COACHING SEVEN-A-SIDE RUGBY Lee Smith INTRODUCTION: My recent experience in coaching and observing sevens leads me to recognise that much has changed since I wrote the first manual and workbook in 1997. This is not unexpected as the game has developed with the selection of bigger, stronger, faster, more skilful and more powerful players. This has brought into question the relevance of the principles of attack and defence because the mode of attack and defence has changed significantly. Let’s look at attack to begin with and note the impact of the changes on the principles. ATTACK Attack vs. Defence In attack teams are going directly forward to take away the time and space the defence has to make and execute their defensive decision. Equally the defence is doing the same putting pressure on the attack. This creates a contest on and over the gain line to gain the greatest advantage and, in attack, momentum to go forward and score. Teams who retreat to make space concede the gain line and allow the defence to seize the initiative taking away the space and time of the attack to go forward. This is unlike the past in which teams retreated to create space. GOING FORWARD Because there are only seven players in attack the remaining six must work on making themselves available to the ball carrier all the time. This means that, should a player be out of play and not in a position to move into play they must move back or “reload” to do this. As a result the aim is to have 6 players in support of the ball carrier. The easiest way for this to happen is to have the ball carrier moving forward getting over the gain line as soon as possible so the others can move forward in support. Retaining possession is assumed while the 15-a-side second principle of going forward now becomes relevant to sevens. SUPPORT Creating space, the next sevens principle, can now be covered by the support players reloading and the ball carrier taking on the defence line. As a result the principle of support is now relevant in sevens to cover the role of the ball carrier and that of the other payers. CONTINUITY – GENERAL PLAY, RUCK AND MAUL General Play Of course the other way of creating space is to form a ruck or a maul. In sevens avoiding contact can lead to the attack backing up and not forming either of these. This allows the defence to take away their space with each backward pass of the ball isolating each receiver from those who are ahead of them. This is because the game is now in general play and, for the defence, there is no offside line. A defender can position himself next to an attacker well past the line of the ball. RUCKING AND MAULING The only way an offside line can be created is by forming a ruck or a maul. By definition the ruck must have at least one player from each team bound and in contact over the ball, which is, of course, on the ground. The maul is created when at least 2 attackers, one with the ball are bound to one defender. In both situations the offside line is the hindmost foot of the last player in each team. As a result space is now created for the attack to run onto the ball and take the ball forward to get over the gain line. The problems associated with the general situation are covered by the principles of going forward and support. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF RUCKS AND MAULS The ruck and the maul have their own advantages and disadvantages. The ruck can lead to quick ball however any delay enables the defence to reload. The ball being on the ground cannot be handled until it is out of the ruck so, within the ruck; the ball cannot be moved forward. Because of this the defence may commit to the tackle but, if they can see no prospect of regaining possession of the ball they will reload into the defensive line. Because of the lack of commitment by the defence the general play situation is now created with all the difficulties associated with it explained above. Currently the general rule is that mauls are not formed deliberately. They occur when a tackler tackles the ball carrier at the level of the ball looking to exploit the law that will result in a turnover at the scrum if the attack is unable to deliver the ball. There is the option of deliberately forming the maul with its structure being such that this situation is avoided. Under these circumstances the structure will result in both the ball being protected, back from the line of contact, and the participants bound and positioned as if they were in a scrum. This will enable them to move the ball down the field while at the same time protecting possession. Delivery must be in accordance with the law and the player to whom the ball is to be delivered should communicate this to avoid a turnover. Mauls are not common in the current game apart from the involuntary ones following the tackle. The other problem is that, because they occur infrequently, referees are unaccustomed to them and rule the deliberate maul as if it was the contested variety and prematurely blow the turnover. Under the current unsatisfactory situation in general play in which the attack is not rewarded for gaining possession with time and space to use that possession, the maul has a significant role to play should the opportunity be taken. Continuity as a principle covers this situation the same as it does in fifteens. The final principle of attack in fifteens is to score. There can be no argument that this is equally applicable to both varieties of the game. PRINCIPLES OF ATTACK – SUMMARY So, under the current conditions in which sevens is played, the principles of attack that I originally put together for sevens can be replaced by the