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Is there a right time to walk away?In the cut-throat world of elite sport, unfortunately coaches do not always get to choose when they step away from a role with their future more often than not defined by their employers. In his latest article Graham Jenkins examines the decision of the leading coaches who have met the success criteria of their bosses yet still opt to move on all the more interesting and perhaps revealing.
Getting your defence right: when to ‘dig’ and when to ‘wrap’It is probably no accident that the teams with Farrell-coached defences only lost two of the six Tests they played against the All Blacks. Against other opponents in the same time-frame, New Zealand have scored tries for fun, averaging a runaway 5.7 tries per match on their way to a 90% plus win rate. Analyst Nick Bishop explores one of Ireland’s key breakdown defence strategies when to ‘wrap’ around into a new position, and when to ‘dig’ for a turnover after a tackle has been made.
Farrell spearheads the case for the defenceIreland’s defence was pivotal in their win over the All Blacks last weekend. Graham Jenkins identifies who and how Ireland managed to shackle the most potent attacking team in the world.
How to attack with the box-kickThe perception of ‘negative play’ in rugby is often associated with kicking the ball. The idea that a team which can no longer think of anything positive to do with the ball, kicks it away instead. Analyst Nick Bishop looks at how kicking is now about creating opportunity for the offence, rather than simply to move the ball off the field of play.
How to blind-side your opponent from scrums!Defence in the modern game is built around the speed at which the defensive line can move up and mount pressure on its opponents. Analyst Nick Bishop looks at when the offence becomes “How can we offset that momentum? How can we take away some of that speed?”.
Is the sport lacking a global star?In a break during training recently, writer Graham Jenkins took the opportunity to ask a group of his Under 12s whether they had sat down and watched any of the great rugby we had been treated to in recent weeks.
The where and when of ‘how to offload’The offload can be one of the most exciting and rewarding skills in the game of Rugby Union. Analyst Nick Bishop explains how offloading is a particularly valuable skill for teams who know that they will not go into most games with an advantage in physical size and power over their opponents.
Defence Ruck - Practice PlanIn this session Ben goes through the important parts of defending the ruck. From knowing what to look out for and how to execute, Ben recruits some expert knowledge from current players who are doing this ‘out on the field’.
Defence Team - Practice PlanIn this session Ben goes through some of the key components to defending as a team. He goes through some key points around line defence and gets some input from some top coaches we have on the site.
What is Creativity? – the curious case of Beauden Barrett versus South AfricaIf the notion of creativity can be summarized in one word, that word would be ‘vision’. Better peripheral awareness and depth perception lead to better decision-making, and from this perspective Beauden Barrett’s game in the recent match between New Zealand and South Africa in Wellington was of interest from start to finish. Analyst Nick Bishop reflects on Barrett’s performance in his latest article.
Tigers run out of patience after just one game?Writer Graham Jenkins reflects on the biggest story to emerge from the opening round of the newly-sponsored Gallagher Premiership in England – Matt O’Connor’s sacking as Leicester Tigers’ Head Coach. Is it a one off or a growing trend.
How the All Blacks dismantled the Wallaby lineout in SydneyIn his latest article analyst Nick Bishop uses Victor Matfield’s excellent Lineout series to helps illuminate the problems the Wallabies experienced in the first All Black test last week.
