Space is the Wallabies’ final frontier
Columnist By Brett McKay, 13 Jul 2010 Brett McKay is a Roar Expert
- Tagged:
- All Blacks, Rugby Union, Tri Nations, wallabies
Related coverage
After watching the first Tri-Nations game on Saturday night from Auckland, it became apparent to me that the key to winning the hardest rugby tournament in the world is something of which we’ve all been craving to see more: Space.
In fact, it wasn’t even after the game that this became obvious.
Within the first ten or fifteen minutes, it was noticeable that both the All Blacks and Springboks were looking to play with space as often as they could.
It felt like there was more long and wide passing in those first fifteen minutes than the Wallabies showed in their last two games.
Both flyhalves were throwing the wide pass from the outset, and the All Blacks certainly seemed intent on running the big South African defenders around the ground.
The big difference, though, was that while Morne Steyn would link with whichever Springbok player was in the space he aimed for, Dan Carter was almost exclusively playing for centres Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith.
Width, length, height, angles run from depth. Space was there wherever you looked.
Before too long, New Zealand had turned this space into attacking dominance, and that’s pretty much how the game played out.
Even before their first try, it was abundantly clear that the All Blacks were making and breaking the advantage line almost at will, while the Springboks were still content to make their ground through the slow pick-and-drive and from Steyn’s rather large boot.
But the kick didn’t always go to plan. From a poor Ricky Januarie box-kick, fullback Mils Muliaina found himself in copious space, and with winger Cory Jane in support, he cut a swathe through the South African midfield, found captain Richie McCaw who headed wide, and in doing so was able to hold the Springbok cover up for long enough to send Smith to the corner.
It seemed that whatever the All Blacks tried there was space available, though admittedly, they did have a numbers advantage at one point during the first half with Bakkies Botha given a yellow card and ten minutes to consider the consequences of his cynical actions.
After halftime, it was more of the same too, with the All Blacks able to string the phases together quite regularly, and their back three of Muliaina, Jane, and Joe Rokocoko providing excellent service in both counter-attack and general kick returns.
No.8 Kieran Read’s try was another notable use of space, but of a different variety. With scrumhalf Piri Weepu now on, and with New Zealand pressing the South African try line, Weepu rather than handing off for the pick-and-drive from the base of the ruck, instead drifted wider, while Read came from a wider “outside-in” angle as the commentators described it.
It was perfect execution, and the use of space made it all the better.
With Weepu getting outside the defensive channel at the ruck, and Read able to run at a wider gap, it just became a matter of momentum versus technique, with the result being a converted try.
New Zealand used similar tactics throughout the game too, where rather than just driving the ball back into the ruck defenders, they ran the one-off runners wider, which also had the effect of engaging new defenders. And with new defenders drawn in, the space was there out wide. Rugby really can be a simple game sometimes.
So what does this mean for the Wallabies?
Well, for starters, by the time they play their first game, they could be taking on a Springbok side hell-bent on redemption in the Tri-Nations.
That’s a worry. Not nearly as worrying, though, as how red-hot the All Blacks might be by then.
What the Wallabies have to do is use space to their advantage. In some respects, it will just mean going back to the same attacking mindset from the first Test against England, but generally it’s going to mean playing a whole lot wider than they did in the June Tests.
For Luke Burgess and Will Genia, it’s going to mean taking a leaf out of the All Black No.9’s book, and play the pick-and-drive runner one defender wider.
Likewise, the forward runners can’t just lope at the back of the ruck and charge into the defence off flat feet. Use the space; find the width and depth, and trust the pass.
And on that topic, trusting the pass is something Matt Giteau needs to do if he manages to hold his inside centre spot. Whether it’s Giteau, Berrick Barnes, or even Wallaby squad newbie Anthony Faingaa at inside, they all need to find the space out wider and let flyhalf Quade Cooper hit them with his outstanding long pass.
And once Cooper does find them, do the right thing by the pass and stay straight, rather than running laterally.
If Kurtley Beale is reading this (and I can’t think why he wouldn’t be) ‘use the space’ does not give you licence to fluff through pointless little kicks, like the one you bombed a certain try against Ireland with.
For you, it means finding yourself in the correct position at fullback (assuming that’s where you play), running at gaps, and utilising the space with your wingers on counter-attack and kick return.
I wrote some months back about the Australian Super 14 teams needing “a dose of the Reds”, and this could easily apply to the Wallabies now too, as they start developing their Tri-Nations game plans. This is actually a point many Roarers – especially the Queenslanders amongst us – have been quick to make since watching the All Blacks’ impressive Springbok-demolition on Saturday night.
