Author: Scott Allen

I’m now going to turn my attention to kicking in general play, having looked at the Wallabies’ first phase backline attack, scrums and lineouts in the first three parts of this series. There are three issues I want to look at: the first is the level of kicking by the Wallabies in matches; the second is the decision making when kicking; and the third is the execution of the kicks. Level of Kicking Kicking in general play has always been a big part of Robbie Deans’s game plan for the Wallabies. On the 2009 end-of-year tour the Wallabies kicked the…

In part 1 of my Wallabies Fightback series I outlined my belief that the Wallabies need to attack more through 1st phase backline plays but as I mentioned in part 2  that can only happen if we can not only win our set pieces but win clean ball from those set pieces to establish a solid attacking platform. In part 1 of this series I detailed the 1st phase set piece opportunities the Wallabies had within 60 metres of the try line in the first two TRC matches of 2012.  Of the 27 opportunities I identified, 20 came from lineouts…

In Part 1 of my Wallabies Fightback series I looked at the Wallabies’ first phase backline plays. I believe that a central part of the Wallabies’ game plan should be attacking more with our backline on first phase from set pieces. It’s important that any component of a game plan links to other parts of the game plan so before the Wallabies can attack more from first phase on set pieces we need to be sure we can not only win our set pieces but win clean ball that establishes a solid platform. In part 1 I showed the first phase set piece opportunities the…

One of my favourite sporting moments ever was race seven of the 1983 America’s Cup challenge. After 132 years of American dominance the crew of Australia II had a chance to take the Cup away from them. In fact they were favourites for that race.  However, things didn’t go according to plan for the Australians early in that race and the Americans led from the start. With just two legs to go Australia II was 57 seconds behind and all seemed lost, but John Bertrand and his crew refused to accept that they couldn’t still win, despite the seeming invincibility…

The first phase move the All Blacks used in game one of The Rugby Championship was really well thought out and brilliantly executed. It played on the Wallabies’ concerns about the threat of Sonny Bill Williams receiving the ball back inside and making metres through the middle of the defence, and left Adam Ashley-Cooper with two men to try and defend. In this video I’ve taken a look at the different roles of each player, their running lines and the options the All Blacks had no matter which way the Wallabies defended the play. I just wish we’d see more plays like…

The Wallabies’ attack struggled to put pressure on the All Blacks defence on Saturday and a lift in  performance in this area will be required this weekend. One area there’s been a lot of discussion regarding is the Wallabies slowing their ball down from their rucks. I see Bob Dwyer criticised Will Genia in his latest article for G&GR for his ‘insistence’ on slowing down the delivery. Whilst I agree with Bob’s theme that the Wallabies need to play an up-tempo game and use fast ball to keep stretching defences, I think his criticism of Genia is wide of the mark. Genia…

Graham Henry’s recently released book includes the revelation that Henry thought the refereeing of New Zealand’s quarter final loss to France in the 2007 Rugby World Cup was so bizarre that there may have been matching fixing involved, and that watching footage of the decisions in the match had made him physically ill. Key Points France actually committed 32 un-penalised infringements (not 40), whereas New Zealand committed 37 In the phases of play where those infringements happened, New Zealand infringed first almost twice as much as France (28 v 16) Henry’s scoring assumptions don’t add up Whilst the history books show…

There was a time in Rugby when the forwards kept the ball tight in attack and when the backs saw an opportunity they called for the ball and moved it wide.  The forwards would look up from a breakdown or set piece, see where the ball had gone and then follow it.  There were few of the “structures” or “patterns” that are used today – it was certainly rare for a team to plan a multi-phase attack involving both backs and forwards. That all started to change in the late 1990’s when teams started to use multi-phase plays.  Essentially the…

Last week I picked the Reds to win by 10 but I didn’t factor in the Sharks coming out with a brilliant game plan that threw the Reds off balance (or the Reds’ Number 10 curse returning). As I showed you in my preview video, the Sharks’ attack is usually built on pods of forwards punching the ball at the line without a lot of width. They concentrate on getting numbers in support so that once the ball carrier is brought to ground they can dominate the ruck and ensure quick ball for the next phase. Once the forwards get…

After 15 years playing professional rugby, 146 Super Rugby games for the Brumbies & Rebels and 80 tests for the Wallabies (including 29 as Captain) Stirling Mortlock retired from the game recently after his last game for the Rebels against the Stormers.  From all of us at Green & Gold Rugby, congratulations on a wonderful career Stirling.  Here are some of the highlights from that wonderful career. [youtube id=”9jlkOGBsu6U” width=”600″ height=”350″]

