Rugby players must learn to jump before they can walk
The world may be starting to catch up with New Zealand. A few years ago the All Blacks recruited former Aussie Rules player Mick Byrne onto the coaching staff. Graham Henry and his team had identified catching the high ball as one of the most influential parts of the modern game of rugby and they knew that Aussie Rules players had practised and analysed the skill more than any other sport.
The Crusaders beat the Waratahs at the weekend because they were able to dominate the restarts in the second half. All 23 of the Crusaders points after the break came from possession they retained after winning a restart. They won four of their own restarts in a row and each time it led to points. The Crusaders also brought in a Waratah’s restart, put up a box kick, won that ball in the air, and scored a try from it.
Kieran Read was brilliant at winning the short ball up the middle. The Whitelocks were going after the ball to the wing. One of the secrets to the Crusaders success was not to put too much hang time on the ball. That allows the defence to organise their pods and their blockers. It is just flat enough to make it a straight contest.
In contrast the Blues have been awful at coping with restarts this season. Friday night was another case in point. Mike Harris put up a hanging kick-off but the Blues flankers failed to run out both chasers and Peter Saili knocked on the ball under pressure from Dom Shipperley. From that possession the Reds went through four phases to score in the corner and set the tone for the match.
The ability to win the high ball is now a very important selection criterion for the All Blacks as we saw at the World Cup. Richard Kahui and Cory Jane were particularly valued for this skill and it is a huge part of Read’s game. Richie McCaw and Sam Whitelock are also very useful at bringing in the high ball.
Sometimes I think the defending side spends too long banging the ball up the middle from the kick-off, instead of clearing it earlier. That was particularly costly to Scotland at this year’s Six Nations, but it is the modern fashion. Not every team is a follower. Will Genia of the Reds is far likely to opt for an early clearance.
One method that we haven’t seen used much in rugby yet is the end-over-end kick favoured by American Football teams needing to win the ball back in the final minute of the game. Maybe it is too high risk an option for both the attacking team and the defending team. Or maybe the size of the rugby ball makes it less conducive to rearing up as the American football sometimes does.
But there is no doubt it has become a huge issue in the modern game – there were 16 starts and restarts in the match between the Waratahs and the Crusaders, a lot of possession against a defensive side that is initially vulnerable because of how its players are spaced around the pitch – and if you want to read an amusing and informative take on the issue go to Will Greenwood’s blog.
Greenwood says his right nipple was once responsible for conceding the fastest try in Premiership history. He also quotes Francois Pienaar as saying: “If you control the restarts, you control the game.”
That sounds good, but is a little too good of a soundbite to be completely true. The Chiefs didn’t control the restarts against the Hurricanes, yet they controlled the match. But winning the aerial battle is a huge part of modern rugby. Hand position, height, body angle, blockers, kick trajectory, changing the point of attack and much, much more. Sport or science, Aussie Rules or aerodynamics and biomechanics, there’s a lot to get right. And as usual the All Blacks and Crusaders are near the front of the evolution.
Posted under Set Piece
about 1 year ago
sorry, I’m new at rugby so I still don’t understand a lot of the game’s rules and lingo. What’s a start and restart?
about 1 year ago
Hi Fabi, in this instance by restart Mark means that once a team scores they then need to dropkick off again at the halfway line, you also restart play with a ‘22 dropout’ when the attacking team has kicked the ball ‘in goal’ and it is grounded first by a defender. Don’t worry if that is confusing because Mark has forgotten the rules. An NFL style kick wouldn’t work from a scoring restart because it has to pass 10 metres in the air, and wouldn’t work for a ‘22 dropout’ because it has to be ‘dropped.’
about 1 year ago
“Aussie Rules players had practised and analysed the skill more than any other sport … "
Mark, you obviously need to do a bit more research on gaelic football! You won’t wonder then why Rob Kearney (a former gaelic footballer) is so good under a high ball. I also seem to remember reading years and years ago that the South Africans had a Kerry footballer (one of Ireland’s top gaelic football teams) down in SA coaching them on how to field balls.
It might interest you to know that Ireland have a combined skills test games with Australia every odd year or so. So far, the amateur Irish players are even with the pro aus players in series wins. The Irish are regarded as being far more skilful than the aussies.
about 1 year ago
@James Marshall with regards to this bit of your comment ’Mark has forgotten the rules. An NFL style kick wouldn’t work from a scoring restart because it has to pass 10 metres in the air’
Would you be able to show me where this is written please as after seeing it I went on the hunt and all i can find is as long as its a drop kick restart, it only has to go 10M into the defending teams half, that means it can be a drop kick grubber as long as it goes 10M. It does not have to go those 10m in the air.
about 1 year ago
@Adam – I will need to have a closer look. I think by ‘go 10 metres’ it means the ‘go’ is in the air. As you know if its less than that the receiving team still can play it. In any event the end over end kick in the NFL is kicked off a tee.
about 1 year ago
Not a worrie, i didnt mean my comment to sound as harsh as it may have done, im just interested as where the 10M in the air comes from, its not the first time I have heard it, but have yet to see it anywhere myself.
about 1 year ago
@Adam – didn’t take it as harsh at all. Your point is a good one. I just looked at the official IRB rules, law 13 – and there is no mention of ‘in the air.’ http://www.irblaws.com/EN/laws/4/13/section/law/ Would be nice to get a clarification of how exactly they define it.
about 1 year ago
A restart does not have to be kicked “in the air” and there is absolutely no reason why it can not be grubber kicked on the kick off restart. In addition 22 drops can be kicked an inch over the 22 meter line with a “drop and push style kick” this is why a player usually stands very close to the kicker (to prevent this tactic in addition to attempting to block the kick) on the 22 drop. There is also no reason what so ever that a 22 drop couldn’t be dropped and kicked on the top third of the ball to produce the same effect as a grubber kick. The main difference between the on-sides kick in American football and the rugby restart is that in gridiron the ball must touch an opposing player in order to be played by the kicking team. This is why they try to kick the ball in an unpredictable fashion and also why it is kicked to the big lineman who do not have ball handling skills. They also attempt to kick it low and hard to get it to bounce off of an opposing player (the receiving team does not have to attempt to catch the ball for it to be played it only has to touch an opposing player). Gridiron teams try to counter this tactic by putting a “hands team” on the field consisting of players with better handling skills when they suspect an on-sides kick.
about 1 year ago
@James Marshall Thank you so much for the info! And the link to the IRB Law site. It’ll be very helpfull to me since I still don’t understand the game so well.
about 1 year ago
@Tortugas: A restart or 22 must not be a “normal” grubber kick (contact with the foot first, then the ground). Both must be drop kicks, meaning the ball must touch the ground first. Of course you can try a drop grubber, but this is not an easy one.
about 1 year ago
I understand that it can not be a normal grubber it of course has to drop first that’s why I described it as a “drop and push” rather than a grubber kick. If the kicker bends over close to the ground and drops the ball and pushes it with his foot over the 22 it is a legal 22 drop and can be played by the kicking player. I have seen it used many times at multiple levels . Another similar tactic is to line a player up for the 22 drop (defense puts player directly across the line and the rest cover the field for the kick) the offensive player then passes to another player (who does not have a defensive player directly in front of him) who drop kicks with the “drop and push” technique and plays it himself thereby retaining possession.
about 1 year ago
@Tortugas which come back to the original point that Mark should look at the rules again. NFL style short kick-offs aren’t a relevant tool on the rugby pitch.
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