Forwards Roll on Offense

Question
QUESTION: I am a coach from the USA working with both a senior mens
as well as a high school team. My question is that the role
of forwards on offense has seemed to change over the past
few years and I do not want my players to be left behind.
Traditionally the role of forwards in offensive situations
has been to stay in groups of four (roughly) with one group
doing the rucking and another setting up for a "hit up" or
"punch" or supporting the back line when the ball is passed
to the backs. This seems to have been phased out a bit in
modern play.
Observations:
What I am seeing these days is that while forwards are
still taking punches they seem to taking much shorter run
ups and are more or less "drive and diving". They seem to
be setting rucks just over the gain line.
In open field play I see a lot of forwards being much more
involved in "traditional back play".
I have seen a lot less forwards chasing the ball in support
and a lot more backs doing the rucking.
For example there is a ruck on the left hand side of the
field three forwards (3,4, and 7)control the ball and
maintain possession and the ball is passed out to the
right. Instead of chasing they are staying put and when the
ball comes back to their direction they are entering the
back line and doing the job traditionally reserved for
backs and loose forwards.
I have seen forwards frequently end up on the wing "not
only in support of backs" but also in the back line.
My question is are teams using a specific pattern such as
three forwards on the left hand side of the field, three in
the center and two right with players shifting into
different zones when needed. Or something similar or is it
just spread the field an work hard (read and react)? Or am
I just seeing things?
Do you know of any specific schemes that teams are using?
How do I verbalize this new concept and are there times
when you use it and times when you do not? Anything you can
help me out with would be awesome (your personal knowledge
or websites etc)

ANSWER: Hi Sean,

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. The observations you have made are correct, the modern game has moved to more of a "Zone defense" strategy.

It is very successful especially if you have a fast mobile and fit forward pack that might be on the light side.

On attack this strategy can spread a defense thin and breaks can be made through the gain line due to the spread of defense.

The concept of forwards supporting a back line and vice versa is not new. It is a little know fact that the "All Blacks" where originally known as the "All Backs"
because of the mobile way the forwards played - that was on the legendary invincible tour over 100 years ago.

The strategy of set player defending or "covering" zones on the field is popular for a number of reasons in the USA.

The first key reason (in my opinion) is that zone strategy is easy to coach and explain and for USA player to grasp. The filed is basically cut into 3 zones try line to try line and about 4 zones cross field.

The end to end zones are "channels" that players are assigned to either attack or defend. Your example of the 3, 4 & 7 is a good one for this.

There are a ton of applications for these channels but safe to say I think you get the idea of how it works.

The second reason is that it is "the flavor of the week". The professional teams of Australia and New Zealand dominate world rugby and employ these strategies. With the exception of England - more about that later.

The channels allow players to understand their job on the field and have a mental game plan of where and when they should be on the field. That is useful for new players to the game.

The cross field zones give the whole team the knowledge of what to do on attack on defense. Let抯 call the 22 to the try line the "Red Zone". Your team as a whole will be taught that in that zone the try is on, no side line kicks, pressure for penalties, keep that ball alive look for a drop goal opportunity, spin out quick from scrums etc.

The half way line to the 22 might be called the 0range zone - the team knows to be prepared for a counter attack, side line kick, more of a kicking game.

I could go on but the fact is every coach has a variation on what he wants his team to do in each zone based on his teams strengths weaknesses.

Read and react is minimized which can be a good thing for new players but it may make seasoned vets feel tied down. For that reason it is important to have carefully selected players on the forwards and backs who have a "veto power".

This sort of leads into my comment about England. If you are lucky enough you can implement the channel/zone offense and defense into your teams game plan. If well executed with a fit and fast team you can gain a lot of ground while keeping possession. That is especially appreciated if you have a poor kicking team.

Now if only the opposition would play along.

The reason England have won a world cup and made a final or two is because they do not play along. They still play the group of forwards herding around a field and using the drive as a dangerous tool. Why not? It works. So the trick is to be able to utilize the channel/zone strategy but if you find you are not closing the deal flip to a committed old school strategy.

If the opposition is using the same channel defense they will be in trouble if your team mounts a well executed forward maul/drive down the field. If you have 8 forwards mauling down the field with the ball well clear and presented to your half back you are entitled to maul the whole length of the field and score (in theory).

So the ability to recognize this kind of opportunity is important whether it be a player on the field who is in a leadership role or by your input from the side line.

If the opposition is spread out all over the field and your 8 forward drive into their weakest point they will either have to commit players to the maul or risk conceding a large plot of land.

This all still required perfect technique and execution by your team. 8 guys in a maul with poor body position, communication and ball control will be stopped by 3 guys who know what they are doing.

I could go on for a lot longer but I am sorry to say my time is limited. Please let me know if you would prefer a phone call to discuss things in more detail.

Below are some links and books I recommend but it does tend toward the basics.

Rugby Information.

Books:

揜ugby for Dummies?by Patrick Guthrie (Author), Mathew Brown (Author) easily obtained at Amazon.com

Links:

USA Rugby: the national organization sanctions all rugby for the USA and is part of the World Rugby Union?br>
www.usarugby.org  > 揧outh Rugby?> 揜esource Library?br>
www.rugby101.com

www.rugbysmart.co.nz

This is a FAQ / Blog that I do on line, ask questions or go over the past answers:

www.irbcoaching.com

Scrummaging:

http://www.coachingrugby.com/rugby/coaching/unitskills/scrum/buildingthescrum.ht

http://www.usarugby.org/media/EDocs/scrum.pdf

http://www.texasyouthrugby.com/download/748/docs/Building_the_scrum.pdf





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

QUESTION: Thank you so much for your help it goes a long way to
justify some of the ideas I have been working on with the
team.

One more question I have also noticed many teams currently
implementing the concept of dummy runners and what I see as
"second line of offense receivers". For instance, the
defense of the blue team is very quick to attack and puts a
lot of pressure on the red team. So the red team places a
player (such as full back or weak side winger) directly
behind the Fly Half. The red Fly Half takes off and dummies
like he is the intended receiver and the ball is instead
passed to the trailing player. This gives the "new Fly Half
aka WSW or FB" much more time pass the ball out with much
less pressure and also uses the player essentially to
"shield or block"with out technically blocking. Do you have
any suggestions on different ploys to implement this
concept, also do you have any advice on angles or running
lines that will prevent obstruction calls?
Thanks in Advance

Answer
Hi Sean, It seams like you have observed a successful tactic. I can only say to keep it simple and copy the tactic. There is no need to re-invent the wheel. A

As for angles it is a matter of pushing the envelope, each ref can have a different interpretation of what obstruction is. I think a good tactic would be to have the 2nd runner come in on and angle away from the passing half back but then have a third runner come in at the alternate angle.

This starts to become tricky. You will need to create plays that fit your teams skill level. Also the time it takes to set these plays up has an impact. The longer you take the better the opposition can mount a structured defense.

You may want to set aside nights to have inside meeting room style play discussions with your team. You seem like someone who picks things up with observation so get as many professional games as you can to glean from. Planet Rugby has a good online link for online access to pro Super 14 games and tests. That Coaching Rugby link I provided also give a lot of good advice.