Set Piece
How to attack the short zones from restarts
Like the Receiving team, the Attacking team can also take advantage of the kick-off ‘hang time’ as Nick Bishop highli...
Insight & analysis
Articles
Deep dives on the modern game from The Rugby Site's contributors and coaches.
Attack
Attack, Attack and More Attack
The notion of the contest is becoming more difficult for the defensive side to manage in all areas of the game. Nick Bishop explores how ...
Defence
How the repeat involvement theory is stacking up for number 9’s
The use of the “spare man” in the backline has been debated since the dawn of the professional era. Using France’s current defensive syst...
Latest posts
Set Piece
How to cure the blight of scrum penalties in modern Rugby
Why have today’s scrums resulted in more penalties and less usable ball than in amateur rugby days. And it is not due...
Attack
How to expose the ‘spare man’ in defence
Locating the spare defender is the short-hand for deciding the direction of attack on the next play. In this week’s ...
Set Piece
How to create breathing space on restarts
The concept of hang-time can be used as a strategy by both the kicking and the receiving team on restarts as Nick Bis...
Set Piece
Identifying weaknesses from restarts
Restarts are one of the biggest momentum-changers in the game of Rugby. In the recent Tri-Nations series in the game...
Tackling
Why tackling has become high stakes
The hold-up tackle is still very much on the cutting edge of team’s defences. Analyst Nick Bishop looks at how it has...
Set Piece
Changing perceptions at scrum-time: All Blacks-Pumas - the Sequel
The challenge facing the All Blacks’ coaching staff and players after the previous Pumas match was to reverse the per...
Set Piece
Why the All Blacks front row is in a bind
During their recent Rugby Championship match, the Argentenian scrum had the All Black’s scrum in a real ‘Bind’ as Nic...
Attack
How to manipulate the short-side from lineout
The lineout drive is a more robust, manageable platform for set-piece attack than the scrum, especially if the short-...
Defence
How to deal with the rush hour in the red zone
It is no coincidence that the recent upswing in France’s international fortunes have coincided with Edwards’ arrival ...
Attack
How to ask searching questions close to the goal-line
Much of the innovation in the English game has been derived from Exeter. Again, their coaches are not afraid to quest...