attack principles of 15’s making coach education much simpler in which knowledge in both modes of the game can complement each other. There may be a place for the original sevens attacking principles in coaching less experienced players and younger players without a considerable menu of skills. But the end result should be to make the players proficient at an extensive range of skills applicable to both Sevens and Fifteens. Be aware that fifteens has many more skills than sevens and by coaching players in the fifteens menu the coaches create many more options in sevens. The same is not true when you go from sevens to fifteens. PRINCIPLES OF DEFENCE Is it the same in defence? Both codes contest possession one way or another. The contest can be to regain possession of the ball or to apply pressure so the attack’s options are limited. The current sevens principles of contesting possession and denying possession are covered by this fifteen’s principle. As explained earlier the defence goes forward to take away time and space so the principle of denying space is included. The same is the case for tackling. Fifteens now adds the principles of support at the post tackle and continuity to cover rucks and mauls. Obviously the techniques may vary but these are just modifications of the options available in fifteens all aimed to delay delivery by the attack, take away attacking options and eventually force the attack into a default option from which possession can be regained and an attack mounted. So once again there is little point in having 2 sets of principles, on for fifteens and one for sevens when one will suffice and build on existing understanding. Let’s now have a look at the options that have emerged for sevens. Gaining Possession and Going Forward: Kick-offs: Kicking Team: Kicking to Retain Possession You may recall that the law was changed to prevent the try scoring team from receiving the kick off to monopolize possession and continually be in a position to score further tries. Coaches and players, being as they are, are now kicking off to retain possession and this is happening frequently. It is all a matter of time and distance with the ball being in the air long enough for the chasers to contest the ball. If the receiving team doesn’t position to cover all options the kicking team should play to the options. Amongst these are: • A grubber just over the 10metre line. • A long kick that bounces into touch. It is a matter of observing what is on. Such is the speed of the chasers and the height of the ball that the ball is contested. Key to retaining the ball is a chasing line from the touchline side of the field enabling the jumper to run towards the ball, leaping and turning back-on to the opposition to either catch the ball or tap it back, not forward, to a supporting player. Support, in this general play situation, should be behind and in front of the ball to gather deflections when the ball is not caught. Once the ball has been retained the ball carrier should go directly forward so that all players can be in a supporting position. By going directly forward the chaser will be able to support down the channel from which they can either score or draw the defence across to the channel. This creates space where the defence has been drawn from and further territory can be gained by moving the ball there to eventually score. A ruck or maul may be needed to create offside lines to do this. OPPOSITION REGAINING POSSESSION Should the opposition gain possession the kicking team should send an aligned defence line of 5-6 players to prevent the opposition from penetrating. The tendency is for the opposition to feel that the goal line is a brick wall and they will flatten up. This will prevent them from running onto their passes. They may receive the ball standing still enabling the chasing team to take away time and space, make a tackle and regain possession to score. If fewer numbers are sent the opposition will have an overlap. The remaining 1-2 players are sweepers to cover the oppositions kick option. Key to all this is the alignment of the defence, which is a flat arrowhead the point of which is the player, aligned to the opposition ball carrier. Remember to defend inside out and not square on to the ball carrier. As the ball is passed along the attacking line each defender who is aligned with each new ball carrier becomes the point of the arrow and those on the side reload so that they can move into the tackle. If a defender doesn’t reload to about 2-3 metres behind the gain line the defender will have to remain stationary so as not to get offside allowing the attack to have the momentum. Should the receiving team kick the ball the sweepers can counter attack taking the ball directly forward. The players ahead must reload quickly to get all six players in depth behind the ball carrier and in a position to offer a passing option. RECEIVING TEAM: Although this team is in defence initially possession can change hands quickly so it has been included here as part of the attack. WINNING THE CONTEST The team should cover all options by being in a position to move into the ball. This will give the jumper momentum that cannot be achieved by standing directly under the ball. There is of course the option of using a lifter for the “jumper/ lifter” mini-unit the same key factor applies i.e. being able to move into the ball, and this takes some practice. This applies generally to shallow kick-offs or the one most commonly used by an opponent, as it will be difficult to cover all options in this way. If the kick is contestable and the lifter-jumper unit is being challenged they can be used as a