By Hammer
November 24th 2009 @ 3:07am

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Teach players basic skills, not to score tries

Anyone who has read any of my posts on this and other sites might like to go straight to the last paragraph because, unfortunately, it is the same as usual. The problem is with the coaches, of which I am one.

However, I do not coach like most other coaches.

I have never coached a team to score tries. It is always about the skills required to understand the game, individual and unit skills and the fitness to compete at their competition level.

How often have you seen an U16 coach trying to get the team to play like the Brumbies ETC?

After watching the Scots play tackle for 80 minutes, it just confirmed my views, sadly. Almost without exception, the individuals that play in my countries’ peak rugby team can’t play rugby.

If they had, say, some passing skills, balance in contact, continuity in contact, foot control, and an understanding of the game to make decisions in the best interest of the team. How about simply controlling and maintaining your feet until adequate support arrives before diving to ground at the slightest contact?

It appears to me that even these simple skills and techniques are outside the Wallabies‘ ability at present. Almost all the plays we see from them that result in points are rehearsed moves, preplanned events that more often than not fail anyway.

Every now and then they get lucky.

So where to now? O’Neill has made a public announcement that Deans’ job is safe. We all know what that means.

Deans can do the job, but he needs to shed the player power, and do it his way. Go back to basics and do not allow:

1. Cut passes
2. Outside shoulder running lines
3. No draw and pass
4. Inability to run straight
5. No support lines
6. inconsistent Rucking and Mauling
7. No continuity in contact
8. no physically dominate contact positions in possession
9. No clear, effective and constant communications
10. An incomprehensible line out
11. forward that are not physical, intimidating and relentless
12. Assist coaches that can’t coach skills

The list goes on and on and …

Stop coaching the team to score tries, coach the players the skills to score tries at the level they compete at!

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Crowd Says (3)

  •   Boo Cheers

    AndyS said  | November 24th 2009 @ 5:30pm | Report comment

    Deans can do what he likes, but it is all for nothing if they then go back to their various Super and amateur clubs and are told to do something entirely different. For mine, a better question might be how the hell they got selected for the Wallabies without those skills? Maybe they should ignore reputations and pay-packets during selection trials (some hope I know) and make their selections based on nothing but the core skills. I wonder if it would result in the same group…

  •   Boo Cheers

    cookee said  | November 24th 2009 @ 10:37pm | Report comment

    HAMMER,what youre doing is telling us all in a not too transparent way that deans is not coaching well and advising him what to address.lovely.
    how did they get selected?oh we are building for the rwc in 2011

  •   Boo Cheers

    skill ground games said  | November 25th 2009 @ 10:33pm | Report comment

    Deans can do what he likes, but it is all for nothing if they then go back to their various Super and amateur clubs and are told to do something entirely different. For mine, a better question might be how the hell they got selected for the Wallabies without those skills? Maybe they should ignore reputations and pay-packets during selection trials (some hope I know) and make their selections based on nothing but the core skills. I wonder if it would result in the same group…Playing skill games up against other users for cash has become very popular lately. The uniqueness of a skill game is that the game’s outcome is predominantly determined by players

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