League players have calls, moves and timing tells that allow them to execute so many grubber scores. Union coaches should begin to trust their players explicitly with the smart use of the short kicks. They can be structured into a game plan for the opponents ‘22. The emphasis on retaining the ball should not be as restraining as in the past considering the current edition of the ELV’s. Teams are more likely to kick the away anyway, allowing the innovative attacking team to build another attack.
Teams who are willing to risk playing ball will come up with scores. League may not be perfect, but it has some of the answers for unlocking the new generation of swamping defences.
With the Six Nations about to kick off this weekend, lets take a minute to remember the classic memories of the amateur days. Bill McLaren commentary, baggy cotton jerseys, push passes from the base of rucks and monster place kicks bog-toed from inside the half. Some boot from Paul Thorburn!
I always have a notebook and pen near me, be it at home, in the car or at a training session. You never know when something interesting may crop up. Coaches should be thinkers, innovators, motivators. They should be tracking and documenting their thoughts regularly. Players should keep diaries to track performances, goals and ideas or thoughts. I think this could be especially beneficial to young players who may not be as analytical about the game as they could be. A little bit of analysis and self-criticism can focus the young mind tremendously!
Coaches should take a defence session with this tackle in mind. One hand wrapped around the ball, another around the upper body of the attacker, get in close and turn him. Perfect technique combined with maximum effort strength and timing prevents a try here. Gregan made this tackle a trademark of his over the duration of his career, it can be perfected!
I have three aspects of my coaching that I would like to work on in New Year.
1) Look for more feedback from the players. How are they finding the sessions? What do they feel the team and themselves personally need to work on in the second half of the season?
2) Create more situations where players’ individual skills are tested. By forcing players out of their comfort zone they will improve their handling, appreciation of space and defence.
3) Scrummage, scrummage, scrummage. Lineouts, Lineouts, Lineouts. The set piece is still a focal point of any match. Without a reliable lineout it is impossible to implement a proper gameplan. The scrum sets a platform for open back play and can be a major psychological tool in dismantling an opposition. A team that can execute the set-piece is a team that can win and maintain possession. Possession creates opportunity and denies the opposition the ball.
