Back in 2011, I was part of Martin Johnson’s coaching team preparing England for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. We had just won the 6 Nations for the first time since Clive Woodward’s 2003 England team and we were considered the only northern hemisphere team with a chance to go deep in the tournament. Whilst in our pre World Cup training camp, I had the opportunity to go and watch the St. George NRL team train in preparation for their World Club Challenge match against the Wigan Warriors. Wayne Bennett was the Dragons coach, and after the training session we had a chat about coaching.
We’d not spoken since 1983 when Wayne asked me to come play for him at Souths Rugby League (Brisbane). Back then I chose to play rugby union for Alec Evans at Wests Rugby Union (Brisbane) and whilst my rugby union dream came true playing for Queensland and Australia, I’ve always regretted in some way not being coached by Wayne Bennett.
Back then Wynnum were Brisbane Rugby League’s equivalent of the All Blacks. They had players like Wally Lewis, Gene Miles, Greg Dowling, Greg Conescue and Bob Lindner. They were a fantastic group and the heart of the early Queensland State of Origin team. Wayne’s team (Souths) were a young group so in order to beat Wynnum in the Grand Final he asked his troops to imagine they were playing Wynnum every time they played. He wanted every game they played that season to be a dress rehearsal for the Grand Final v Wynnum. The method was successful for Souths and it was something that was relevant to the England team back in 2011.
The conversation was brilliant. The master coach was happy to share with me some pearls of wisdom and I was eager to take note. We talked about New Zealand and I asked him how he thought we should prepare for them. There was plenty of sage advice but there’s one thing he said that struck home at the time. He told me to study New Zealand, essentially forget about everything else and make a study of the All Blacks. He felt they were such a dominant team that best way to prepare for them was to imitate them – tactically and technically.
A lot of international coaches are too proud to do this – and maybe I was one of them before Wayne’s little pep talk. Coaches often hold on to the philosophies and tactics that brought success to a different team at a different time. Wayne Bennett encouraged me to cut through the clutter and prepare the England team to take New Zealand on at their own game. It’s a piece of advice that I think all current international rugby coaches should consider.
When watching the All Blacks play on Saturday I did so with notebook and pen in hand. Every time they play it’s a master class in strategy and execution. I guess when you’ve been bitten by the coaching bug, you watch big test matches a little differently to the average fan. The thing that stood out most on Saturday was how the All Blacks targeted Faf de Klerk…it was a lesson for all Attack Coaches.
Example 1 – Right Side Scrum in Red Zone (21.30mins)
The All Blacks set up with Israel Dagg on the right touchline and the other 5 backs lined out flat on the open side. The Springboks defended with their 10 on the blind side to shut down Aaron Smith linking with Israel Dagg. That meant the Boks had only 4 backs defending the 5 All Blacks on the open side, which meant that Faf de Klerk’s assignment was to shut down Beauden Barrett. The All Blacks attack coach (Wayne Smith) clearly liked that match up and with Aaron Smith also running at Faf, it created a well engineered scoring chance. Whilst New Zealand didn’t score off the strike play they did one phase later so chalk one up for Wayne Smith.
Example 2 – Left Side Scrum in Red Zone (27.00mins)
The All Blacks set up with Julian Savea on the blind side and the rest of the 5 backs on the open side. The Springboks left Faf de Klerk to defend the blind side and the blind side winger Brian Habana played a sweeping role behind the Springbok back line. The All Blacks ran a crash ball in midfield to set a target then attacked Faf de Klerk who was isolated on the blind. The execution was precise and the try was scored by Julian Savea. Another master class by Wayne Smith.
Example 3 – Centre Field Scrum in midfield (40.30mins)
The All Blacks set up with 3 backs on either side of the centre field scrum and the Boks defended their left edge with 3 backs. On their right edge they only had 2 backs in the defence line so again Faf de Klerk was assigned to mark Beauden Barrett the first receiver on the blind side. The assignment was too mush for him to handle when Aaron Smith ran from the scrum base turning Faf inside out and generating a line break and another scoring chance. On this occasion the ABs did not score but the pay was excellent. Again, nice work Wayne Smith.
Coaching is not rocket science even though some would have you believe it is. Sometimes the best thing you can do is imitate the market leader. If imitation is the greatest form of flattery, maybe it’s time for a few international attack coaches to listen to Wayne Bennett and imitate/flatter Wayne Smith. Well, that’s what I would do right anyway!
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