And with good reason too. All the best games of rugby this season have been those where teams have used the space available. We’ve seen glimpses of it from the Wallabies, but of late, they’ve reverted to the same play of finding the inside runner.
Use the space, look to the outside too.
Space may well be the final frontier for the Wallabies, but it is already playing a major role in the Tri-Nations. If the Wallabies are to be a chance, let’s just hope it doesn’t take a lifetime to find it.
Recommend this story.
Follow Brett McKay on Twitter: @BMcSport
The Turkey 10
The Turkey 10 teams have now been selected, as Wild Turkey Bourbon's sport sponsorship kicks into the next exciting phase.
Choose which side you're going to support and get in the running to win $2,500!
Simply visit Wild Turkey Australia on Facebook for your chance to win.
Find out more.
- Explore:
- All Blacks, Rugby Union, Tri Nations, wallabies
July 13th 2010 @ 10:10am
sheek said | July 13th 2010 @ 10:10am | Report comment
Good stuff Brett,
But continuing the space theme…..
The Wallabies can’t even begun to think about conquering space until they have a spacecraft!
In the context of rugby, this means the Wallabies must find a strong & stable scrum before they even think of dominating space.
The All Blacks & Springboks already have their spacecraft – that is, their already strong & stable scrum. So they were able to devote their energies to conquering space….. !
And what tragic said – speed. Speed is the powerful rocket booster propelling the spacecraft into space.
Ground control to Major Tom….. hello….. hello ……….
July 13th 2010 @ 10:19am
kingplaymaker said | July 13th 2010 @ 10:19am | Report comment
Brett the implications of what you say are great for selection of the Wallabies team.
There has been much talk of choosing vast bashers like Faiingaa and Shepherd. But if moving the ball wide into space is the order of the day, someone like Faiingaa offers less than a Giteau or Barnes.
Again, look at Conrad Smith. He really plays like a mixture of strike runner AND fly-half at 13, rather like James Hook, constantly creating opportunities and manipulating space for the back three. Would it be possible to do something unusual and select Giteau at 13 to put everyone on the far outside into space as Smith does? It would also mean an inner and outer playmaking focus with Cooper inside.
Another point is size is in another sense. Much has been said of the Wallabies need to bulk up in the backs. Is this really so important if the idea is to outflank them and run them off their feet? Is speed not perhaps more important? Granted the All Blacks had the bulky Nonu, but the rest of the backline are normal size (for professional rugby players
)
Perhaps a similar team to the first test against England could be selected, but with Shepherd at full-back and speedsters elsewhere. Faiingaa could go at 12 and Giteau 13. A crazy sounding backline perhaps, but who knows!
July 13th 2010 @ 10:43am
M.O.C. said | July 13th 2010 @ 10:43am | Report comment
KPM do you think that Giteau has previously shown abilities to put players through gaps like you suggest?. I always thought of him as being the one to run into gaps created for him by inside players a la Larkham or run into gaps created by tired forwards. I think the closer he is to a action the better and thought that much earlier in his career, halfback would have suited him with sniping runs from the base of a ruck or scrum when the pigs are tired. Quite frankly, if he plays at 13 I think he will end up looking like a well-groomed speed bump.
July 13th 2010 @ 10:52am
kingplaymaker said | July 13th 2010 @ 10:52am | Report comment
M.O.C. remember that until last year Giteau was a very good fly-half, who combined his speed and stepping with good playmaking. That is roughly what Smith and Hook do, just further out wide.
This pattern also spreads the playmaking centres further apart, thereby creating problems over a broader spread of the field.
Besides I think unorthodox selections can be very effective, and seem pretty rare these days. No one would have thought Hook would move to 13, and when he did he caused unending problems to the opposition who had no idea what effect he would have.
July 13th 2010 @ 11:25am
M.O.C. said | July 13th 2010 @ 11:25am | Report comment
True KPM, it might just be the exact fit for Giteau in the long run – it seems that with the current selection of Cooper he has become a bit of a square peg looking for another hole to fit in, in a relatively full backline – I would still feel a little uneasy about his size in this role though, however this might just be me generalising the position, ie, I look at Umaga, Mortlock etc as the template for a good 13 as I am looking for a heavy defender in this role who can shut-down an opposition backline attack – not sure if Giteau would have this kind of “authority” out wide
July 13th 2010 @ 11:37am
kingplaymaker said | July 13th 2010 @ 11:37am | Report comment
M.O.C I suppose it would depend who he was defending against. It’s probably safer if he’s out there defending against Smith than facing the massive Nonu at 12, but against South Africa both centres are behemoths so it may be even. At least he won’t have back row forwards pounding into him so often.
