Filed under: Dan Cottrell, Rugby Coaching, Rugby Team Management | Tags: controlling the practice, getting young players to listen, rugby coaches, teachers
I am currently writing an article on the one of the most difficult jobs for a junior rugby coach: getting players to listen.
In my research I have watched coaches struggle to get their young charges to stop, shut up and take in what is being said.
Sound familiar?
Gaining the “listening attention” of any player is an acquired art, perhaps even a science. Rugby coaches are not always trained teachers. And some teachers are not able to make it happen all the time themselves.
If you are saying “listen” then you are several stages beyond the state you want to be in.
Here is a quick tip: call in the players, be silent and wait for the players to be quiet. Demand silence before you start speaking. Stop speaking (giving instructions for instance) if there is any noise.
Filed under: Dan Cottrell, ELVs, Rugby Coaching | Tags: ELVs, Jonathan Kaplan, rugby coaches, rugby kicking, rugby lineouts, rugby mauls, rugby rucks
Rugby coaches around the world are pouring over their tactics and working out whether the new laws have made a significant difference to the game.
In the Northern Hemisphere, two complaints have made most of the headlines: more kicking and inconsistency at the breakdown.
Just a moment…
Inconsistency at the breakdown? That is not talking about an ELV. It is a directive from the IRB for referees to stop “bridging and sealing”. However referees are not controlling this area in the game in the same way. Recently criticism has been aimed at Jonathan Kaplan, the well-respected South African referee in the way he dealt the ruck area in two separate Tri Nations games. “A free for all” said one coach about the last game after he had been very harsh in the previous match. (more…)
Filed under: coaches in action pictures | Tags: pictures of coaching, rugby coaches, Rugby Training, world rugby
play role!, originally uploaded by reportergimmi™.
The first in series of photos of rugby coaches in action from around the world.
It is not just about the national and professional coaches, but those of us who have to train in all circumstances, weathers, pitches and players!
Filed under: Rugby Coaching, Rugby Skills, Rugby Team Management, Rugby Training, Toby Curthoys | Tags: Italian national rugby, The Huddle, rugby coaches
The reason I ask is that I recently found this clip, highlighting a great tactic the Italian national rugby team
(and others) sometimes use. I’ve now posted it at The Huddle, the online forum for rugby coaches.
Dan also wrote about the tactic in last year’s Rugby Coach, his monthly magazine about rugby coaching. To help me better illustrate what the Italian’s are doing, he’s agreed to let me reproduce it here and in this week’s Better Rugby Coaching.
http://www.betterrugbycoaching.com/rugbyforum/Topic733-4-1.aspx
Instead of competing for the lineout ball in the air, instead of driving into the jumper when they reach the ground, instead of pulling the jumper to the ground before a maul forms… the Italians do nothing!
As expected the opposition catch the ball and, as they’ve practised frequently, quickly form a “cluster” of players around the jumper. A team mate rips the ball from the jumper and moves it to the back of the “cluster”, where, under usual circumstances, it would be safest.
Crucially, however, because the Italians aren’t engaging there’s no maul. This means their hooker can whip around behind the opposition “cluster” and tackle the ball carrier at the back. Since there’s no maul, there’s no offside - just confused opponents.
If you’re planning to coach the tactic or try it out at your next rugby match make sure you:
Tell the referee about your plans before the game. It will look unusual and any referee who is caught unawares may not see it in the correct light and penalise you.
Ensure your players make no effort whatsoever to compete for the ball at the lineout. Even better they should step away from the opposition. This avoids any chance of contact.
Consider whereabouts on the pitch you’ll use the tactic. It’s generally best performed in their 22m area. You will lose ground, but should cause enough confusion to give you an advantage.
Spread your defenders in the lineout, so any efforts by the opposition to perform a peel (where the jumper pops the ball to a runner) can be thwarted.
Let me know how you get on!
Toby Curthoys, Better Rugby Coaching Publisher
