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A contest for possession, go forward ball, move the ball to create space, exploit space, and finish by scoring tries. This would be my rugby coaching philosophy and what I am trying to achieve coaching at Club U21 level.
I would be doing the same if I was coaching a pro team.
To achieve this, the rules need to assist not hinder the opportunity for rhythm and flow, which I’m quite sure all readers of this column will appreciate.
The tackle/breakdown area is the all-important part of enabling continuity.
This year there is even more tinkering of the rules at the breakdown, which frustrates me. In my view, rugby over the last twelve months has been most entertaining to watch and this was evident throughout the 2011 Rugby World Cup where most teams’ objective appeared to be to play the game to score tries.
This I applaud.
The breakdown/tackle area of the game is something I understand because I coach it on a weekly basis and I also have the opportunity through the International Rugby Academy to view some of the best exponents of coaching the breakdown.
The two who immediately spring to mind are Scott Robertson from Canterbury and Ian MacDonald from the Lions franchise in South Africa.
Both these specialist coaches, who have completely different styles, seriously understand the rules as they are written and as the referees blow it.
If you don’t understand the rules, and don’t understand the interpretation, then you’re wasting your time in either coaching or endeavouring to compete in this area of the game.
The all-important point is to understand what the referee is looking for. Nobody can see everything, but there must be a sequence of what the eye is searching for.
In my view, that sequence should be as follows:
1. Watch the tackler roll away to allow the tackled ball carrier to place the ball.
2. Next, watch the contest for that ball. Does the tackled ball carrier allow a contest or does he hold on?
3. Next, determine if the player/s on his feet is allowed to win the ball. Is he legal (i.e., was he deemed to be the tackler or tackle assist and was a ruck formed when the player attempted to recover the ball). If so, did he enter through the gate?
This is what a referee should be doing.
But many will miss point 2, which is most vital to retaining this area as a contest. Many referees are pre-occupied with point 3, missing the essence of the game: the contest.
I must say there are many spectators who yell from the side-lines with no knowledge of what they are yelling about.
Last year, I was in the USA on IRANZ business sitting quietly in an Irish bar in San Diego at 6am watching a live Tri Series match between the Boks and the All Blacks.
There were a number of South Africans at the bar who clearly misunderstood the tackle law, so eventually my frustration got the better of me and I demonstrated the tackle law on the floor of the bar.
The match became much more enjoyable to all concerned and I couldn’t help but think how simple and transparent this area could be with a little simple clarification.
If the referee is focused on point 3, penalties will be the result because there will always be a reason for blowing the whistle and this will destroy the game and force coaches to adjust their game plan to avoid this area to the determent of rhythm and flow.
If a referee focuses on point 2 for the first two or three breakdowns, a great contest will develop and the players who have the best technical skills in this area will be the victors.
This, of course, has become a modern day technique where the player requires a low centre of gravity achieved by having his feet wide apart and his back low and arched over the ball and genuinely attempts to rip the ball free from the soon-to-be congested area.
The problem I see is referees are too busy looking at the players arriving at the breakdown (and where they come from) than actually watching the player who is trying to win the ball and whether he is being hindered by the tackled ball-carrier.
That player on the ground with the ball is not allowed to hold onto the ball.
If this was refereed more vigilantly it would result in a lot more turnovers and significantly more continuity – and with continuity comes tries.
It all starts at the top, they say.
Therefore, I challenge Greg Peters, CEO of SANZAR, to be a businessman and proactive, rather than an administrator and reactive.
It requires strong leadership to drive the game in the direction that it needs to be played.
If Greg Peters wishes to confirm my view on the above, then he indeed should summon those people who are instrumental in this area – such as a coach who coaches the breakdown from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand and the best three exponents at the breakdown, like Pocock, McCaw and Brussow, along with Lyndon Bray, head of referees.
I am quite sure that between them, within one module, like we do at IRANZ every day, consensus would be achieved and the game would be much better for it.
Just to reinforce my point, in the first weekend of Super Rugby 2012, there were 59 penalties, 13 tries and 3 drop goals.
Surely we can do better by improving the ratio between tries and penalties.
Roar columnist and former All Black great, Murray Mexted, is the Managing Director of The International Rugby Academy (IRANZ), the leading global Rugby Academy. IRANZ offer an independent high performance pathway for coaches, players and teams worldwide. More details here.
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