What do you think of it so far?

By | September 26, 2011

While there are variations in the way the teams are playing at the RWC patterns are emerging starting with teams being reasonably competent at winning their own ball and being able to defend, especially from set pieces. Attack using the movement of the ball and penetration skills occurs less frequently.  This is because possession is very difficult to win, so when you have it you want to keep it. This results in attack being conservative.

However, this is risky when the ball is taken into contact as you risk a turnover or the interference of the referee. You take it into contact close to support, a maximum of 2 passes from the source of possession. The risk is not as great as it is for the defence but there is a risk for the attack if the ball is taken into contact and the support is not immediate.

The other option is to kick the ball. Here the key is that the kick must not be a turnover unless the gain in territory compensates for the loss of possession. The contact or re-start should be on halfway or in their half of the field.

The other option is to make sure the kick is contestable or finds touch so that you can put 15 defenders, in an organised way, behind the ball. The value of the contestable kicks is that you may get the ball back.

Two come to mind, the bomb plus its little brother the “pop” kick and the grubber kick. What these do is let the defence know that they have to defend down the field as well as across it. You may not regain the ball but you have made the defence aware of the situation.

Statistics indicate that recovery is limited but I feel this is more a reflection of the performance than the type of kick.

For a kick to be contestable there must be time for support to get there otherwise it is just a turnover. While the bomb and the chip can be made in front of the defence as the kick is made over them the grubber kick is different. Too often the grubber is made in front of the defence. As a result the ball just rebounds off the picket fence that is the heavily populated defensive line.

The mechanics of this are worth looking at.

The grubber with the right foot is made going left to right. The kicker holds his defender and then goes for the outside space. In the space, with the tackler coming onto the left leg, the kicker grubbers the ball with the right leg through the space. The opposite is true going right to left with the kick being made with the left foot. Add to this the angle of the ball that puts it behind the defence but on an angle that puts the chasers closer to the ball than the second line of defence.

The ultimate in retaining possession and in attack is the multi-skilled team who are able to attack by any means across and down the field. I like the French term for multi-skilled. It is polyvalence and reflects where France used to be in their unique appreciation of the game. It is a pity that they have become more conformist and are playing like the conservatives over the Channel.

The truly polyvalence team ensures that the ball carrier has support in all circumstances. This is the ultimate team. It is a goal that may never be achieved because others will make equal progress in this direction. But it doesn’t stop it being the goal.

A further quality is patience. Patience in the kicking duel in both the chase and receipt pattern, patience in defence to stop them but not infringe, patience in attack to break the gain line while retaining possession.

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