Defence is the new attack

Growing up with two older brothers, you come up with anything to combat inevitable moments of boredom. A simple balloon, for example, could provide hours of entertainment and a rule book the length of the Great Barrier Reef.

One particular brother, with whom I shared a bedroom at one stage, liked to stage choreographed fights with me. At the time, being five years senior and much bigger than me, the odds were stacked against me.

And so it proved. As hard as I tried to lay a finger on him in the choreographing of the fight, in the interests of realism my brother firmly swatted away all attempts to penetrate his guard.

The conversation went something along these lines:

‘Okay, I punch you in the stomach with my right hand.’

‘Yes, but I block that punch and roundhouse you in the back of the neck.’

‘But as I’m on the ground, I sweep your left leg.’

‘Yes, but I block that sweep and stomp on your head.’

‘But I get back and jab you with my left and then kidney punch you with the right.’

‘Yes, but I block both both those attempts and headbutt you in the face.’

(Half an hour later)

‘Can I at least tap you on the shoulder?’

‘No, I block that tap and pummel you in the breadbasket.’

It never occurred to me I could propose my own impenetrable forcefield and counter all his attacks. I just kept picking myself up and tried to devise new ways to break down his imposing defence.

In recent years, New Zealand’s leading Super Rugby sides, as well as the national side, adopted a total rugby approach. The emphasis was on a seemingly helter-skelter approach that opened up the defence by creating broken play where the skill-set – particularly the use of offloads – could come to the fore.

Who could forget the frenetic final between the Hurricanes and the Highlanders? One simply got exhausted watching those prolonged exchanges, never mind the players running about like headless chickens on speed.

The Hurricanes took up the attacking mantle the following year and, despite a tense final, came out winners having utilized an attacking game that year that simply proved too effective.

The New Zealand side carried on in that vein, and put on big scores against Australia and South Africa. They were contained well by Argentina in their first game for 60 minutes until the All Blacks blew them away in a devastatingly short passage of time.

There was the belief that they didn’t need much in the way of possession. They just needed to create enough chances to break the defence open and come away with points to put the game beyond the opposition’s reach.

Then came the game at Chicago. Schmidt’s Ireland team targeted the new lock pairing of New Zealand and set up the opening two tries at the lineout. They drifted further ahead with some deft attacking play putting players into gaps.

New Zealand mounted their own comeback and at 33-29 with fifteen minutes to play, the memories of 2014 would’ve been on both sides’ minds.

But it wasn’t to be. Ireland beat New Zealand at their own attacking game and put the match beyond doubt, but it could be argued that it was their stout defence at key moments that won them the game.

(AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski)

England were similarly utilizing a no-nonsense approach with a gameplay built on a set-piece and defensive foundation. They would equal New Zealand’s record of eighteen consecutive victories the following year and be undone by no other than Ireland in their last Six Nations game.

Warren Gatland’s Lions team was heavily criticized in their opening games of the New Zealand tour. But they came away with a drawn series and the begrudging respect of the parochial New Zealand rugby media, albeit with a few jibes at the refereeing.

It’s difficult to know but I have a sneaking suspicion if Gatland had engaged his team in an all-out attacking brawl, his Lions side would’ve come away battered and bloodied.

By putting up a strong defensive position, he conversely gave his side the best attacking chance against New Zealand, simply because they weren’t expecting it.

In psychology terms, this is known as inattentional blindness.

But first, you must distract your opponent with the ‘white’ noise of defence. Once lulling your opponent into a deep sleep, you can surprise them with an attacking gorilla.

When you look at the stats for this year’s Super Rugby round robin, this shift to defence bears out.

The Hurricanes top the try scoring stats with 97 tries and 660 points. But not far behind are the Lions and the Crusaders with 90 and 83 respectively.

The Lions topped the run metres count with 14, 205 metres (please no comments about the strength of their opposition) but the Hurricanes and Crusaders were not far behind.

Say what you like about the Australian sides this year but to me it’s no coincidence that the leading defensive team of the entire tournament conceding the fewest points, topped the Australian conference.

It bears pointing out that the Lions conceded the fewest tries and the Crusaders and Lions were the next sides to concede the fewest points.

That to me is why this weekend’s final is going to make for compelling viewing. The Crusaders have greatly improved their attack, spreading out their threats over the field more than previous years.

But the driving force of their success this year for me has been built upon their set piece and defensive soundness. The Lions proved last weekend that their game with ball in hand is a compelling one.

But both sides topped the table with their defensive record. If your defence is sound, it gives you the opportunity to make decisive plays when the opportunities arise. The Crusaders must be aware of the Lions’ attacking threat but, in turn, the Lions should be wary of the Crusaders’ ability to weather the attacking storm and score when needed.

If teams are serious about their Rugby Championship chances, they can talk about things like fitness and skill-set all they like, but if they don’t shore up their defensive structures like many in this year’s Super Rugby, they’re going to be found out.

There has been a subtle shift and they’d heed well to get their defence in order.