Putting Game Sense into Practice in Rugby

In this section I will try to provide some practical examples of how a Game Sense approach might be used in rugby by briefly describing three activities that can be employed to develop flexible and adaptable game skills and understanding. I will also provide examples of the sort of questions that a coach might ask when using these activities . 1. Tag Ball 　This game, known as corner ball in Japan, is often used as a warm up activity but, when coached appropriately, not only raises body temperature but works as a valuable training activity that has the players thinking from the beginning of training. It can also develop decision-making and passing and catching skills within game-like conditions. Select two even teams of 6-10 with each team wearing different coloured bibs and one team in possession of the ball. Designate a grid within which the game is played through the use of marker cones. Players cannot leave the grid and cannot hold other players. The aim of the game is for the side in possession to eliminate the opposition by tagging them with the ball. Each team has 30 seconds in which to tag as many of the opposing team as possible but the man with the ball cannot run. This means that players must work off the ball to position themselves near an opposition player and call for a pass. It requires passing and catching skills, anticipation, communication and tactical understanding. After thirty seconds the defensive team then receives the ball and the two teams change roles. 　Players typically have trouble eliminating anyone to begin with but improve as the activity progresses. In order to modify the activity to get the right balance of challenge and success the coach can vary the size of the space/grid or introduce more balls. After a few rotations the coach should stop the activity and ask all players questions about what strategies they think would work and how they can improve their passing and catching technique. Strategic questions should focus on manipulating space and time. For example: Where is the best place in the grid to try and tag? (In the corners to reduce the opposition player's options) What type of passes should you use? (Usually flat and fast to take away their time to escape but sometimes a different pass might be more appropriate). To whom should the ball carrier pass? (Who is in the best position to tag?) How does the ball carrier know who is in a good position to receive a pass and tag? (Receivers call and extend hands as a target) What can the players in the attacking team do off the ball to help tag the opposition? (Anticipation, communication, hands out as a target) For advanced level players questions might also prompt them to think about anticipation and 'leading players into space' with passes that anticipate movement. 　The game should then be continued to allow the players to apply these ideas. The two teams should also be given brief time outs to discuss their own tactics and develop ideas and strategies. 2. Five on three 　This activity can be used to develop attacking skills of passing and running while focused on creating and best using space. At the same time the defenders work on trying to shut down the attackers space and decrease the time they have to make decisions. The sides are uneven to provide the sort of situation that rugby teams try to create in attack where the attacking side has a two on one advantage. Using uneven teams also provides the attacking team with more chance of success. With all training games the coach must achieve the right balance of challenge and success and this can be done in this activity through adjusting numbers or modifying the dimensions of the space. 　The game is played in a short but wide space to help the attacking team score and the team in possession aims to score as many tries as possible in a given time (say for example one minute). The attacking team begins on their own line and if there is any infringement such as a knock on then they must return to their own line to start again and this loses valuable time. If the defending side intercept the ball they give it back and the attacking side return to their own line. The intensity of defence is up to the coach and may range from hard tackling to soft standing tackles where the runner must stop progress and recycle the ball. This could just be passing it, rolling it back along the ground or having a support player to come in and rip or seal the ball. In this case if there are not two defensive players in the 'mini maul' then the two with the ball can advance down field until the second opposition player joins in. This gives the option of making space by committing opposition players to the maul. When the time is up the players rotate positions with two defenders coming onto the attacking team and two attackers moving into the defensive team. 　As with Tag Ball the coach watches, analyses and asks questions to stimulate thinking. These questions might include asking how you can use all the space available to take advantage of superior numbers. How do you draw a player out wider? How do you fix a player? (Run at him) How do you spread the defence? This is a good activity for developing decision-making ability. Players must decide whether to pass, dummy pass or just run. If they run do they run into space or into an opposition player to drive the ball up field? They must also decide whether to drive a maul and pull in opposition players or keep up the pace of an attack if it is going forward and making spaces for runners. Coaches can build on this activity by combining two games to give a 10 v 6 or 9 v 7 game. If played in a restricted space then more mauling will be required to make space for attack by pulling in the defence. 　To attain an appropriate balance of success and challenge coaches can vary the numbers of players on either side or vary the size and dimensions of the grid being used. There are endless possibilities for learning through this activity and, again, the coach should give the two teams time to discuss tactics and develop technique and a game plan. 3. Semi-opposed team runs 　Perhaps one of the most common training activities in Japanese rugby that fails to transfer to the game is the unopposed team runs (kombi). This is an activity that is particularly popular as a means of finishing off a training session in a positive mood with high school and university teams. In my own experience with high school and university teams the beauty and impressive pace of kombi as the backline movements sweep across the field is never achieved in games. It cannot be achieved in games because there are always fifteen opposition players doing their best to stop the attack and win the ball. I am not suggesting that replacing unopposed team runs with practice games would not necessarily be a good learning experience either. While unopposed runs are useful for initially learning set attacking plays pressure needs to be gradually applied to produce game conditions. To develop team rhythm and understanding coaches can use a range of semi-opposed team runs. For example, if we set up a 15 v 12 game, much like the 5 v 3 previously outlined above, and substitute standing tackles in place of full tackling this gives the attacking team spaces that they can be encouraged to look for and take advantage of. This way the forwards must ruck and maul correctly and not just run over the ball. It also challenges the attacking team to use their advantage as best they can. As the attacking team develops its play the coach can change the numbers used in the defensive side to further challenge the team. At the same time the defence is very much challenged to make up for its disadvantage in numbers. This often occurs in real games. 　As with the other activities the coach needs to encourage thinking by asking questions of the attacking and defending sides. He should also give the teams some time to discuss their tactics and develop a collaborative understanding.