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The best defence wins matches
Develop defensive skills and tactics from set piece through to general play for all levels of the game from some of the world's best defensive coaches including Sir Graham Henry, Ben Herring, Brendan Ratcliffe, Rodny So'ioalo and many others
.Understand how to create a successful defence system or individual player defence roles in different situations.
Plus we have categorised them by playing level to make it easier for you to find:
- Y – youth
- HS – high school
- A – adult
- All – suitable for all levels
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.
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.
Defending the 13 channel – the modern wayIn the recent 1st test of the series, the contest between New Zealand’s wide attack and the French defence of the same area promised to be one for connoisseur, and so it proved. In the current pair of articles, Analyst Nick Bishop first examines how France’s defence in the 13 channel succeeded initially. In next week’s second articl the reasons why the All Blacks’ attack wrested control.
Two-stepping your way out of trouble!How do teams beat aggressive high line-speed defences? Leading analyst Nick Bishop looks at the development of high-quality skills to beat an opponent in the tightest of spaces.
Defence defines a teams true characterMurray Kinsella reviews Racing Métro’s emergence as top contenders in the Champions Cup. Head coaching duo Laurent Labit and Laurent Travers clearly deserve a great deal of credit for the work they are doing but in this piece the focus is on Ronan O’Gara, their defensive coach. The numbers speak for themselves, Racing Métro conceded the fewest points of any club across the pool stages with a mere 69. Forget the snide remarks referencing O’Gara’s defensive reputation as a player, he’s making a real difference as a coach, Kinsella shows you how.
Wayne Smith – Steve Hansen’s most visionary selectionRespected New Zealand based journalist Liam Napier gains unique access and explores the value of Wayne Smith’s reappointment to the All Blacks and their 2015 mission to be the first team to claim back to back Rugby World Cup titles. “Strategically I really like the role of plotting the defence and working out how we can get the ball back, whether that’s by forcing poor kicks or turning it over at the ruck,” Smith says. “Whatever it is, that ball creates a lot of tries.” Enjoy this Rugby Site exclusive.
A helping hand to steal possessionMurray Kinsella analyses the importance of the second player to the breakdown in securing turnover possession in the ruck. We see examples where Saracens’ Kelly Brown Ulster’s Franco van der Merwe and Louis Ludik provide stability and strength to the player stealing possession in the ruck.
Dave Attwood’s disrupting masterclassAt the heart of Bath’s victory over Saracens was the immense Dave Attwood.
He presented an awkward obstacle to Saracens’ progress all night. It was the kind of brawny, bristling display that makes Graham Rowntree grin. These clips demonstrate how he helped blunt the Saracens battering ram.
