The greatest improvement of all in the professional rugby game compared to the amateur days is in defence.
Readers of a certain age will remember rugby being scoffed at by their league counterparts, saying that rugby players couldn’t tackle. In most cases they were right, at least not the sort of tackling that went on in rugby league – crunching, front-on hits on big men at full pace.
How things have changed. The legal crash tackle is one of the features of Super Rugby. Remember Ben Tameifuna’s bone rattler on Michael Hooper last season? That’s just one of several whacks that happen each week.
The old days of busting up a defence by straight-out hard running aren’t entirely gone (witness inroads made by Jacques Potgieter for the Waratahs and Tevita Kuridrani for the Brumbies), but the opportunities are definitely limited. Even the Rebels, whose defence once made them relative easy-beats, have shown that tries against them in 2015 will be hard earned.
To combat this, the top teams are focusing in hard on one key skill – the offload in contact.
The offload in a tackle creates space by taking out a defender and then putting a close running receiver in behind the advantage line. As long as the ball is moving around in front of the line, a fit, well-organised defence can control a game relatively well, even without the ball. But as soon as attackers get in behind, the defensive line is out of the game. Cue a scramble.
It’s no coincidence that the Super Rugby teams who are good at the offload are the teams that are winning – the Chiefs and the Hurricanes particularly. But it’s not just this year – the trend was clearly building last year and was evident in the Waratahs style – in fact they were the top offloading team in their inaugural title year.
In 2014, five out of the top six offloading teams made the finals. This year it is a bit early to get a clear trend, but so far the top six offloading teams include half of the top six on the table plus last year’s two finalists. So it certainly appears as though the offload is a big part of success.
Sonny Bill Williams is the obvious weapon for the Chiefs, and his Hurricanes counterpart Ma’a Nonu has also made the offload an art form. But it’s not only size and power that equips a player to position for the offload – footwork counts as well, which accounts for Kurtley Beale and Matt Toomua figuring high up the competition offload stats. The Blues’ Patrick Tuilpolotu and the Chiefs’ Charlie Ngati also rank highly.
Also interesting is that the competition benchmark Chiefs have four out of the top ten offloaders in the competition, while no other team has more than one – testament to the Chiefs’ high-octane rugby.
Of course, the offload is not a game plan in itself. Instead, it is a game breaker between two fairly evenly matched teams. Watch any set of match highlights and it quickly becomes evident that almost all tries originate from one of three sources – set-play deception, counter attack from a turnover, or continuity from the offload. Of the three, the offload demands the most skill.
All teams practice set plays and most professionals can catch and pass well enough to execute a set manoeuvre, so it is essential but not a differentiator.
Counter attack is almost always against a fragmented defensive line and gives space for players to run and pass, so again most teams will have some success there.
The offload however, demands precise timing during contact, often from more than one tackler. It also demands that other players work off the ball to position well enough to take the pass. Not every team can do it, and fewer can do it well.
In last week’s matches, the Blues and Cheetahs both benefited from offload tries. Jerome Kaino virtually fell over from one metre out, when his inside men committed players and offloaded successfully. Teammate Charlie Faumuina rumbled over from five metres after Patrick Tuipolotu committed two defenders and offloaded.
For the Cheetahs, Cornel Hendricks offloaded to a teammate and then after two further offloads, eventually received the pass back to score the try. As is a requirement with the offload, the three players were eager to keep the ball alive and put themselves in position to take the pass, otherwise the try would certainly not have been scored.
In the Chiefs vs Crusaders game, Sonny Bill Williams’ try was set up by two brilliant pieces of passing-in-contact – first a magnificent flick out of the back of the hand by Johan Bardoul to a flying Charlie Ngatai, who then popped a marvellous pass off the ground to continue the movement. Williams was the eventual beneficiary, scoring from two metres out.
In the Sharks vs Bulls match, Ryan Kanowski scored after Renaldo Bothma singlehandedly battled through two tacklers and slipped a sleight-of-hand pass to his wing, allowing the Sharks to slice up the defence and give Kankowski a clear run.
As with most good offloads, once the support player is clear, there is little the defence can do.
While the tries in Super Rugby still often come from set piece and counter, the offload is the special sauce against a good defence – the factor that separates the true contenders from the hopefuls.
And with four out of the top ten offloaders in the competition, the Chiefs look to be just a little more special than the rest.
