Author: Scott Allen

It’s only a couple of weeks until Super Rugby kicks off for 2013. So to warm up let’s have a look at some of the tries each Australian franchise scored in 2012. We’ll start with the Force. [youtube id=”6KZvOixLjR0″ width=”600″ height=”350″] Cast your vote for the best, then let us know why you voted the way you did. Your Favourite Force Try in 2012? Public OpinionPoll Results

In front of a crowd of over 6,000 the Reds won their first trial match for 2013 against the Blues in Toowoomba last night. Interested spectators included Jake White, Laurie Fisher and Stephen Larkham from the Brumbies. Almost from the kick-off it was evident that we were in for a fast-paced, entertaining game. The Reds looked to get the ball wide early and Radike Samo was prominent in a couple of raids down the right wing in combination with Luke Morahan. However, despite their clear intent to move the ball and attack, the Reds handling was a little rusty and…

The verdict from last week: 60% rated John Eales’s Bledisloe Cup-winning kick to be their favourite. Second place went to Kurtley Beale’s kick against South Africa with 23%. James O’Connor’s kick to win the Hong Kong Bledisloe Cup match was third with 11% — I had expected O’Connor to pick up more votes than Beale. This week we want you tell us which of these three scores was the most important for the Wallabies in a RWC semi-final. [youtube id=”xHIK7qen8QM” width=”600″ height=”350″] Cast your vote Cast your vote, then let us know why you voted the way you did. Public…

The verdict from last week was pretty clear – 86% voted for the try from James O’Connor at the end of the final Bledisloe Cup match in Hong Kong in 2010 as their favourite. This week it’s time to celebrate Australia Day with five match winning kicks for the Wallabies. Which is your favourite? [youtube id=”WPCVUShoUHQ” width=”600″ height=”350″] Cast your vote, then let us know why you voted the way you did. Your favourite match winning kick: Public OpinionPoll Results

Welcome to You Choose — a new weekly segment from Green & Gold Rugby, where we’ll give you clips of two rugby events and ask you to tell us which is your favourite. In the future we’ll be selecting clips from current matches for you to vote on, but for now we’ll look back through the archives. For Episode 1 we want your views on which of the following is your favourite ‘last gasp’ try. [youtube id=”XHdcy2atr8c” width=”600″ height=”350″] Cast your vote, then let us know why you voted the way you did. YOU CHOOSE – Which try at the death? Public…

In matches involving the Wallabies over 40% of the times a team starts in possession that possession starts with a scrum or lineout (scrums 17% and lineouts 26%). With a little over a quarter of possession coming from lineouts this is an area that requires a lot of attention – both in attack and defence. Selections must give a team the best chance of competing in the lineout, lineout strategy must be finely tuned and sufficient practice time must be dedicated to this area. Selections must include a sufficient number of ‘genuine jumping options’ but the question is how many…

Sully (@Only1Sully) wanted me to look at how teams attack using their number 13 and who should be the Wallabies number 13. The role of a number 13 or outside centre has changed over time and today there a number of different ways they are used dependant on the overall attack strategy of a team. Later I’ll discuss the tactical choices a team has to make and the ramifications that has for the type of player you’d choose to play number 13 but I’ll start by looking at how teams use their number 13 in attack. How a number 13…

Following on from my recent article on how the Wallabies could attack the All Blacks defensive structures, Dan Abrahamsen had a second question: who do I believe should be the Wallabies number 10 to run that attack? Whilst attack is only one component of the game, I believe it’s the most important component for a number 10. Certainly a number 10 needs to be solid in defence but today my focus is on attack – the area where the Wallabies struggled most in 2012. I consider there are five candidates for the Wallabies number 10 position in 2013: Kurtley Beale,…

Greg C. (@iGreggsy) wanted my thoughts on what to teach young players (11–13 years old). I have fond memories of coaching at this level but I was pretty inexperienced when I first coached. Then after coaching at senior level I helped out a friend by coaching an Under 11 team for one season and I really enjoyed the experience again. I found the kids to be like sponges and because they still had so much to learn you could make significant differences in the quality of their play. Last year I coached some teenagers at the end of our club…

I recently asked my Twitter followers for some topics they’d like to see me analyse over the Christmas break. Dan Abrahamsen asked for my thoughts on how the Wallabies can attack the All Blacks’ defensive structure. That’s not an easy question. I’m sure there are coaches and analysts all over the world who’ve tried to come up with an answer, but I’ll give it a shot. The All Blacks use a variety of defensive structures depending on how the opposition are attacking. Their players are obviously very good at recognising which is the appropriate structure and that isn’t something that…

