Sevens Notes From SWS 2015Key Points: ·      There is no doubt that the players are bigger, fitter, stronger, faster and more powerful which serves to emphasize the point that major strides have been made in strength and conditioning. As a result the teams who win are able to wear the opposition down. ·      What we must ask is whether the best use is made of this fitness and whether the players can make better use of their fitness by attention to detail in skills and tactics. Identifying the simplest of techniques that would give a better return for the energy spent may be the way of points of difference. ·      The top teams complete their tackles without a team-mate having to lend assistance. To have to commit more than one gives the attack extra numbers should the ball be delivered. Defence wins games based on tackle completion. ·      Kick offs are the most common and contestable form of re-start and need to be practiced. ·      Be aware of the most likely commitment the opposition has at the breakdown in attack and defence. They tend to do the same thing all the time and you can strategies to exploit it. ·      Conversions are very important. ·      The longer the attack keeps possession, especially if they are able to move forward, the more disorganized the defence becomes.
ATTACK
1. Gaining possession	Kick offs:·      Kick off to regain possession or to chase in a 5-6 player defence line with one sweeper to cover the kick option. Don’t kick off just to re-start play. ·      Make sure all deflections are covered around the ball when it is contested from the shallow kick-off. ·      A successful approach is to target a miss match and have the ball come down directly on the targeted player. As the receiving team have the targeted player act as a decoy and a player who can contest the ball moving into this position. Scrum: ·      Think about what to do with the ball from scrums and even the side of the scrum you put the ball in. Control is difficult. To gain some control put the ball in slowly.
2. Going Forward	·      Play linear first and, after drawing the defence in, move the ball wide.·      Don’t be so flat that if the attack line moves forward the pass is hard, flat and maybe forward. It is important to reload so that the attack line can move toward the defence and not stand flat-footed and allow the defence to move towards them. The same goes for the defence – see below. Running onto the ball threatens the defence. ·      Using linear support down the channel and offload especially if the support comes from the side the ball carrier has moved to. From this side the player will incrase the number on that side of the line. ·      In contact use leg drive to get through the tackle to create options. ·      From all play chose options that go forward so that as many players as possible are behind the line of the ball and can move into play. This demands plenty of energy off the ball to reload. What players do off the ball is more important than when they are carrying it. ·      Sacrifice a few metres forward in contact to ensure the ball is not contestable. ·
3. Supporting	·      Make the ball available at the tackle to prevent over-commitment.·      If you are held up get your knee to the ground to complete the tackle forcing the defenders to allow you to immediately play the ball.
4. Continuity	·      Just remember that if you have only the ball carrier in a maul, by definition, there is no maul and the defenders in the maul should allow the ball carrier to play the ball or risk penalty.·      Use rucks and mauls to create space. ·      Form a ruck asap so that the ball cannot be handled.
DEFENCE
1. Contesting possession	·      From a deep kick-off you need all team members to reload behind the line of the ball so that they can enter play.
2. Going Forward	·      Don’t be so flat that the defensive line is offside if they move forward. It is important the reload so that the defence line can move into the attack and not stand flat-footed and allow the attack to move towards them.·      Don’t defend square on as the ball carrier can go left or right. In most cases defend inside-out. In cases where there is an overlap outside-in defence may be worth thinking about. This is especially the case when there is no ruck or maul, just a tackle, and, as a result, no offside line. ·      Unless you are using outside-in defence don’t get ahead of the defender inside as it leaves a gap. ·      Defend in lanes down the field so that the defence doesn’t get bunched. This is the case when a defence drifts so that up to 4 players are 15metres from the far touchline. An astute attack will maintain their spacing enabling them to reverse the attack to where there are fewer defenders. ·      By the same token some teams deliberately drift on the ball carrier knowing they will turn in and they will have a strong tackler waiting for them.
3. Tackle Quality	·      Jackalling can be risky, it is easy to infringe. An alternative is to drive through the ruck and get beyond the ball.
4. Supporting	·      Don’t ball gaze around the tackle, join the defence line and identify your attacker splitting your vision between this player and the ball.·      Clean out to delay delivery but, once this has been done, join the defence line.
5. Regaining Possession	·      Show patience and maintain your defence line and don’t over-commit at the tackle until a “dominant” tackle creates the opportunity to regain possession.·      Top teams are prepared to create the dominant tackle by moving immediately onto the next ball carrier in support of this player’s tackler. Some drive the issue home by having 2. It is closely linked with a rush defence taking away time and space and having a sweeper as insurance if a tackle is missed.

 

LAW PROPOSALS

 

PROPOSAL 1:

Law 1.4 Dimensions For Goal Posts and Crossbar

(d) When the padding is attached to the goal posts the distance from the goal line to the external edge of the padding must not exceed 300mm.

Reasoning:

The goalposts are an obstacle on the goal-line at ground level. This creates both a safety issue and the goalposts also an obstruction to play.

Law Proposal:

To use a canter levered crossbar and uprights by placing a single upright on the dead-ball line to the height of the cross bar and then bending this at the height of the cross bar and parallel to the ground forward to the goal-line. At this point in a 2 pronged fork shape, extend the cross bar parallel to the goal-line 1.8metres in each direction at which point the 2 cross bars will rise vertically the minimum height of 3.4metres. See NRL goalposts.

 

PROPOSAL 2:

Law 11 Offside in General Play

General:

This proposal is applicable more to Sevens than Fifteens however this depends on there being the strict application of the definition of a ruck in a Fifteens game.