Interesting point you make that he may be superfluous at 12 outside such a good creative player as Cooper. However watching the AB/SA match where a familiar, almost conservative backline was chosen, it did occur to me that it’s worth getting your best players to perform even if out of sorts, and Giteau, Cooper and Ioane for me are the Wallabies game-breakers in the backs.
July 13th 2010 @ 11:44am
M.O.C. said | July 13th 2010 @ 11:44am | Report comment
Wonder if its too late to train Giteau for the 2nd row or loose head prop?
July 13th 2010 @ 9:03pm
Ben S said | July 13th 2010 @ 9:03pm | Report comment
‘Besides I think unorthodox selections can be very effective, and seem pretty rare these days. No one would have thought Hook would move to 13′
James Hook played 10, 12, 13 & 15 for the Ospreys before he ever did for Wales.
July 13th 2010 @ 11:17am
johnny-boy said | July 13th 2010 @ 11:17am | Report comment
We’re clutching at straws – but at least it’s a straw
July 13th 2010 @ 11:55am
kingplaymaker said | July 13th 2010 @ 11:55am | Report comment
M.O.C of course, especially as to listen to discussions on the Wallabies you’d think he was the ONLY player who mattered!
July 13th 2010 @ 11:20am
kingplaymaker said | July 13th 2010 @ 11:20am | Report comment
johnny-boy the Wallabies attack was good in the first test in june remember.
July 13th 2010 @ 11:30am
Colin N said | July 13th 2010 @ 11:30am | Report comment
Against a woeful English defence.
July 13th 2010 @ 11:33am
kingplaymaker said | July 13th 2010 @ 11:33am | Report comment
Well that’s certainly true.
July 13th 2010 @ 11:21am
Taniwha said | July 13th 2010 @ 11:21am | Report comment
Interesting article. I guess the conditions on Saturday allowed the creation of this space. The weather conditions (forecasted to be occasional rain, southerlies strengthening) in Wellington and a more accurate high ball kicking game from the Boks could make things very interesting this time. The fact that they have only made forced changes to their line up would tend you to believe that similar tactics will be employed by them.
July 13th 2010 @ 11:35am
Brett McKay said | July 13th 2010 @ 11:35am | Report comment
Good morning guys, thanks for all the comments. I’ve been a little preoccupied on the quest for Ashes tickets this morning, but with that now all done, let’s see if we can’t come up with a game plan to win the TNs (sorry OJ, the All Blacks love-fest has to end some time for we Aussies
)
Some very valid points have been made here, regarding the use of space, which means I’ve hit a common train of thought this week. So just in reply to a few:
- I too have no idea why you’d want to kick for the line against the ABs. On Sat night, they pinched 3 Boks’ lineout throws, while at the same time conceeding none. Thorn was outstanding as many of you have mentioned, but Tom Donnolly might just have played his ‘come of age’ game in a Black jersey. Let’s hope the Wallabies tall timber took note.
- OJ, I’d much prefer we focussed on Reds-Bulls than the Waratahs-Brumbies!! I wasn’t necessarily thinking of a particular Reds game actually, and we may recall the Brumbies essentially beat the Reds at their own game (injured locks notwithstanding). That all said, I agree completely with the point made here today that starving the ABs of possession is the key. That means building up the phases clinically and patiently. But no reason why running the p&d wider won’t work either.
- CraigB and Tragic make very good points about speed – as well as space – being a factor, and of course that’s true; the two should be used in conjunction. The ABs speed and intensity was relentless for 80 minutes, and the Boks just couldn’t keep up. Muliaina, for a guy with bugger all rugby under his belt, showed the real benefits of space and speed, and Conrad Smith did the same.
- Vinay, yes, ‘space between the ears’ was very much implied. The irony is that you’d hope the Wallabies are smart enough to realise this…
- KPM, you might be onto something about how Smith played at 13, and I’ve posed the question in the last week wondering if Deans might be thinking of Anthony Faingaa as an option at 13, too. Faingaa has enough play-making nous to be able to create those same opportunites that Smith does, as you mention, and he’s certainly got the straight-running part covered too. Further, it pushes Ashley-Cooper back to the wing or fullback, which might be needed now that Hynes has been ruled out.
Anyway, just some points for further pondering. Great discussion so far..
July 13th 2010 @ 11:46am
sheek said | July 13th 2010 @ 11:46am | Report comment
Random musings…..