With nearly four weeks off from pre-season training for club rugby, I’ve got some spare time on my hands, so what better way to fill that time than to analyse some rugby. I asked my Twitter followers what they wanted me to take a look at and Luke Baird @bairdey has asked if I can show ways to exploit/attack an ‘Umbrella Defence’. The System The aim when using an umbrella defence system is to stop the opposition getting the ball to the extremities of the field by cutting off the ball in mid-field and turning the attack back inside where…

The Wallabies have maintained their position in the top four of world rugby, finishing 2012 ranked number three by the IRB. The narrow victories over England and Wales on the recent tour saved the Wallabies from slipping outside the top four and all credit to them for securing those important victories. But how did it come to this? How did we come so close to ending the year in fifth place when only a year ago John O’Neill made it clear that the ARU’s goal for the Wallabies was to chase the number one ranking? Whilst there are many answers…

As Wallabies supporters we all want the best performance possible from our team. Whether you think the Wallabies’ performances this year justify a pass mark or not, I doubt there are many people who feel we saw the best of the Wallabies in 2012. The first step in improving performances going forward is to look backwards to identify the reasons that stopped expectations being met. In looking backwards we have to be careful to identify reasons and not excuses. Reasons are logical explanations supported by facts, whereas excuses are an attempt to justify outcomes by shifting blame to others, or…

Key Points 74 Matches in 2013 – 148 matches in 2014 Costs $80,000 in 2013 – $160,000 in 2014 Costs can be offset by sponsorhip and broadcast revenue Competition to run alongside The Rugby Championship Two divisions per city with promotion / relegation Consists of existing third tier clubs supplemented by new clubs Recently I’ve been watching some games from the ITM Cup in New Zealand and the Currie Cup in South Africa. I know those competitions have long histories but I’m a new viewer and I must say I’ve been impressed with some great rugby. With a break in…

The Wallabies showed real spirit to turn the momentum around in the match against Argentina on Saturday and come from behind for their second win in a row. Were the Wallabies lucky to win the match? No. Both teams had some luck with incidents missed in the lead up to a try and both teams had calls from the referees go against them. Did the Wallabies deserve to win the match? Yes. While they didn’t play as well as they can they fought just as hard as the Pumas and there’s no questioning the players’ desire. Apart from the win…

If you’re sick of seeing grubber kicks from the Wallabies, close your browser now. Earlier today I was looking for some footage for another video when I came across this gem from Kurtley Beale in 2010. At least the 2012 grubber kicks aren’t as bad as this one! [youtube id=”rgyfs4G9DeE” width=”600″ height=”350″]

A win’s a win so we must all be feeling a little more positive after the Wallabies match on the weekend It’s certainly the first time we’ve seen a smile from Robbie Deans for a while. Here’s what I saw from my couch. There are some positives to talk about but let’s be realistic – the Wallabies’ first-half performance was at best ordinary and the Springboks’ performance was pretty poor, so there’s plenty to work on before the match against Argentina this weekend. Following on from my Wallabies Fightback series last week I’m going to review the Wallabies’ performance in…

In 1987 Mark Ella authored a book called Path To Victory: Wallaby Power In The 1980s. Ella had plenty to write about at that time but sadly you couldn’t write such a book today. What will it take for the Wallabies to get back to the pinnacle of world rugby — what is the path for today’s team? In my Wallabies Fightback series over the last two weeks I’ve tried to map out the obstacles and some possible solutions. Whilst the All Blacks are a very good team I don’t accept that they are playing so well that they are unbeatable. In…

In the final part of my series analysing the Wallabies I’m going to look at the Wallabies’ defensive performance. The Wallabies have adopted a more defensive game plan over the last two seasons and if I were ranking the areas they’re currently performing best in, this is the one I’d put at the top of my list. In 2010 my statistics showed that the Wallabies missed an average of 21 tackles per match and had a tackle success rate of 87 per cent. In 2011 my statistics showed that the number of missed tackles by the Wallabies fell to 17 per…

Today I’m going to look at how the Wallabies can set up a platform for attack in general play. During the series against Wales and the first two matches against the All Blacks the Wallabies haven’t seemed to be attacking in general play with any consistency. They keep chopping and changing — from pick-and-drive to structured slow ball, to same-way attack, to an emphasis on kicking, to throwing the ball around from deep in their own territory. It may be that the Wallabies are trying to be unpredictable with their attack but the disadvantage to these variations in attack philosophies…