Rugby Tragic
Guest
To each their own Barry, I think offloading is a skill possessed by few who have the nous to execute at the appropriate moment. Those who possess that skill create space as defenders are drawn in, but to suggest Michael Chieka introduced it to rugby, I think is a bit off the mark.
mike
Guest
And commentators have noted that reid really took off with his offload after being exposed to SBW, when the latter was with the saders. Whether we like it or not, even though the offload has been around for yonks, SBW is the man that has really brought it under the spotlight and revived its significance and popularity. Hell even kids in South Africa have been reported to try and imitate his offloading game!!! SBW and the offload will be forever synonymous.
Not Bothered
Guest
Rubbish. The people who disrespect Cheks the most are Australians.
Lostintokyo
Guest
Hard man. First player to receive a perfect 10 rating by Rugby League Week too in a game in '78. Rugby learnt a lot from Leaguies over the last 40 years in terms of defence. Randall's philosophy of 'take no prisoners' worked wonders. When he tackled he didn't want the player to get up. Not in a hurry anyway. A Wallaby pack with Terry's "kill the c¥#%" attitude in defence would sure help the cause. Palu on occasion comes closest I guess. A counter to the offload.
Liquidlad
Guest
Agree completely RobC. You the man.
Daz
Guest
Terry Randall was one of the real hard men of league. I remember one game, I forget who the opposition was and who the players were, but two of them held him while a third tried to beat the living daylights out of him. I went to work on the Monday and expressed my outrage at three on one to a mate who had played against him when he played for the Rabbitohs and he simply said with a chuckle "I wouldn't feel too sorry for him if I was you. He can look after himself."
richard
Guest
That last sentence is wrong.It wasn't fear of the Springboks per se.it was a fear of most of the top packs.The ABs,going right back to the first RWC felt they needed skill/mobility to counter all their main opposition as the AB pack was smaller compared to them.
sheek
Roar Guru
Mike, I'm waiting for collared jerseys with minimal advertising to return. Plus only ONE alternate playing strip. ;-)
ThugbyFan
Guest
I watched the England-Ireland match on my pc (bugger off Foxtel) and my take was the Irish played a fabulous Jakeball game. The plan was good defence, heaps of PRECISE up-n-unders with two players charging through to upset/contest the ball and a mongrel pack to fight like hell for possession. The really good lineout sure helped also. The relentless pressure resulted in penalties which Sexton converted to add even more pressure. The statistic that amazed me at the end of the match, and is still being shown on another site, was metres carried. England was about 620m (these numbers are off my fading memory) and Ireland about 145m. In essence England ran the ball 4 and half times more than the Irish, yet lost the match. Yes there were a couple of off-loads in there but mostly it shows how well organised the Irish defence is and how poor the English backs are. Sure the Aussie backline would have made minced meat of the irish, but if they had the Wallaby forwards of the Spring tour, they wouldn't have the ball to do it. Instead the match would be spent under the crossbar watching another Sexton goal fly overhead. I hope M.Chieka watched the match and took lots of notes. Remember the WC is in the muddy English Spring. MC mainly has 2 goals. No 1 is get some mongrel forwards who can contest scrums and rucks without giving multiple penalties and No 2 is any kicks must be accurate to isolate the receiver and the backs must chase and contest/harass said receiver (without dumb penalty for attack player while in the air). Put the pressure back on them and the speed of the plays and offloads by the backs will result in a meat pie fest. Wallabies = 2015 WRC.
Nick Turnbull
Roar Guru
Sorry Pete, that is my fault and I should have rechecked my post. Mate I can understand why you may say the safe selection as based on fear, but I wonder what Michael Hooper and Kurtley Beale would have done in Bledisloe 1 last year if given the second chance? Do you recall the Wallabies late in the first half were well on the attack, in atrocious conditions, and the All Blacks infringed twice, and on both occasions the Wallabies elected to run instead of taking points? I think it was later justified with the notion of 'we hadn't been down their half for a while and just wanted to back ourselves etc etc.' - That's fine but the smart money was to take the points. Its not fearful, its just intelligent to play a game that you know puts points on the board against the best team in the world. That's just me - I would prefer to go with what will probably be over what might be.
Lostintokyo
Guest
While on the subject of classic quotes, I like the one from Terry Randall ex Manly and Kangaroo Rep player and defender extraodinar. He was invited to a Waratahs secession to impart his wisdom on how to defend. Now wisdom was not one of Terry's strong points. When the coach said OK Terry, you have the floor, he stood there gobsmacked. A few Tahs players tried to melt the ice at the impasse and asked some silly questions like where is it best to put your shoulder in the hit or how should I prepare my body angle? Again silence from Terry. When pushed for the secret of his success, he said "I just want to tear his f#^*ing head off". All laughed and Terry got his point across and the secession was a success.
