The Game Sense Rationale
　Not only do rugby players need to know how to perform techniques but also when, why and where to perform them. They need to understand where these skills fit into the game and understand the tactical dimensions of the game before they are able to make intelligent decisions. Drawing on developments in ecological motor learning theory allows us to see where traditional coaching approaches fail to provide for the development of informed decision making in rugby１）. Before any action is performed in a game the player must first perceive what is going on around him. For example, a player receiving a pass might have to consider, what is our field position, where are my team-mates, where are the spaces and, based on the time remaining and the score line, how much risk should I take? Taking into consideration his ability, the ability of his teammates and the opposition, he must then decide on what he will do. Typical options might be, do I pass, run or kick? If the player decides to pass then he must decide to whom he/she should pass, when to pass and what type of pass before executing the pass. Each action in rugby therefore requires thinking and understanding and good coaches need to consider how they can provide training experiences that develop this understanding. By focusing exclusively on the development of technique traditional training methods tend to neglect the important areas of perception and decision-making.

　Traditional technique-based coaching that is used by most coaches works on refining technique through drills and unopposed training and is based on the assumption that this technical proficiency will result in a better team performance. Typically players trained in this way look like champions at training but cannot transfer this to the game. This is because training practices do not replicate game conditions. This lack of transfer from training to the game is particularly evident in Japanese rugby. I have been involved in Japanese rugby, initially as a coach, and then a researcher, for the past 12 years. While training practices in Japan have certainly improved over the past decade there is still a dominant technique-based approach to training that focuses on perfecting technique and learning patterns instead of developing thinking players. Jim Greenwood, who spent two years coaching rugby at Tsukuba University, has previously noted this２) .

　The following quote from the chairman of the Japan Rugby Union at the time identifies the lack of transfer from training to the game.

　The typical Japanese is adept at the individual tasks of the game - handling, kicking, tackling and running - and in practice he looks formidable. Unfortunately, he does not always show such competence in the match. Japanese teams also excel in combined manoeuvres, which they practise repeatedly until the actual carrying out of the play is virtually error free. Once again, though the performance is better on the practice field than in the match players tend to continue to apply what they have studiously learned even when the opposition have read their intentions - which of course, often spells disaster3).

　Accepting that good players need to understand the game and that traditional technique-based coaching does not develop this we need to then ask just how can coaches develop it in their players? It is such an elusive quality that many coaches dismiss it as something the player is born with and which cannot be taught. To some extent this is true. As sociologist Pierre Bourdieu suggests, this 'sense of the game' is indeed embedded in the body over a person's life4). It is something learnt, not only through sport, but also through a range of social experience within particular contexts.

　Through adopting a Game Sense approach coaches can develop players who know, not only how to perform skills, but also where, when and why to perform them.


The development of Game Sense in Australia

　While many coaches throughout the world have long used many of the ideas from TGfU, Game Sense and other variations it was not until the early eighties that they were first developed into a structured and alternative approach to coaching. In 1982 Rod Thorpe and David Bunker first published their Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) model and it attracted significant attention from coaches and physical education teachers. The past five years has seen a resurgence in interest in TGfU from researchers and practitioners. As part of this growing interest there is now an international conference on teaching sport and physical education for understanding held every two years. The first was held in the USA in 2001 and the second conference will be held at The University of Melbourne, Australia in December 2003.

　From 1994 to 1998, Rod Thorpe regularly visited Australia where he worked with the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) and Australian coaches to develop a systematic coaching approach known as Game Sense. Building upon the existing practices of many Australian coaches, Game Sense offers a slightly more structured model than TGfU and is supported by a range of resources produced by the ASC. For interested coaches the excellent Game Sense resources and resources on modified games can be ordered from the ASC.

　The following section identifies and discusses the main strengths of Game Sense as identified by Australian sport coaches. The paper then moves on to provide a few examples of Game Sense training activities for rugby.