Spiro Zavos has been annoying me since January 19, when he wrote “Australian Rugby needs some of ‘that spatial shit’“.
I mean really Spiro – how can you get cross correlations between drama and rugby. Isn’t that drawing a very long bow?
Most people I’m sure have forgotten all about the article. However, as a rugby coach, a teacher with an interest in creativity, and having a drama background, I began to think about how theatresports could influence rugby tactics and coaching.
If you don’t know about theatresports, think of the TV series Thank God You’re Here. It’s all about a star coming in and making people laugh in an improvised scene. The star has status among the rest of the cast and is offered opportunities to deliver the killer lines or jokes by his support.
At first I was drawn to the creative star of the show, the deliverer of the killer line – in rugby terms, the playmaker. The guy who throws the great passes to his teammates and most often fills a jersey with 9, 10 or sometimes 12 on his back.
However, you can’t have the creative star in either theatresports or rugby without those around him giving some form of offer.
In theatresports that means offering the star performer a line from which they can make something funny. On the rugby field that means someone offering to run at the hole where the ball is about to be thrown. Essentially you don’t have the creativity without the offer.
Recently in Australian rugby there have been two double acts of creativity and offer that stand out to me. Both of these have had two stars and one person who has primarily given the offer. They are the Will Genia and Quade Cooper (stars), and Digby Ione (offer) of the Reds in 2011, and Bernard Foley and Kurtley Beale (stars), and Israel Folau (offer) of the Waratahs 2014-15.
Unfortunately I am relying upon memory of that Super Rugby-winning Reds team. I still had the Waratahs games against the Brumbies and Blues on tape from which to analyse the offers that Folau gave his teammates. Does he do anything different to other fullbacks in his offer of support? Does he get his hands on the ball more often, or is it that we notice him more because of his superstar status in the game?
I analysed five games and looked at the amount of times the fullback received the ball in phase play i.e. from a ruck or maul. I disregarded any time they got the ball from a set piece, because these are usually moves created by a coach. I also disregarded any time the fullback received the ball in a kick-return situation, because this usually relies on individual creativity to create attacking opportunities.
Other than Folau in the two games mentioned I also chose to follow Robbie Coleman (Brumbies versus Cheetahs), Jack Debreczeni (Rebels versus Reds) and Lachie Turner (Reds versus Rebels). I know that Debreczeni wore the number 10 jersey but he did play most of his game in the fullback position, as each of the others did.
Each player was assessed on the criteria in the table below:
| Player | Opposition | Offers | Received | Line Breaks | Try Assists | Try | Turn Over | Team possession % |
| Israel Folau | Brumbies | 13 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 52% |
| Israel Folau | Blues | 23 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 58% |
| Robbie Coleman | Cheetahs | 12 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 61% |
| Jack Debrezceni | Reds | 22 | 16 (9 as 1st receiver / flyhalf) | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 68% |
| Lachie Turner | Rebels | 14 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 32% |
| Totals | 84 | 55 | 17 | 6 | 1 | 7 |
In the columns marked ‘line break’, ‘try assist’ and ‘turn over’, the player mentioned might not have actually been the player who did that – these events occurred because of the offer made by the player.
For example I have credited Debrezceni with a try assist in both Rebels tries from phase play. In the Tom English try he was in a position to receive the ball from one of the front line of players as they attacked the line and he threw the pass to Sefanaia Naivalu to set up his line break for Nic Stirzaker’s try.
Likewise Robbie Coleman was on Christian Leileiafano’s outside shoulder as a receiving option when he scored against the Cheetahs.
These statistics make interesting reading, with 84 offers of support for 55 times received. Based on these statistics the 17 line breaks that resulted from 84 support offers is a ratio of one line break for every five offers. It is a ratio of one try or try assist for every 12 offers of support in phase play. However, the Rebels versus Reds game may have slightly skewed the data because of the sending off in the 20th minute.
Based on the data that I have gathered over the five games you can begin to draw some conclusions about the role of offer from a fullback in the team.
While each of the Super Rugby teams in Australia seem to have slightly different roles for their fullback, Israel Folau gets himself into a position to make more offers in phase play than other fullbacks. At the same time, does this allow more opportunities for creative attacking opportunities for Foley and Beale?
The fullback position allows a player to see the game open up and allows for more opportunity of offer in running the hole in phase play because of they can often see more from their position of depth. Does this mean that the more the fullback, and all members of the back three, involves themselves the more opportunities there are for the ball players to create?
I’m not quite sure of the answers yet but it has made me think more about the role of each member of the back three and how we coach them to get involved in phase play.
I’m now going to analyse more games, especially those from New Zealand, to see if the amount of offer they give differs to those in Australia.
All in all though I’m worried the creative offer of the fullback in rugby is the beginning a long drama for me. Thanks Spiro.
Existentialist
Guest
ha! Now that is an article waiting to be written ... what a transcendent piece that would be Harry! How to quantify the unquantifiable
wiya
Guest
Your comment..let's hope cheika take a look at that 9)Phipps 10)Foley 11)Naivalu 12)Speight 13)Folau 14)Naiyovoro 15)JOC 21)Stirzacker 22)Toomua 23)Hunt
wiya
Guest
Your comment..let's hope think that 2
wiya
Guest
Your comment...nah bro that backline is the same as always we need a boost in the backline like i said 9)phipps 10)foley 11)naiyovoro 12)speight 13)folau 14)naiyavalu REBLS 15)joc 21)stirzacker 22)toomua 23)beale thats a world cup backline mate
Breeze101
Roar Rookie
Israel Folau has made his mark in Rugby & he is a great player that also puts bums on seats!! Not yet the complete player but he is not far off & is a great asset to Australian Rugby especially when the code is struggling here in Australia thanks Izzy hopefully you stay with Rugby!!
