Filed under: Dan Cottrell, ELVs, Rugby Refereeing | Tags: ELVs, rugby internationals, rugby referees
I have spent the last 72 hours picking my way through some seemingly obscure rulings in the IRB rugby laws.
At the same time I have watched four internationals and refereed two games of rugby, plus fielded a couple of refereeing questions.
My conclusion is this. We need rugby referees and we need to look after them.
A ”rare beast”? They are rare because of the abuse they receive and thus many are leaving the game. And they are beasts for lots of the connatations you would care to put about them, some good, some because we feel sorry for them and some because they are by no means perfect.
Forget the “bias”, the incompetent, the outmoded and the “non scrum” expert charges. This is why we need to protect the rare beast:
1. The ELVs are different in different parts of the world. How hard is that for an international referee!
2. The interpretations of the ELVs are changing every couple of weeks.
3. The definitions of the breakdown are blurred.
4. The law enforcers are confused, so what hope the players.
5. Too many ignorant people make sweeping remarks when they have poor knowledge and understanding of the game.
6. The error count for players in the game is much bigger than the error count of most referees. The onus is on the referee though should he make even one mistake. Unfair?
Filed under: Dan Cottrell, ELVs, Rugby Refereeing | Tags: ELVs, r.j.p. marks, times online
Here is an article from the Times Online website to have a look at.
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN
REVIEW OF ELV’S (EXPERIMENTAL LAW VARIATIONS)
By R.J.P.Marks
I think it is angry, but has some pertinent points.
http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/elv2.htm
See what you think!
Filed under: Dan Cottrell, ELVs, Rugby Refereeing | Tags: Currie Cup, ELVs, feeding at the scrum, free kick, Lensbury conference, NPC, Paddy O'Brien, rugby kicking, rugby laws
Paddy O’Brien is interviewed on the IRB’s Total Rugby programme today.
Here are some of his answers taken from the IRB website.
For two and a half months the global game has been played under the Experimental Law Variations. The Southern hemisphere was first to experience the ELVs and still include the laws governing sanctions, but what happens when those same players switch to the Northern-style ELVs for the November tests?
Is there a problem on the horizon, or are these issues merely a storm in a tea cup? Questions Total Rugby Radio put to IRB referee manager Paddy O’Brien.
Total Rugby: Looking at some the founding principles behind the ELVs, has the game been ‘given back to the players’?
Paddy O’Brien:”The players would certainly say that it has. On the statistics we’ve had back so far, on 80 to 90 percent of the ELVs the players say they strongly support them, so despite all the myths out there that people don’t like them, the people who play the game, who are at the end of the day the most important people, they’re telling us yes they love them.”
TR: What about making the game more entertaining - there’s a lot of kicking in the North at the moment..
P O’B: “I think there’s a bit of a myth out there that one of our objectives was to make the game more entertaining, which was not the case. That’s up to the players. As for the kicking, the stats show that kicking is no more than it was at Rugby World Cup 2007, in fact it’s down. There’s an average of 51 or 52 kicks in a game and if you go back to the semi finals and final of the World Cup there were 87 kicks per game, so there is a lot of misinformation out there.
“Sure, there is a lot of kicking and that is down to other reasons. Until the referees really get harsh at refereeing people on their feet at the tackle players will not commit to the breakdown and the only way to break defences is by kicking the ball. The fact that there’s a lot of kicking in games at the moment shouldn’t be put down to the ELVs.”
TR: We’ve currently got different Laws being used in the South and the North. Could this not be a problem with IRB World Ranking points and Rugby World Cup seedings potentially at stake?
P O’B: “People get a bit emotional over it but the only difference between the two hemispheres at the moment - and a reminder the NPC and Currie Cup are being played under the 16 ELVs whereas up north it’s 13 - is that instead of being a penalty it’s a free kick as a sanction. That’s the only area.
Filed under: Dan Cottrell, ELVs, Rugby Refereeing, Rugby Training | Tags: ELVs, lineouts, mauls, pulling down maul, scrums, training programme
They are here and whatever your opinion on them, you are going to have to play with them for the next year at least. There are 13 ELVs to consider and I have already passed on my first thoughts in this blog.