decoy and the catcher can be a player standing behind. BALL NOT CONTESTABLE AND ATTACK OPTIONS When a long kick is made watch to see how many there are in the chasing line and at their formation. By reloading the receiving team should aim to get all players in support behind the catcher. This gives two run/pass options. If the chase line is spread in an arrowhead formation attack at a miss-match down a channel. If there are fewer in number and they are compressed exploit the overlap. As mentioned above the goal-line can seem like a brick wall and the attack line can be very flat, so flat that the players are unable to run onto their passes. Some teams align into the in-goal, which is risky. The best option is to have a runner coming from depth to take the ball forward. The kick options are to kick to touch as far down the field as possible or to kick and chase. Observe where the sweeper(s) are and adjust the options accordingly. Unlike fifteens kick-offs in sevens are the most numerous set pieces and should be given a lot of attention. LINEOUTS AND LINEOUT ATTACK Lineouts Given that there are few lineouts in a sevens game they should be given the amount of time that reflects this. The key is to throw the ball to an unmarked player. Out-manoeuvring the opposition on the ground within the 5 and 15metre lines can create this. It all depends on the thrower seeing the opportunity and throwing the ball in straight. Feinting forward and going back or feinting back and going forward are obvious options. One lifter takes more practice while two lifters use more players than you want to, to mount an attack. Manouvering can enable the team to use an unassisted jumper or a throw to a player standing on the ground usually at the front or back of the lineout where the catcher can catch the ball over the 15metre line. It is all due to the alertness of the thrower. LINEOUT ATTACK If the ball is won at the lineout and passed immediately to the attack line the players involved in the lineout are out of play until they reload to behind the line of the ball. This is an option but, given that there can be 3 forwards, a halfback/scrumhalf thrower and a back (blind-side wing) inside the 15metre line a more immediate attack is to go directly forward and use support play and the maul down the channel immediately ahead. The players can go directly ahead from the lineout as runners or using the maul. The halfback can go around the front or the back wherever the players have moved from. Of course the aim is to go all the way making close quarter, “gut” passes to the receiver or a maul and, when the defence has been drawn over, use the ruck or maul to create an offside line and move the ball to the space they have moved from. SCRUM AND SCRUM ATTACK Once again there are few scrums in a game and time should be allocated accordingly. Scrum The difficulty of a three-player scrum is winning controlled ball when the ball is immediately out. This is especially the case when the defensive scrum pushes and doesn’t strike for the ball so the pushing contest is 3 vs. 2. The hooker may strike the ball so gently it can be trapped against the left leg to offer some control. The other option is to put the ball in slowly and just push past the ball. Further control can be obtained by the halfback putting the ball in on the scrums blind-side even if it is the tight-head side of the scrum. By doing this the player can move towards the ball while at the same time having the receiver of the pass in his/her’s line of vision. The problem area is when the ball is struck hard and ends up rolling some distance backwards. As the halfback moves to recover it the opposition halfback will be right behind. This will enable the defender to tackle the halfback immediately he touches the ball. This means that the passing option is the dive pass. When this occurs the halfback is taken out of play along with the forwards in the scrum leaving the attack with three players behind but away from the ball while the defence has seven players who are able to move forward in formation to close down the attack. A controlled hook is the best option. SCRUM ATTACK But there is a further problem as, once the pass has been made, the players in the scrum and the halfback are in front of the ball and out of play. If the team wishes to attack the gain line immediately the ball has been won it has to be initiated by the halfback running the side the line of running takes him to. Support can come immediately from the hooker if binding is under the arms of the props and the props cross bind on each other. In addition the props should bind firmly on their opposing player. Once again it is play down the channel using the gut pass, maul and ruck and moving the ball to the space left by the defence being drawn over. ATTACK ONCE PLAY GETS UNDER WAY: Linear to go Lateral and Lateral to go Linear General Once play gets underway passing, evasive skills and speed are the main skills underpinned by some key factors. From the post tackle, ruck and maul the first ball carrier must commit a defender before passing. By running straight at the defender gives the ball carrier left and right evasive options. By holding the defender the ball carrier creates space for the receiver and this pattern is reflected along the attack line. License should be given to each ball carrier to attempt to penetrate and when this occurs support down the channel is essential leading to, as previously stated, gut passing, maul and ruck. One difficulty occurs when the attack line is spread widely as, when a ball carrier attempts to penetrate, support is too far away to arrive soon enough. However this