The great former Boks player, coach & mentor Dr. Danie Craven used to apparently drum into his pupils the virtues of the 7 pillars of rugby -
1. Scrum
2. Lineout
3. Ruck
4. Maul
5. Handling (passing, catching, running, restarts)
6. Kicking (tactical & goal)
7. Tackling
In the modern game you could probably reduce the pillars to 6 by combining the ruck & maul into the breakdown. But the mantra still applies all the same – Get the basics skills & techniques of these 7 pillars right, & you can concentrate on the mental stuff of strategies & tactics.
Way, way down Otago way, it is believed the famous 3Ps (possession, position, pace) were developed by the father & son coaching combination of Vic snr & Vic jnr Cavagnah. To this very day, you can see this philosophy in most ABs sides.
Expanding on the 3Ps, Vic jnr was also one of the apparent disputed fathers of the flat backline principle in attack. Needless to say, both the 3Ps & flat backline were unashamedly adopted by the famous Randwick Galloping Greens to extraordinary success for the second half of the 20th century.
Between 1948 & 96 (49 years) Randwick won an astonishing 22 premierships in Sydney district club rugby (17 between 1971-96). And contrary to perceptions, their pack at club level was usually good enough to give them the solid platform for their backs to weave their magic.
Anyway, I reckon if you wanted to achieve any success as an amateur coach, if you drummed the basics of the 7 pillars & 3 Ps into your pupils, you would enjoy much more success than defeat…..
July 13th 2010 @ 3:36pm
Greg said | July 13th 2010 @ 3:36pm | Report comment
The order of these pillars emphasis the rugby union is a constant battle for possession.
July 13th 2010 @ 3:43pm
Go_the_Wannabe's said | July 13th 2010 @ 3:43pm | Report comment
Look for the deep standing backline to make a comeback soon……very under utilised these days. It wouldn’t hurt to throw a couple of these in every game at scrum time to add variation and keep the opposition guessing.
Also noted last year that Jarrod Hayne (magnificent player that he is) would sometimes virtually stand still and let the opposition come to him before moving……a clever variation if the opposition comes up in a staggered formation as it leaves sideways holes in the defense that Hayne fully exploited. Mind you, you’re toast if they all come up evenly!!!!!
July 13th 2010 @ 12:11pm
M.O.C. said | July 13th 2010 @ 12:11pm | Report comment
I note with surprise that Dr Craven’s pillars of rugby do not include hair-styling tips, head-butting instruction or any public urination policy – perhaps a few of the current players should read his list again.
July 13th 2010 @ 12:17pm
Vinay Verma said | July 13th 2010 @ 12:17pm | Report comment
Sheek,Brett..I’ll throw in one more “P”…Passion..for the game and the jumper and for your fellow teammate…joy in his success and sad when he fails.
July 13th 2010 @ 12:24pm
sheek said | July 13th 2010 @ 12:24pm | Report comment
Vinay,
Passion is necessary, but only when channelled correctly. I often used to see the French for example, at the national anthem hugging, tugging, puffing, looking for all the world with deep intent.
When the game started, they would play with typical fury, but with terrible discipline & attention to the basics of the game. Passion is certainly important, but only after the basics have been adhered to.
July 13th 2010 @ 2:19pm
Brett McKay said | July 13th 2010 @ 2:19pm | Report comment
Sheek, you could nearly say the same about the Boks on Saturday night. I’m actually tending to agree more with Gregan’s and Deans’ views on passion, on what part it plays in the modern game. I hate making money an issue, but you do have to wonder whether passion has been somewhat diluted by dollars…
July 13th 2010 @ 7:35pm
sheek said | July 13th 2010 @ 7:35pm | Report comment
Brett,
While I understand where Gregan was coming from re passion being over-rated, his was a bad look on the rugby pitch.
The problem with Gregan is that he didn’t appear to enjoy his rugby anymore. It was a job – clock-on at the start, clock-off at full-time. He had played the game long enough to do his job efficiently, but not one iota more.
The experts talk about “controlled aggression”. Controlled passion is basically the same principle.
July 13th 2010 @ 12:38pm
CraigB said | July 13th 2010 @ 12:38pm | Report comment
I will throw another in – Precision. The ability to do it right everytime
July 13th 2010 @ 1:04pm
mudskipper said | July 13th 2010 @ 1:04pm | Report comment
Perhaps the Referee should feed the ball like an AFL throw in?
But seriously, if the feed is straight in the second-row it should be a scrum penalty to the opposition. There re a few rules like that not flowed by the refs, another example is jumping in the line out before the hooker has thrown the ball.