Practically you need to work the ELVs into your training programme, so here are five ways you can approach this.
Filed under: Better Rugby Blog Guests, Rugby Coaching, Rugby Fitness, Rugby Refereeing, Rugby Skills, Rugby Team Management, Rugby Training | Tags: Rugby Skills, rugby players, Rugby Tactics, Colin Astley, rugby game, rugby coach, rugby conditioning, rugby coach specialising
Once upon a time while in discussion about our wonderful game of rugby, a “non-believer” couldn’t see the point of continuously running across the field to a breakdown. Why not? Because on arriving at there, you simply see the ball go back in the opposite direction, so you have to run to where you have come from.
Of course, I defended the nature of our game to the hilt, but in the cold light of the day and many years of thinking about it, I think the “non- believer” could have had a valued point. And that this has broad implications for rugby coaching at a grass roots level.
One of my pastimes in the name of research for rugby conditioning is noting how long into the game it takes the front row, then the second row and then, dare I say, the back row to start walking following a set piece. This “research” is only carried out at grassroots and lower league games, as the higher the standard you go the more physically impossible it is due to the speed of the game to be everywhere, even back rows.
Nick Tatalias, a rugby coach specialising in contact conditioning, has an interesting theory about this. Quoting from an article by him:
“The players seen standing on the fringes of the rucks and mauls with hands on knees breathing hard are tired because they are recruiting a much higher percentage of their muscles in each encounter than the opposition players.”
He goes on to say that typically the conditioning coach sees this happening and prescribes more aerobic type conditioning, but that this further exacerbates the problem.
What Nick is saying is that if you are using nearly all your strength in the scrum, there’s nothing left in the tank for work around the field. So he prescribes that greater levels of strength are needed, better anaerobic conditioning and lastly sprint endurance.
But what about the social rugby XVs that are pulled together each weekend? To them the mere mention of training is a swear word.
Well help is at hand for you to conserve even more energy and put an end to running across the pitch only to see the ball move away in the distance. This can be done in various ways to best suit your team but basically it’s like this. Instead of having your forwards trundling or walking across the pitch to the breakdown, but really only getting in the way of the backs, have them stay in channels after a set piece, working up and down the pitch as opposed to across it.
For instance, and depending on who’s attacking or defending, have your front and second rows stand near to or behind or in front of the centres and wings, leaving your back row to cover the entire field. Or split your pack down the middle and have them work the left and right sides of the pitch, depending on their scrum positions. The variations are endless and you could chop and change during the match to suit attack or defence, making the opposition even more confused.
The advantages of this system, I believe, are that it allows for:
• On the shoulder support for offloading the ball in the tackle, getting players into gaps.
• Doubling up in defence, allowing for two man tackles.
• Mini rucks, ensuring you get quicker ball.
• Secure, quicker ball at the breakdown, as your players get there first.
• More of your players to defend in midfield, giving the opposition less options in attack.
• More of your players to attack in midfield, offering you more overlap opportunities.
• More of your players to cover when a team mate is out of position following a move.
You might be thinking what if the opposition use a rolling maul and you haven’t got sufficient numbers to counteract?
Well rolling mauls are hard to stop once they get going and need to be stopped on the outset. However, with the experimental laws (ELVs) being trailed you could soon be able to collapse a maul anyway.
Colin Astley, www.inno-rugby.co.uk
Filed under: Dan Cottrell, Rugby Coaching, Rugby Refereeing, Rugby Skills, Rugby Team Management, Rugby Training | Tags: Better Rugby Coaching, sports coach, Jekyll and Hyde coach
How competitive are you? Do you punch the air when your team scores or openly despair when you concede
a soft try?
It is not bad to be emotionally involved in the game. But where do you draw the line?
Well, don’t let anyone tell you where to draw the line. You need to decide for yourself. There is nothing worse than some “do-gooder” telling you about the moral rights and wrongs of competition and how to rugby train your players.
Listen to the evidence and decide for yourself.
