It’s been interesting reading the comments on my recent column about the drop punt style adopted by most modern Super Rugby kickers, with a specialist kicking coach even weighing in with his perspective.
I neglected to mention last week that the reason for raising this debate was that I spoke with the esteemed kicker Tony Brown, who was playing in South Africa, and interestingly, he told me that the drop punt is a much easier kick than the torpedo.
The torpedo actually involves a lot of skill and runs a much lower risk of being charged down by an opponent.
And this, to me, highlights a key difference between the rugby of the past and the modern game.
These days, there seems to be little focus on the skill of the game.
In my playing days, we would spend a lot of time on areas of the game which are now not considered important. Our focus and training revolved mainly around attack, kicking, and skills.
The coaches I speak to now confirm that the focus is mainly on defence and a minor part is attack and skills.
The players are all physically massive and thrive on bashing into each other and running over each other rather than using skill to beat their man or execute on a simple backline play to put the defense in two minds.
When was the last time you saw the wingers get the ball one on one or see the attack try something different? When was the last time you saw a simple loop play executed by an Australian side or a dummy switch or dummy?
Coaches are trying to control the game from the grandstands. And kicking is just the start.
That is why NSW are still finding it hard to come out on top in tight games as players in key positions are just not up to it.
To me, this shows that all the training and preparation they do is not the answer.
I spend a lot of time these days coaching kids at Academies in Hong Kong and South Africa (not in Australia) and I always teach the kids how to do both a spiral pass and a lateral pass, and how to kick torpedo and drop punts.
You must give them options.
I also coach kids to run and back themselves and not just kick at all costs. Starting at the grassroots level, we can influence their mentality and encourage natural instinct and creative flair.
These are just basic skills in rugby. But they are tragically neglected at the highest levels of the game in Australia.
NSW were right in it at the death of their match against the Crusaders, with an opportunity to unleash a hefty torpedo kick down the ground from a penalty and position themselves for a final assault on the Crusaders line.
But where are the risk takers? Coaches don’t like them because they can’t control them!
So what happens? A drop punt that picks up some twenty metres. This is when the player should really back himself with the bigger kick, but instead, he took the easy, and safe, way out.
As I noted last week, this is a direct result of the impact of league philosophies and training techniques on the rugby world. Decoy runners are now a big part of the game, which is a waste of players putting pressure on the other team.
In league, it’s all about retaining possession. Then they kick it away. Simple is good.
Rugby teams don’t want to put the ball into space. Yet, when they do, great things can happen.
Look at the Cheetahs and Highlanders game, when the Highlanders scored several late tries. They backed themselves. That’s what it should be about.
Rather than run at the gaps, or use the ball to create weaknesses in the defence, players just steamroll each other.
It’s become a battle of the bulk, and everyone, from the fans to the players themselves, are ultimately losing.
So that’s my view. What’s yours? Oh, and this week Brumbies vs Waratahs, my prediction is: Kick, kick, kick, and poorly.
Choco
Guest
Watched the rebels the other day... and couldn't believe the size of there outside centre Mitch Inman... I'm fairly tall at 6'5" although this kid is as the commentators said is built like tarzan... i get your point campo, especially with inman on the paddock... i just search in google australian rugby player huge and this blog came up and thought id post this in it. http://twf.com.au/showthread.php?t=25221
Altus
Guest
I do watch College football and it is entertaining. It is also entertaining for the same reason that rugby was entertaining in the 80s. The defence cant be compared to the NFL. It is one of the reason why some QBs with stellar College careers can't make the grade in the NFL. It will be very interesting to see if Heismann winner RG3 makes the grade at the Redskins
PeterK
Guest
Cooper , Beale and JoC have been criticised for their risk taking. Coaches really hated it, in particular Cooper, and Cooper enjoyed the freedom under Mckenzie since he actually let him play what the way he wanted. As opposed to Deans who controlled Cooper and this was a large reason for his lesser impact at intl level, Deans the poor coach restricting the risk taker. So I believe they are the exceptions and only because they are so outrageously talented. Others are not allowed to get away with it. Also I agree with campo in that coaches are taking the easy way out. It is a lot easier to focus on defence than innovative attack. Most coaches seem to be control freaks and that is their focus on the game plans, control the players , control the game. Far too many passes in the backline are not in front of the player but behind or too high or too low. The kicking tactics are terrible. Yes there are a lot less gaps BUT maybe if they played rugby and used mauls to suck in the forwards or pods of forwards RUNNING onto the ball and punishing pick and drive until the forwards had to defend it. They are professionals, it is their full time job. They have a skills coach, they have an attack coach. So there is no excuse for the attacks to not be more creative (yes more risky than attack meaning kick) and for passing skills being better.
