Breakdown
How to cut the corner at cleanout time – using the ‘side window’
The first cleanout support player is a critical decision-maker as Laurie Fisher points out in his Breakdown Attack se...
Insight & analysis
Articles
Deep dives on the modern game from The Rugby Site's contributors and coaches.
Attack
How the All Blacks are becoming a typical Dave Rennie team on exit counters
Current New Zealand supremo Dave Rennie has brought the same principles to the running of the All Blacks that he espoused in the Waikato ...
Set Piece
Is the new maul law working out as intended?
A minor, apparently trivial change can trigger an unforeseen set of consequences within the same system, and a major chain reaction furth...
Latest posts
Breakdown
How to manage the frontal cleanout
It is like a pitcher in Baseball trying to hit the corner of the plate, there is only a small front window. Nick Bish...
Breakdown
How to cover the attacking breakdown
The premium on excellent skills at the breakdown is becoming more important, especially for a club with a positive ba...
Attack
How England upset Ireland’s Grand Slam plans at Twickenham
Nick Bishop details the key ingredient that led to England’s upset 6N win over 6 to 1 favourite and Grand Slam-elect ...
Kicking
Why Super Rugby Pacific was right to drop ‘Dupont’s Law’ from SRP 2024
Super Rugby Pacific have dumped World Rugby’s “Dupont’s Law” for their 2024 competition. As Nick Bishop details using...
Set Piece
Why the driving lineout is here to stay as a prime attacking platform
The driving lineout is fast becoming the most creative source of offensive thinking in the professional game. Using t...
Attack
How to attack wide – the Toulouse way!
The best attacking teams in the current era never take the apparent space they are offered on the edge without checki...
Defence
Why defences need to adjust quickly to early-phase strikes
Whatever the pattern of defence, every player needs to be on the same page in terms of their attitudes and adjustment...
Attack
How to create early attacking options from the “21”
If your charges can learn to run one play exceptionally well, you will force opponents to adjust to it – and that wil...
Attack
How to run a two-phase switchback attack with options
Nick Bishop looks at how leading teams are creating multiple threats early in the phase-count, and sustaining those t...
Breakdown
How to strike the balance between tackling and ‘jackling’ on D
As a result of the WR 2020 Breakdown Guidelines, the role of the jackler has changed, so it has attracted quicker, mo...
Attack
What the raw statistics from the RWC say about the attack-defence balance in the global game [part 2]
Nick Bishop looks in more detail at what happened when teams of the same general type played one another, or two side...
