Unfair Marking

Question
QUESTION: My seventeen yr old son who plays rugby at provincial school level has developed the shoulder charge and is being penalised for not using his arms how do we coach him back to using his arms?

ANSWER: Hi D, sorry for taking so long to get back to you.

Here is some tackling advice:

The aim is to make a tackle to stop the play/player. Drive in hard and execute the tackle forcefully and wrap the player up well with your arms. The game of rugby moves fast enough that this will be enough to give your team the advantage.

Below is a past answer to a similar question. If you focus on the line of the players shorts / jersey or the string of their shorts then size will not be an issue. If a player is really big then letting them go buy and tackling from behind and sliding down the legs will bring them down. A firm grasp around the waist then drop down with all your might while squeezing their legs together.

Your head should go to the side that is "out of the way". If the player is running at you going to the left you head should go to the right side and vice versa. If the guy is running directly at you it would be best to put you head on the side the guy hold the ball but really don't over think it on that angle. The big thing is to drive your shoulder into the guys gut or lower sternum.

When tackling from the side the rule of thumb is "cheek to cheek" face to butt.

Here is a simple method for improving your tackle. When a player is moving towards you (or vice versa) do not look at their body as a whole, instead focus on the point of center between their hips. Often a coach will tell you to "eyeball" the "string of their shorts". This focus will allow your brain to only register the runner's center of gravity: the "mass" of their torso or core. No matter what a runner's arms, legs or head does the torso is usually stagnant.

Keep your feet active, stay on your toes either moving towards them or running in place. Close the space between you and the runner swiftly but stay in control. This is to limit the runner's options as much as possible. If you over commit to running into the tackle the player has a better chance of stepping you.

Focus on the "string of their pants" and drop your center of gravity to set up the hit. Bend at the knees, eyes up, straight back, hips lower than your shoulders like a prop in a scrum. Aim the shoulder to that string."Punch" into the players core with your shoulder and wrap the player up with your arms. Drive hard with little punchy steps of your legs.

To summarize:

1. keep the feet active "live"
2. focus on the "string of their pants"
3. drive the shoulder through the "string of their pants"
4. wrap the player up and drive with the legs in short steps.

Don't try to pick the player up, this is dangerous and will probably get you penalized. Drive hard with the shoulder and legs

This link to UTube is VERY good:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQJ39bbq2uU


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: My same 17 yr old son who plays Provincial Schools rugby has become the target of "tacticle marking" he is being spat ON, sworn at continuously,  punched and kicked in order to get him to retaliate and either be given a red/yellow card or he is mentally out of the game. I have checked the IRB rugby laws and SARU rugby rules and there is no mention of unfair marking. His coach says this is a tacticle ploy by the oposition to get him out of the game. How do we stop this/is there a law prohibiting this form of marking.

Answer
Spitting, abuse is not allowed and is not in the spirit of the game, but the reality is that it does happen and even with a really good ref he will only be able to handle it after the fact.

As hard as it is your son has the opportunity here to totally mentally dominate his opposition.

I myself was a bit of a hot head and became the recipient of many penalties for loosing my cool. I coach took me aside and explained that the scariest guy on the field is the one who has the same intense game face no matter what. In fact to wink or smirk at a smart mouth taunter is more effective. They are doing it for the potential reaction. What better life skill is there for a young man than to handle pressure and focus on the task at hand. Tell him that latter in the game opportunities always arise to make that tackle just a little harder or that push in the maul/scrum harder or that fend with a little more force or a run a little harder.

Just plan laugh at at an abuser with make THEM loose their cool. A quiet respectful word to the ref in a calm tone: excuse me ref but a member of the opposition just spat on me. Please could you address it?" Tell your son to go up close to the ref in a break in the game and respectfully ask to talk with him. If needed tell him to have his team captain escort him. Keep the discussion calm and quiet so ONLY the ref can hear the complaint. This leaves the ref with room to assess the situation and doesn't put him on the spot. Also if the opposition start complaining he can say that due to the fact that this was a private talk the opposition must know there was an indiscretion.

It worked for me and I ended up getting the rep of a guy who wouldn't be shaken. That can be very intimidating.