gatesy
Roar Guru
..see y'all at Canberra Stadium - the interest in the Brumbies is back - so much so that my wife wants to go to the game!! - well, everyone loves seeing the Waratahs get a caning!! - the boys are well and truly "back in town!!"
David Villa
Guest
Benn0, can the poor decision making be attributed to the poor skill level? A player like Dan Carter has almost unlimited options at his disposal & as a result rarely makes a wrong decision, the skill level of plenty of australian players, not all by any account, doesn't allow them to take the correct option as they don't have the requisite skill to implement it. Compare the size of JOC that to wingers like Bob Edgerton & Paul Carozza. If he is 84Kg now,which is innacurate I would think, a player with his frame would have been 74kg twenty years ago. He is a beast!
Sharminator
Roar Rookie
Yeah, but I think average today is a huge difference to back in Campo´s era. Tuigamala was the first "big" winger in international rugby, and he was only 94kg. As Wikipedia says "As an All Black, he was known as a powerful runner, physically much larger than most typical wings". I think a consequence of having 100kg centres, is that centres of a similar size are needed to be able to tackle and defend against them, and sometimes it seems players are chosen just for their size rather than their skill, such as Banahan for England a few years back .. he seemed to have almost no skill.
Sharminator
Roar Rookie
Good question. Its true that that many Samoans playing American football are 2nd generation, whose famillies have moved to places such as Hawaii, California and Utah, and who didnt grow up in American Samoa. However, of the 800 boys who graduated from high school in American Samoa in the past two years, 97 left the island to play football at two-or four-year colleges in the U.S., and 10 players educated in American Samoa´s high schools have joined NFL teams in the last five years. Half the University of Hawaii team are Samoan and more than 200 Samoans are playing college football. The statistic about American Samoans being between either 45 or 60 times more likely to reach the NFL than other Americans is often repeated, so I guess it has some basis. I also read somewhere that there is one NFL player who is Western Samoan, and that talent scouts and now going there. This could have implications for rugby, as scholarships to US universities at 17 years of age might seem much more attractive than playing club rugby in NZ or Aus while trying to make a name for yourself so you can eventually play Super rugby or in Europe.
Sharminator
Roar Rookie
Watch some U.S. College football and you will see the difference .. they try moves with lateral passes, recievers also passing the ball, running on the last down. etc. Things you dont see in the NFL because it is considered too risky.
Banger
Guest
Healy's try on the weekend was a thing of beauty
Tigranes
Guest
kingplaymaker - there is little doubt that Polynesians are definitely punching above their population size when it comes to American football, and also league and union. In fact I would go so far to say that in terms of professional athletes, there would be more Polynesians (Samoans, Tongans, Hawaiians) playing professional sport as a % of their total population relative to any other race.
Guy Smiley
Guest
Sexton does it with Ireland regularly although it's become so telegraphed as to be useless. Done without pace just equates to a hospital pass. Also didn't the whole decoy runner business begin with the Australians in the early 90s? I remember being intensely frustrated watching them as a teenager that they were somehow breaking the rules of the game but not obviously enough to be caught out by the refs (who didn't quite understand what was going on either). Anyway good article, amazing how quickly the game has drifted away in the last 2 decades. Brought a friend recently to the Force v Reds (45-19) and he thought it was boring, with too many stoppages. Heaven help me if I'd brought him to any other Force game!
Altus
Guest
What are you talking about. The NFL has never been as attacking as it was last season. Of the 5 quarterbacks in history with seasons of 5000 yards passing, three happened last year and another QB had more than 4900. The NFL has its problems, but coaches not taking risks isnt one of them.