can be better than being too close and running beyond the tackled ball carrier, once again being out of play. A further solution is to have an attack line of 5-6 players and 1-2 attacking sweepers behind who can provide support quickly. As explained earlier the aim of channel play, often called linear support, along with the maul is to draw the defence in creating lateral space for the ball to be offloaded to exploit the overlap. A very skillful evasive player drawing in a number of defenders and then passing to attackers who have retained their spacing also achieves the overlap. What stands out in sevens is that a half break, with support is enough to create a try. To achieve this players have to do much more in support than as the ball carrier, whose key skill is decision-making. It means that the player must reload to be able to move into the ball while at the same time alert to a team mate penetrating and get to a supporting role to continue play. POST TACKLE, RUCKING AND MAULING General Play As has already been said the general play situation allows the defence to defend over the gain line, if there was one. Should an attack be faced with this situation the attacking option is probably straight ahead. Other options are to make a recoverable kick behind the defence or to use a run/pass option down the blind-side. What should not be done is pass the ball to an attacker whose defender is standing close by. RUCKING The tackled player making a long place as far back as possible best achieves the retention of the ball following a low tackle. Either the attacking sweepers or the last passer bridging and binding without infringing the laws can provide support. A further player may need further support so a two-player maul bound over the ball is formed. Care must be taken to provide a hindmost foot, so the ruck is not over, and the next player clearing the ball by threatening the defence to hold it before running and evading or passing to a player in a better position. If there is not a player in a better position the player can move into contact to form a ruck, as explained, or form a maul. MAUL Obviously numbers are limited however a three-player maul can be formed. The ball carrier drives forward with the shoulder driving from down to up. A second player drives in with the opposite shoulder and binds to form a wedge. A third player drives in like a number 8 between the 2 man front row and takes the ball away from the line of contact. The defence will tend to look around to see what is happening and a call is needed to exploit this by using the scrum calls of “crouch”, “bind” – to keep one defender involved, and “set” or push. Be sure to deliver before the second stationary situation occurs. The drive can be straight down the field or, if the maul turns, the runner can peel off and close quarter passing down the linear channel can take place. DEFENCE General In the same way it is the aim of the ball carrier to hold the defender before passing the ball so the defender cannot move across the field to assist elsewhere, it is the role of the defender to push the ball carrier across the field so assistance can be provided. To do this the defender aligns with the other defenders so that play inside can be viewed while at the same tome aligned inside the attacker the defender is going to tackle so the outside break is the only one that can be used. Communication is essential in letting everyone know whom the defender is marking as well as being able to drift across, as this will cause an adjustment in the rest of the defence line. Most sevens teams pick a large number of evasive players. The aim of these players is to draw payers out of the defensive line. If they can manage to attract two or more players there must be space elsewhere and these players are adept at finding the players in the space with accurate passes. While it may be difficult the solution is to hold the defensive line and move forward together. The ball carrier can perform but so long as the line is maintained and aligned the player can be defended. TACKLING It is preferred to tackle the ball carrier low so that the play cannot go forward. Increasingly tackles at the line of the ball are not preventing the ball carrier driving through the tackle creating momentum and time for support to arrive. This does not mean that the designated tackler goes low and the defender inside completing a double tackle at the line of the ball. The technique in doing this requires the first tackler to change the angle from inside out to in front, in the last few metres before the ball carrier. This creates space for the second tackler to make a direct side on tackle at the level of the ball. POST TACKLE DEFENCE Once the tackle has been made the defenders need to assess the situation. They have a number of options. The tackler can immediately contest the ball before a ruck is formed, a technique known as jackal ling, at best to regain possession and, at worst, to delay the delivery of the ball enabling the defence line time to become aligned. Arriving players can come through the “gate” to use the counter ruck to delay delivery or regain possession. Should the ball not be available the defenders can join the defence line and can use the general play situation to defend over the line of the ball. If and when the ruck or maul is formed they can retreat to the off side line and if they are not formed the attack can be stopped with limited support leading to possession being regained. It is important to have a call for this such as “tackle only” and “ruck”. In the “tackle only” situation the preferred defensive positioning is outside in so the