Harry Jones
Expert
What are the stats on meta physicality? Who leads the league?
Not Bothered
Guest
Skudder wont be fast tracked. Lowe will be.
Not Bothered
Guest
How do we know your team has done anything wrong? Saders on the other hand deliberately shoulder charge and kick the ball away after the whistle because Kiwis equate che@ting with winning and they up the cynical infringements after a yellow because they think they wont be carded, right PeterK? Im sure Cheika went into the refs change rooms, knowing full well it was against the rules and why, to simply ask why his team was being penalised. He couldnt wait until after the game, when it is allowed, because he had to catch a train or something.
Not Bothered
Guest
Folaus kicking is seriously lacking when he needs to or any other time for that matter. Its very poor.
Not Bothered
Guest
What about this one? 9) Phipps 10) Foley 11) Speight 12) Beale 13) Kuridrani/Kerevi 14) AAC 15) Folau 21) White 22) Toomua 23) JOC Kickers: Foley and Beale. Thats Australias best backline imo and its the one I think they will use for the WC.
Not Bothered
Guest
I think a lot more would be asked of Folau if he were aiming to play for NZ. I also think he would be a better player.
RobC
Roar Guru
Johnno, good one bro. Beat me to it. Since Folau looks to be a long-termer, I hope he can really concentrate on the Folau 'TOP 5' daily regime: - 50 chip / chases - 50 grubber / chases - 50 Gary Owens w/chases - 50 clearance kicks. 25 on each foot - 150 long passes, 75 on each side The reason I like how Tahs plays follows: - pack is powerful ie strong and quick. Brumbies are strong. Reds are... WIP ;) - the 3 halves (9/10/12) provide diverse attack options. Brumbies 9/10/12 are more predictable. Reds are... also diverse. Because they are always changing ;) - outside backs are both tackle and line breakers. Brumbies are the same. Reds are always broken ;) - (apologies didnt include Force, esp Rebs above) WBs are very different. imo the test-level fb has to be, like the hooker - a player with a variety of skills both A and D. Folau is not there yet, and will be a total killer when he does.
Sammy
Guest
Lets not digress away from the subject matter in the article. As "Rower who wishes he could play rugby" has stated there are areas of Folau game that need improvement. These areas can easily be overlooked when playing with a good team like the Waratahs but would be evident when with playing with say the Force and even the Wallabies
Rower who wishes he could play rugby.
Roar Pro
All 13 turnovers were from handling mistakes.
Rower who wishes he could play rugby.
Roar Pro
WLR doesn't really enter into the conversation. It was merely a comparison between the performance of fullbacks so far this season. "One now has to question whether or not Folau is getting into the required position in defence" "Brings Folau's defensive efforts into question" At no point did I state that he was in the wrong position, I am merely suggesting it is a possibility. Watch the Hurricanes vs Highlanders match. Ben Smith makes 3 try saving tackles in his own 22. Until I see Folau making a similar effort on a consistent bases, it is reasonable to say that Smith is a superior defender. It is not the first time Smith has done this, 2nd June test vs England also springs to mind. A fullback, by nature, is the last line of defence. When Folau acts accordingly, I will stop questioning his defence. Your point about turnovers is more anecdotal than mine could ever be accused of being. All 13 of those turnovers came from Folau's own handling errors rather than players stealing the ball of him. As far as I'm aware, those instances do not count against an individuals turnover stats. Which is why all 13 of those turnovers have come from Folau's handling errors. Stupid offloads have no excuse. I don't think any coach would rather have a player throw a 50/50 pass than take the ball to ground and allow the supporting players secure it. Considering how good the Waratahs support play has been, I don't see how that could possibly be an excuse.
Liam Muller
Roar Rookie
Thanks Existentialist
PeterK
Roar Guru
no one needs to actual examine the play and reach a conclusion on every turnover and every missed tackle and every try whether he was in position. That is the correct context. On your turnover stats how many were from offloads / passing? How many were he was tackled and placed the ball back and the opposition took it, this is considered a turnover.? On the tries where was he on the field? Where was he the play before?
Rower who wishes he could play rugby.
Roar Pro
Individual stats by themselves usually have no bearing what so ever. What one needs to do is combine certain stats and reach a logical conclusion(s) from the stats.
PeterK
Roar Guru
every single player in the world has aspects of their game that need improvement
PeterK
Roar Guru
so those stats look very similar. my evidence was that i looked at those stats about 3/4 of the season. the stats do not support your supposition that his defence is poorer one percentage is the same and the other slightly less. and what about 2013. what about the amazing le roux where are his stats? where is your evidence about his being in the wrong position for tries scored? the only other point you made was turnovers. How many of those are because he makes a break and support is too slow to get the ball and rather than give away a penalty for holding on he plays it back and it gets taken? Sure some are in trying to get an offload away which is how the tahs are instructed to play. Too much reliance on raw stats without context. Provide the context and breakdown of the tries scored and turnovers.