Stop.
There is one thing to remember.
You can shout and ball at your players, or alternatively, treat them with kid gloves. Offer them riches for performance, or offer them just kind words of praise. But don’t compromise on one thing.
Don’t treat children as mini-adults. The rules of engagement change for youngster. You have to coach and encourage them differently because they won’t respond in the long run to adult-orientated coaching methods.
Society has changed. Children have different expectations to 20 years ago and so have parents, unfortunately.
It is called the “Tiger Woods Syndrome”. What has Tiger Woods got to do with art of designing a rugby drill? Tiger, nothing. His father, on the other hand, has inspired millions of parents to push their child into organised sport earlier than we used to when we were young. And drill them competitively in the pursuit of greatness.
So, how can I say this is bad when I coach my own son’s under 8s team. Simply because you can still control the amount of pressure by reducing the competitive nature of “matches”, and concentrate on fun.
Last weekend, I witnessed the subtle nature of competitive parenting. Two coaches involved in the opposition were using “gamesmanship” to influence the game. They knew it, but persisted. It was embarrassing and sets the wrong example to all those involved.
We can’t always get the balance right, but when comes to children we can try to keep to a moral code.
Here is a code of sorts from Frank Smoll, a University of Washington psychology professor and co-author of “Sports and Your Child: A 50 Minute Guide for Parents.”
• Reward your child whether the team wins or loses.
• If you have a complaint or concern, don’t raise it in the middle of a game.
• Applaud when either team makes a good play.
• Praise effort.
• Respect the referee’s calls.
• Talk to your neighbour during games (don’t get too caught up in scores or statistics)..
• Ask your child, ‘Was it fun?’ before ‘Did you win?’
For adults, you can be the monstrous Mr Hyde if you want, but for children, be the good doctor Jekyll. A coach and a parent are not separate in this code.
Filed under: Dan Cottrell, Rugby Coaching, Rugby Refereeing, Rugby Skills, Rugby Team Management, Rugby Training | Tags: Better Rugby Coaching, Rugby Coaching, Rugby, Rugby Coaching Tips
Here are my 10 steps to coaching better rugby:
1. Listen to your rugby players.
2. Listen to the rugby opposition.
3. Listen to the rugby commentators.
4. Listen to the rugby experts.
5. Listen to other sports’ experts.
6. Listen to your rugby coaching team.
7. Listen to your rugby captain.
8. Listen to the rugby referee.
9. Listen to your rugby goals.
10. Then say what you want.
Filed under: Rugby Coaching, Rugby Fitness, Rugby News, Rugby Refereeing, Rugby Skills, Rugby Team Management, Rugby Training, Toby Curthoys | Tags: Better Rugby Coaching, Rugby, Rugby Information, Rugby Newsletter, Rugby Playing Styles, Rugby Skills, Rugby Talent Spotting, Rugby Training
Welcome Coach,
My name is Toby Curthoys. I’m going to be posting my thoughts and views on a wide range of rugby coaching topics in the months ahead. I’ll kick-off by telling you a bit about myself and why we have created this blog.
I am the publisher of Dan Cottrell’s Better Rugby Coaching publications and training aids. Whilst Dan makes sure the quality of everything we do is second to none, my job is to develop our range of products to reflect the needs of rugby coaches worldwide.
Unlike Dan who played to a very high standard, I have no talent for rugby. But I do have a huge passion for the game.
In my opinion there’s room for all styles of play across the vast “rugby spectrum”. I love to see fast open play, with nimble side steps by the hooker and delicate offloads by the fly half.
But I also appreciate the more gladiatorial elements of the game, like the front row combat. And if one team’s route to success is by hoofing the ball into the corners at every opportunity – then good luck to them!
In fact, I think it’s the range of playing styles, skills required and people involved that make rugby such a great game. That and the fact that anyone can play the sport and be challenged by it.
That’s why I am committed to not only helping rugby coaches, but also playing my part in expanding the sport worldwide.
This blog is for everyone involved in rugby coaching and all the issues you face have a place here. We’ll be contributing something new each week, and I’d like to extend an open invitation for you to join in with your comments.
