Bruised but not Beaten

The full contact drills in seniors last night have left me bruised but not beaten. Several of us suffered the kind of lower leg injury that is common inside the tackle zone during rucks, and even mauls, when a boot slides down and across the leg or foot of another player. The bruise and blood drawn on my left ankle and a real shiner around my right eye from an elbow are typical of bruising as a direct result of physicality in the contest.

My sore shoulder, triceps and quadriceps - worse on the left side - are less typical and are probably age-related. The balanced, bent knee, semi-squatting position loads up the legs, driving into rucks and mauls, sprinting off the mark contribute to muscle soreness in the legs. Poor tackling technique on my part coupled with the speed and strength of the ball carrier led to me left arm being partially extended in a tackle, causing immediate concern at the time but only lingering soreness. Yesterday I could not lift with my left arm however today I have full range of mobility. The difference in speed of the younger fellows, 10 years or more my junior, in getting into position is quite pronounced; as is their size, often a foot taller and 20kg heavier than I am.

The mental toughness and confidence needed to fully commit to the tackle contest has been hammered into me by my own experience. The concept translates directly into the u14s I am coaching where some of boys have a natural trepidation about tackling. Next week we will explore the tackle zone, technique and laws governing the ruck but yesterday afternoon we concentrated on the tackle itself. As I was shown in the Rugby Foundations course, we decomposed the tackle into several steps, with the tackler only grabbing the ball carrier at first while concentrating on shoulder strength and head position beside the tackler. Thumb to your ear, boys, keep your shoulder strong. Then grabbing the ball carrier's leg and finally executing the tackle to bring the ball carrier to ground followed by the tackler rolling away. We had mixed success trying this out in a variation of touch rugby at 50% of full contact - gentle take downs, no elbows or knees - where the ball carrier had to allow the tackle rather than try to break through the tackler.

The basics of passing, picking and placing the ball in pairs, picking up the free ball - front hand first, then rear hand to avoid knock forward, two-handed for good ball security - makes us ready to move onto the ruck next week. To encourage joining the ruck, giving the best chance of retaining possession and allowing time for the back to get into position is the next challenge for the young players. Master the ruck, clean out and ball-receiver roles to win games with positive play - everyone has to know where to go and what to do. Forwards join the ruck through the tackle zone; backs onside and in an attacking line. Juniors can be prone to kicking away possession under pressure and that is something to be avoided.

The set pieces of scrum and lineout are next off the block after rucks, then mauls, before we address start and restart kicks, dropouts and conversions. Kicking in free play comes last reflecting that kicks are usually the last option. By all means kick for distance from your goal line in defence; but rarely use ground or chip kicks in free play. Tactical kicks are difficult to execute with a high chance of losing possession but strategic kicks, for touch or distance to make time and space to regroup, have merit only if executed properly.