Definition

There is no mention of a defensive player being offside in general play in the Law Book.

Reasoning:

Because of the limited number of players on the field there many situations in which there is, by definition, neither a ruck or a maul formed post tackle.

This means that there is general play the consequence of which is that there is no defensive off-side line.

This allows the defensive players to position ahead of the ball and to stand next to the players in the attacking line.

When the ball is won at the post tackle the team winning the ball, in this situation the team retain possession, is not rewarded with space to attack because of the position of the defenders.

This often results in the defence creating this situation by not contributing to the formation of the maul or ruck.

It applies most frequently to forming a ruck.

To make the situation practical at present referee’s in Sevens are calling “Tackle; No Ruck” the implications of which are that it is general play with no offside.

In Fifteens this more often results in the defence line being more numerous than the attacking line because of the lack of commitment of the defence to the contest for the ball in both the post tackle and the ruck.

Law Proposal :

In Sevens especially the ball should be regarded as the offside line for defensive players in the post tackle situation when a ruck or maul has not been formed.

 

PROPOSAL 3

Law 15 Tackle: Ball carrier Brought to Ground

15.5 The Tackled Player

(b) A player must immediately pass the ball or release it. That player must also get up or move away from it at once

15.6 Other Players

(b) After a tackle any players on their feet may attempt to gain possession by taking the ball from the ball carrier’s possession.

( c ) Players in opposition to the ball carrier who remain on their feet who bring the ball carrier to ground so that the player is tackled must release the ball and the ball carrier. Those players may then play the ball providing they are on their feet and do so from behind the ball and from directly behind the tackled player or a tackler closest to those players’ goal-line.

(d) At a tackle or near to a tackle, other players who play the ball must do so from behind the ball and from directly behind the tackled player or the tackler closest to those players’ goal line.

Law 16 Ruck

Definition:

A ruck is a phase of play where one or more players from each team, who are on their feet, in physical contact, close around the ball on the ground. Open play has ended.

16.2(a) All players forming, joining or taking part in a ruck must have their heads and shoulders no lower than their hips.

(b) A player joining a ruck must bind on a team-mate or an opponent, using the whole arm.The bind must either precede, or be simultaneous with, contact with any other part of the body.

Reasoning:

When a ball carrier has been tackled it is an indication that the defence has been successful and the attack has been unsuccessful.

The principle of equitability is applicable under the principle of contest and continuity as stated in the Playing Charter.

This means that the advantage that is derived in the ensuing play should lie with the team that has been successful in the preceding play. In this case it is the defending team.

Under the Law as it is currently applied the Law favours the attacking team.

In addition there is difficulty in applying the Law consistently so that it is understood.

There is an unwillingness to contest the ball on the part of the defence. This results in attack retaining the possession.

As it is easy for the attack to retain possession the reward they receive is similarly limited as they are faced with a defence line that is more numerous than the numbers in the attack line.

A further reason for the limited number od players conesting the ball is body position.

Post tackle a skill known as “jackaling” is used so that the hands can be used to recover the ball. The body position for most players results in the head and shoulders being below the hips. At higher levels of the game to prevent infringement the jackaling player spreads his feet wider. When an opponent drives the jackaling player from the ball both of these techniques are unsafe.

The use of the hands to gather the ball means that there is no binding to maintain stability.

The notional ruck is frequently individual players, by the strict definition of the Law, tackling players not in possession of the ball, be it players in motion taking each other out but also a player in close proximity to the ruck but not part of it being taken out of play.

In addition to this the limited commitment by the defence results in, by definition, no rucks being formed. At present, for the sake of the game, a notional ruck is formed in the great number of post tackle situations.

Rucks have been eroded to the extent that they may be composed of the following varieties:

1. Composed entirely of players on the ground.
2. Composed of so many players on the ground that it is physically impossible for players to be bound over the ball.
3. Composed of players of one team only.
4. Composed of players bound only with the hand.

And there may be more.

This occurs especially in play in which the defence’s goal line is not threatened. This is less so when play is in close proximity to the goal line as any concession of territory can create sufficient momentum that a try can be scored.

Faced with more defenders than they have attackers the phases of play generate either “pick and go”, one pass attacks followed by a “hit up” and another post tackle situation and, at best a two pass “hit up” before another post tackle. In each of these situations there is little attempt at evasion and there is a lack of appreciation of support play down the ball carriers running line. Support tends to be across the field.

There is a willingness to accept any formation as a ruck when there is no ruck by definition.

In addition a ruck may form but, realizing that they will not be able to contest the ball the defence withdraws and joins the defence line.

So we go from post tackle to a ruck to general play.

In all these situations general play results in the ramifications described above most importantly the lack of a defensive off-side line and what this implies.

Law Proposal :

The aim should be to create a situation in which the law rewards the team that has shown superior skill in making the tackle. The reward is being given an opportunity to regain possession of the ball so that it is at least as contestable for the defence as it is for the attack. This will result in whichever team wins the ball being rewarded for this skill by having sufficient time and space to attack using a greater range of options.

So long as the contest is an individual one, body positions will be compromised and we will have the notional rucks, rucks of convenience, that we have now.

For this to be a genuine contest the Law should demand that upon the completion of the tackle the ball should be released by the ball carrier and the ball must be played with the foot rather than the hand.

Once a ruck has been formed this requirement would continue under current Law and we would have two loose scrums competing for the ball in greater numbers than we currently have because the law gives both teams an opportunity to win the ball and attack into space.

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