Jutsy
Guest
As you said Sittingbison his a young bloke, I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt and suggest that it was poor PR advice he received from his management team that lead him to the "brand/KPI" fiasco. I didnt watch many force games last year (their style doesn't attract me) so I can't comment on how he played for the force and agree his attitude of the field left a little wanting but I believe the embarrasment he suffered after team announcement saga gave him the shakeup he required and I can't fault his endevour during the world cup. I think he did all that was required of him in defence and was our only reliable source of attacking inspiration. IMO he put in the hard yards in every game he played during the tournament. Especially in the quarter final where he was used as a battering ram on numerous occasions close to the breakdown despite his size. I guess I am a wallaby supporter first and super 15 supporter second so I dont have an issue with players jumping from one aus team to another. On a side note I agree with you regarding the poor form of QRU in regards to sabotaging the genia/force deal and also in poaching graham but I think the graham saga is a win for you guys.
matthew
Guest
Anyone and everyone dumps Spies. He's a hopeless player for such a big man.
sittingbison
Roar Pro
nothing hypocritical about copping it from Force supporters Jutsy, he dicked us around all year with his comments then came up with the notorious KPIs AFTER agreeing to the contact put forward by the management. OTOH Genias camp has clearly intimated he was chasing filthy lucre, thought by all to mean overseas, and the Force fiasco came out of the blue (so to speak hehe) for all concerned. No "brand" or "improving my rugby" or "going to a rugby culture" or "coaching premiership players instead of a bunch of useless hacks" like we have been dished up, just plain old "show me the money". Never disputed his attacking intent or prowess, it is the hard yards in getting back in defence and putting in the tackles. This was patently missing in his last half season at the Force. And why Deans chose to play McCabe and not Judas at 12 up to and including the RWC. His attitude sucked big time, but he is a very young man and we all secretly hoped this phase would pass and he would mature. Hopefully he will now, especially now Cipriani is gone.
mikeylives
Guest
Check out the Brums this weekend for hi octane skills and evasion from an oz team.
sheek
Guest
Nicol'arse, Defences improve, then attacks eventually find a way to unlock them, & so on. Everyone, or almost everyone, went on verbatim about how Ella wouldn't succeed with today's defences, & lo & behold, along came Quade Cooper, & he cuts up the modern defensive patterns without too much bother. Well, when he's Dr.Jeckyll & not Mr.Hyde. Now Cooper isn't one-tenth the player Ella was, so dwell on that. It's the same with Benji Marshall in the NRL. And Billy Slater, or Kurtley Beale, does today what Campo would have done back in the 80s & 90s.
Jutsy
Guest
Do not agree with that comment at all. He was the only wallaby back in 2011 that was a consistent threat on attack and along with mccabe was a rock in defence (as can be seen in highlights package BennO posted above). All this negative flak he still cops from force supporters is hypocrtical considering they were happy to take genia from the reds. From my view point O'connor is has been excellent in attack at the rebs but there is extra pressure on him as he has been the only class back in the team for the majority of the year due to beale's injuries. His defensive issues have been more to do with learning the defensive aspects of a new position and less to do with "putting in the hard yards". It doesn't help that he has the added pressure of being outside turnstile cipriani in defence. If you doubt his toughness and commitment just look at the footage of how he got his current injury. Running into front on traffic with eyes only for the ball and not a single concern for his own well being. He even tried to stay on the field after the incident.
sittingbison
Roar Pro
He seems to have gone backwards since becoming a brand. When he started at the force as a kid he was tenacious, and then got better with age and strength increases. Then as last season wore on he became less involved in the hard yards as his brand developed, to the point of demanding KPIs in his new contract. I also felt his hard yakka went missing in the Wallavies late last year as well.
Jutsy
Guest
THey have scored 16 tries in the last 3 games! They are proof that its possible to run the ball but also be defensively sound. Despite the great tries they've scored in the last few weeks the real highlight for me was seeing tomane, mogg, leiliafanno and mccabe all run down the lions winger when he got the intercept.