The Reds have won seven of their last eight games, including six in a row, while the Sharks have won six of their last eight, including wins over the Bulls and Stormers. So the form of both teams has been pretty good in the second half of the season. Can the Reds win without Quade? I take a look at how the Reds might approach this game in the following video. [youtube id=”7MvV1hJxjrQ” width=”600″ height=”350″]

The Wallaby backline had plenty of try-scoring opportunities in the recent Test series against Wales but poor decision-making and execution meant they didn’t convert enough of those opportunities — as shown in this video. [youtube id=”2Sp1UFSkYOg” width=”600″ height=”350″] The All Blacks won’t offer as many opportunities so the backline will have to make significant improvements to be ready for The Rugby Championship.

Since the advent of professional rugby in 1995, the way the game is played has changed significantly.  At the professional level the game bears little resemblance to that played in the amateur days. Even the way amateur rugby is played is significantly different. When comparing game statistics from the two eras there are five major changes that stand out: the number of set pieces per game has decreased significantly; the ball is in play longer; the number of points scored per game has decreased; the number of breakdowns per game has increased significantly; and the number of phases teams take…

Prior to the third Test against Wales I expressed my surprise at the selection of Sitaleki Timani in the Wallabies starting side.  My reasoning was that Timani hadn’t done enough in Super Rugby for the Waratahs or in the match against Scotland to justify his elevation from outside the 22 the week before to the starting side. I believe he was selected on potential, not performance.  I see him as a work in progress: he has good potential that needs to be developed, probably as a bench player in 2012. Barbarian put together a video earlier in the week showing clips…

I was on Twitter on the weekend saying that I could see problems with Tatafu Polota-Nau’s lineout throwing and that was dragging the Wallabies’ lineout performance down. I also said that I was surprised Stephen Moore had not been selected as the starting hooker. A number of people replied saying that the statistics showed the Wallabies lineout had been pretty good throughout the series against Wales and that TPN hadn’t done too badly. The statistics will tell you that the Wallabies won 84.38% of their lineouts in the series. Taking out quick lineouts, that number falls to 83.33%. I think…

Watching the game on Saturday I was alarmed at how poorly the Wallabies scrum was performing. And watching a replay on Sunday it didn’t seem any better. Now I’ve taken a closer look, it was even worse than I initially thought. Firstly, let me repeat my usual warning on the folly of relying on statistics alone to justify any argument you choose to make on any topic in rugby. Depending on which sources you use for statistics, you’ll probably get a different result from each and even then, just because the statistics are published on a website or flashed up…

Over time the tactical emphasis in rugby has switched from goals to tries .  There’s plenty of skill involved in kicking goals, but today I doubt there are many people who’d rather watch goals than tries. The question is whether there is anything wrong with the current points system? With a potential 7 points available for a try and only a possible 3 points for a penalty goal or field goal, doesn’t that provide enough incentive for teams to score tries? This year we’ve seen a trial of a new points scoring system in the Varsity Cup in South Africa.…

Over the last few weeks I’ve given you a summary of my views on the correct scrummaging techniques, including a review of the correct techniques for props when scrummaging — click here if you missed it and the importance of the middle row – click here if you missed it.  This week I’m going to look at a great example of the whole pack working together, a little more at the importance of the middle row and then the role of the number eight.  My explanation of technique is by necessity fairly broad and if I make it sound simple, it isn’t because no matter…

Last week I analysed the Rebels’ scrum, including a review of the correct techniques for props when scrummaging — click here if you missed it. This week I’m going to look at the importance of the middle row.  The middle row consists of the two locks and the two flankers. The props are the foundation of your scrum and act as the conduit to transfer the drive coming from the middle row into the opposition. If your props have the wrong body shape and body height at the point of engagement, the drive from the middle row will be wasted. Importantly, the front row…

Last week I analysed the Rebels’ scrum, including a review of the correct techniques for props when scrummaging – click here if you missed it. That analysis included some footage of Sekope Kepu playing at loosehead, which sparked a discussion on the merits of Kepu and his form for the Waratahs and Wallabies. This week I’ve focussed on Kepu’s scrummaging in my video analysis. [youtube id=”mQXLkcC5lrM” width=”600″ height=”350″] I believe that selections of front rowers should be based primarily on set piece capabilities before performances around the field are then considered. I think any player who can play both loosehead and tighthead…