Batdown
Roar Rookie
Good points everyone. May I also expand on Mike's point concerning the "style" of the game played. If the bulk of your players come from clubs that employ a strong forward pack (and vice versa a strong backline) it obviously makes sense to build on these strengths, your teams style of play and obvious skill sets will dictate your on field tactics too. The ABs playing Arg(forward strong), Wallabies(backline focused) and the Springboks(forward strong) make for excellent preparation against the NH. IMO we always had the backs to compete but if our forward pack fell apart the ABs could look pretty ordinary. The threat of the immovable Springbok brick wall when SA came back from isolation became the catalyst for change in NZ, we had to find a way to combat these massive brutes or get run over! Improve the fitness , change your tactics and raise the skill level. In essence, the fear of the Springboks raised the bar and played a key role to the ABs continued success.
Browny
Roar Rookie
Can't offload off the deck in NFL, once the ball carrier is brought to ground it concludes the down and play ceases until restarted at the next down. I've seen plenty of players move the ball on during the tackle (before being grounded), you probably just don't notice it as much because they would avoid a play that could easily result in a turnover. Got to consider different defensive structures as well as the lack of obstruction rules that union has.
Linz
Guest
Part of Schmidt's style is to eliminate mistakes. He considers the offload too risky and coaches it out of his teams. The All Blacks on the other hand see the offload rewards as outweighing the risks. Kieran Reid is probably the king of offloads, throwing even more than SBW as he ranges out wide. Virtually every one of his wide runs ends with an offload of some sort, usually out of the back of the hand. The tries scored from these offloads have regularly been the difference between winning and losing for the All Blacks in recent tests.
RobC
Roar Guru
Cheika is an excellent club / franchise / state / whateveryourcallit coach. His tenure at national level is an interesting study, so far.
Jibba Jabba
Guest
Holds his age well.....
PeterK
Roar Guru
Ahh you never said that B was a poor scrumager. I would not pick him then. One of the reasons I took B was because lineout scrum were solid. This is more important. The lineout was a big reason A was not picked. It is very hard to cover weaknesses in set pieces in forwards unlike other ones. Selecting the solid player IMO is a basis of fear. AB's have plenty of players who miss a few tackles or give away a few penalties, they are never scared of giving away penalties. But the forwards get the set pieces right. They also maximise the talents and do choose players who are more than solid and reliable.
Nick Turnbull
Roar Guru
Thanks, it has been an interesting exercise from my perspective. Of course there is no right answer but its always good to see what others are thinking - I already know what I think; I am more attracted to the A type as they're is lower risk. What if those 3 pen's are in your own half and you give away 9 points from B's ill-discipline; your scrum never really is threat to your opponents because B is Meerkating too much and when B does fall off a tackle and #7 has to compensate it leaves on overlap and the opposition score? As I said, no right answers but it was just an exercise to see where off-loading may fit into an overall selection criteria. Cheers Peter.
PeterK
Roar Guru
B - I can maximise his strengths and minimise his weaknesses. A - Is solid, reliable, easier to have those in other areas. B - I can have a strong lineout with 4 options. This is very useful in both attacking and defensive lineouts. He gets the ball at the back, runs hard into defense of punches through and offloads. in general play. With his strong running and offloading I can school other forwards / backs to AWAYS run off his hip on BOTH sides, giving attacking options and threats. The openside should be able to cover him falling off the odd tackle and 6 can run cover defense. I would then get the 8 to focus on tackling with power and driving the runner backwards. 3 penalties a match with I can live with. B - Sounds a bit like Higginbotham except I want the 8 to be a strong abll carrier in tight and not just seagull out wide to maximise his offloading ability. A- Sounds like Palu except he has a good offload.
chasmac
Guest
This is a good topic to discuss. I believe there are some other skills in play that are the precursor to the decision to offload vs set a maul or go to ground and set a ruck; As the ball carrier there is a skill in manipulating your opposing defender to commit to a certain tackling style. Take Jackpot for example. As a ball carrier he nearly always conveys the message to the defense that he will be trying to bend the line with a big collision. The defense set themselves accordingly. Does this become an opportunity for Jackpot to exploit through a change in his approach. Does he develop a cheeky pre contact offload that he pulls out 1-2 times per game? (I am merely highlighting an example not making a recommendation). The point is that perhaps the best offloaders have good skills that manipulate the defense such that they are able to get their arms free in the collision or after the collision.