defender can see the ball, play inside and the ball and the ball so that the total picture can be viewed and acted upon. CONCLUSION We have to be careful to ensure sevens coaching is taught in a structured way and not through anecdote and “this is they way I did it”. This is because a structured approach leaves a legacy from which the coach and the team can progress while the other approach creates dependency on the deliverer and to often relies on the players being those the deliverer is specifically talking about. We have to make sure the coaches apply the coaching method and don’t listen to “talking heads” enabling them to create their own path. There are no miracle cures, the game must continue to evolve and coaches must recognize that to duplicate what you see others doing is conceding defeat and acceptance of second best. More than fifteens sevens is based on outstanding physical requirements, standards that most conform to but to get the real advantage, for your team to optimize their performance, the coaching method that leads to this happening, will give you the edge. Just follow the game planning method. A VERY IMPORTANT ADDITION: Depth, Reloading and Off-loading The space between two players gives time for each to react to the other. The amount of space a player may need to react to the situation varies according to the ability of the player. This may happen in attack when the ball carrier reacts to the defence and when a support player reacts to the ball carrier. Obviously in defence it occurs as the defender competes with the ball carrier. This competition occurs on the straight line between the two with the ball carrier wanting to run on a straight line towards the defender holding the defender and at best causing him to get flat-footed and stationary. The defender on the other hand, coming from an inside out line towards the ball carrier, aims to force the ball carrier to run across the field. This takes away the space of the remaining players in the attack line, forces them to run an inside out line and allows the defence to cause the attack line to drift towards the touchline and run out of lateral space. In order to make good decisions the attack needs time and space. Currently the commitment by the defence to the post tackle is less than the attack resulting in the defence line being more numerous. They are able to align on the offside line and, as soon as the ball is “out”, move forward closing down the time and space of the attack. The defence has momentum. In sevens the defence line needs to reload so they can move forward. With the offside lines at the post tackle in sevens being as little as 2metres apart the defence can be caught flat footed allowing the attack to play over the gain line. This is enhanced by the attack reloading to give them even more time and space. What could happen is that the defence will beat the attack to the gain line but experience shows that this is not the case. An attacking player who is part of an attack line or a potential penetrator hovering behind the attack line and is some metres back so they can run onto the ball threatens the defence. You would think that space is conceded and while it is to a degree, the uncertainty of the defence means the initiative is not lost. As I said above skilful players will not require as much space. The current option that is being used in sevens and especially in fifteens, the attack is standing flat and, often, receiving the ball and the tackler at the same time. Each post tackle creates an opportunity for the ref to intervene and an opportunity for the defence to regain the ball. The use of time and space also occurs when supporting the ball carrier. Once again depth is necessary so that the actions of the ball carrier can be reacted to. If the support players are too flat they will overshoot the ball carrier who changes direction or is tackled and will be out of the play. The ball carrier can help by being able to pass into the space he/she has moved away from and, as a result created. If the ball carrier moves left this means the pass must be to the right and, when the evasion is to the right the space will be on the left. Many “theories” have been promoted re. patterns of support. Some go for a diamond shape, others unders line or an overs line. Think about it, if the ball carrier changes direction the player who is directly behind him/her is in the space that has been created. There is no need to change direction. But the ball carrier must be able to square up his hips to make an accurate pass. Now the offload. How can the ball be transferred to a support player in a contact situation? Stepping, straightening up, going into the tackle and making an “arms through pass merely lifts the passers centre of gravity and allows one or more tackles to tackle and dislodge the ball – so that’s not much good. Keeping low, accepting the tackle and turning with the tackle enables a pass that goes from the hands to the mid-drift of the support player, a pass that doesn’t see the light of day, works well. This is the “gut” pass. Should the pass be attempted in the tackle, before it is completed the risk of this offload is higher. Colin Cooper’s guide to Ma’a Nonu was to regard the ball as a camera and only pass if you can take a complete picture of the support player. A safer option is a chest pass once the ball carrier is lying on his/her back on the ground. The value of this offload is that the passer can guide the flight of the ball to suit the positioning and depth of the support.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 17:35:00 +0000
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