Through this blog we can listen to what you have to say about your coaching issues and, with our many contributors, look at ways to help you.
Whether it’s individual or team skills, coach development, refereeing, player behaviour, discipline, the role of parents, team management and selection, talent spotting or fitness, Rugby Coaching Blog aims to cover it all.
Your feedback and contributions are important and valuable for coaches all over the world, as this blog allows knowledge to be shared among coaches in scores of countries.
Please get involved, comment on this blog and give us your feedback. I promise to do our best to make this the most informative and compelling rugby coaching blog on the web.
If you haven’t already, you may wish to sign up for our Better Rugby Coaching weekly newsletter. As a member, I guarantee you will receive truly valuable rugby coaching tips every week.
Best of all it’s free!
Yours in rugby
Toby Curthoys, Better Rugby Coaching Publisher
Filed under: Dan Cottrell, Rugby Coaching, Rugby Fitness, Rugby News, Rugby Refereeing, Rugby Skills, Rugby Team Management, Rugby Training | Tags: Frank Hadden, Rugby Coaching, rugby debate, Rugby Practice, Rugby Skills
After the Osprey’s (the Welsh regional side) lost to Saracens in the Heineken on Sunday, a disappointed head coach, Lyn Jones was asked by an TV interviewer about the team’s errors.
He was probably thinking “Can it be my fault a 40+ capped international player drops the ball?”
He diplomatically deferred to possible tactical errors. Some newspapers however, were quick to question his rugby coaching ability.
Rugby coaching is about coaching rugby skills. A coach shapes a team’s approach to the scrum and lineout. Each ruck and maul will be influenced by the training sessions and feedback over weeks, months and years.
But as Frank Hadden, the Scotland coach, has said previously in Rugby Coach, it is the player who steps over the whitewash of the touchline to play the game, not you.
It is hard to watch your team play and make unforced errors. It is easy to pin the blame and quickly to look to either the players or yourself for fault. Fuel for your next rugby practice.
The enlightened view is not to blame anybody. Personally I find this hard to do. “Move on, don’t focus on the past, focus on the now” is the mantra that the top players use. Tiger Woods, the world’s best golfer, is a shining example of the removing the blame.
Where does this leave the coach? In the TV interview, he has to say who he blames. To his players, he has to say “let’s play the next game”.
I quite like the approach of Manchester United coach, Alex Ferguson. He says it all in the changing room straight after the game and that’s it. Mind you, I would not like to be on the end of his post match criticism!
Filed under: Dan Cottrell, Rugby Coaching, Rugby Fitness, Rugby News, Rugby Refereeing, Rugby Skills, Rugby Team Management, Rugby Training | Tags: Better Rugby Coaching, Rugby Coaching, rugby debate, sports coaching community
Hi, my name is Dan Cottrell and I want to welcome you to the Better Rugby Coaching Blog.
I have been coaching rugby for over 15 years at lots of different levels and age groups and I want to share my thoughts on some of the current thinking on rugby skills, rugby drills and rugby training, As you may know I am editor of Rugby Coach. We produce a series of rugby coaching resources which covers sessions, practice, plays and tactics on every aspect of the game.
This blog gives me and my team an ideal opportunity to give the latest comment on rugby coaching life-I speak to coaches every day. In fact it is newsworthy when I spend a day not replying to an email, posting a comment on the forum or chatting on the phone to another coach. This blog gives you a window on my coaching world so you can share the hopes, fears and joys of rugby coaching.
I am still learning. I have written over 300,000 words since 2003 on rugby scrums, kicking, rugby defence, tackling amongst many other areas. And I know there are still more words to write. I am open to opinion but I have a set of core values. In the Rugby Coach office we receive plenty of emails every week telling us we are saying the right things, and sometimes disagreeing. We don’t mind the debate. However we take safety and child protection very seriously.
So this blog is for everyone in the coaching community. A chance to hear and share views. And a chance for us to post up some great ideas from others: video, pictures or stories from all around the rugby coaching world.
