Rugby 101

[.X.]

Over the last couple of months there have been a number of Armchair experts who have roundly criticized players for their performance and I thought I might try and give some explanations on various positions to give you an idea of what its like. Some might not agree with this and that’s fine. I just want you to take a moment and consider your criticism before voicing it.

Scrum = OK to experience a scrum you are going to need 15 friends a football and a non-friend to be the referee. OR try and imagine this. Imagine standing with your back against a solid wall with a Carton of Beer under each arm. Now stand on your toes and bend your knees. Now get someone to put a fist in to the top of your chest on your rib cage below your collar bone and lean in with all your body weight. (That is the other hooker/Props head) Now if you are Nathan Charles – try and kick out with your right foot and drag it back – without falling over and remember that you are carrying 15 kilos of beer not 830 kilos of opposition pack pushing down on both of your shoulders.

Lineout Calling = You have 30 seconds. Think about where you are on the field, who is catching the ball at 2 4 or 6. Do you want the ball off the top of the lineout? Do you want the ball to be brought down? Are you going to run a rolling maul? Are you going to have the Half-Back run a back line move? Where are the opposition jumpers lined up and do you need to take them on, or avoid them? What was the last line out you did and is the Hooker throwing well tonight are the catching having a good night? How strong is the wind? What Code are we using for tonight? Now is a big voice so you can be heard over the crowd, call the play.

Lineout Throwing. You have just received the call. Convert it from our Code to what it going to happen, now throw the ball 3 metres or 14 feet in to the high and 7 metres or 20 feet back to fly though a gap the size of a small hoola-hoop and make sure its timed right so that the jumper/lifters meet it in the air after they have confused the opposition either on the ground or in the air.

Kicking in play – This seems to get the most criticism of all. AS a tactic I believe that it is warranted for our team. The Western Force do not have the players that can break tackles at will. We need to get to the other end of the paddock – that is where the try line is. Kicking is the easiest way to do that. A dropped ball, a knock on, pressuring the opp. FullBack all makes metres for the Western Force. Sometimes kicks go astray. That’s a risk. BUT, take a look at the 2 games we played in South Africa this year. We lost both of those games by less then 10 points in total. Our Kicking tactic kept us in the game.

Ok now some of you can say – that our players our professional Rugby Players and they shouldn't complain about what I have listed above. They aren’t complaining. You are. They are doing their very best for us. They haven’t quit on us. I don’t want us to quit on them.

[Tazzmania]

Ok now some of you can say – that our players our professional Rugby Players and they should complain about what I have listed above. They aren’t complaining. You are. They are doing their very best for us. They haven’t quit on us. I don’t want us to quit on them.

Well put, lets be the Force behind the Force and as always support our boys no matter what.

[valzc]

...."Kicking in play – This seems to get the most criticism of all. AS a tactic I believe that it is warranted for our team. The Western Force do not have the players that can break tackles at will. We need to get to the other end of the paddock "
Agree somewhat Exile, my argument however is that busting tackles ain't necessarily the prob although I reckon the guys are pretty strong when they put their mind to it. There just needs to be more thought put into stringing some backline strategy into the game. I thought the cross field box kick last week was a good idea at that point when we had the advantage. - could easily have pulled it off. But just get frustrated with flat footed runners! And I'm not proposing stupid no look passing aka KB shit, but some simple running lines with momentum. They did it last season so what's happened?

[palitu]

yep, what you described is what they train to do, day in day out. Sorry Ex, I will continue to be an arm chair expert on the team.

the scrum needs to be at parity, it cannot be less. their job is to stay straight, holding their cartons, and pressing on the brick wall ahead of them. Not too much too it on the outside. But they are supposed to be good at it - their numbers are 1-5.

The lineouts. I could never make the call, not because i don't know what i want to do, but because i wouldn't be able to think up the code. But the guys live this stuff. they know the calls, and typically get it right, i don’t think that is the issue. the hookers train by trowing the ball over and over and over. that's why they can do it time and again.

the boys are paid to be professional footballers. they have been picked above a whole number of people because they are good, or have the potential to be good. I think you have concentrated on the wrong aspect of the force. The decision making is what is killing us. should i pass to the winger, or take it into contact, should i try and offload, am i a support runner? or there to take the offload? do i need to be in that ruck? or be ready to take the ball on. Am i back deep enough to be able to run onto the ball. am i following our structure, and in the right position, am i playing a decoy run, or am i receiving the ball? am i stepping or crashing? should i perhaps run it back this once?

those are the aspects we are missing. we do well in the lineouts, improving in the scrums, but where we lose out is the structure and decision making on the field. we push the pass when we shouldn't, we don't offload when we should, we don't have a good structure that can be used to manipulate the defensive line, to allow a decent attacking opportunity from the backs.

but i will continue to abuse our team where it is warranted, and praise them equally so. I think i have been proven to have blue eyes.

[.X.]

OK - They train to do it day in and day out. And yet the best Kicker in Rugby doesn't kick at 100% or any where near it.

Golfers train day in and day out. Why aren't they nailing holes in one all the time? Tiger Woods, Rory McElroy still put it in the water or the trees or the sand and they are the Best in the world.

Unfortunately our players are not the best in the world. How about cutting them a little slack

[choice]

OK - They train to do it day in and day out. And yet the best Kicker in Rugby doesn't kick at 100% or any where near it.

Golfers train day in and day out. Why aren't they nailing holes in one all the time? Tiger Woods, Rory McElroy still put it in the water or the trees or the sand and they are the Best in the world.

Unfortunately our players are not the best in the world. How about cutting them a little slack

Can't agree, most lineout calls are generic to the team and so simple most backs would understand them. Throwing in how hard can it be!
Scrums, if they concentrated on their own job instead of getting into a pissing match with their opposite number there wouldn't be a problem. Again with kicking, put the ball where the player isn't not down his throat.
Would you like me to explain the backs woes to you?

[hertryk]

Well put, lets be the Force behind the Force and as always support our boys no matter what.

For what my very humble opinion is worth I totally agree......

[palitu]

OK - They train to do it day in and day out. And yet the best Kicker in Rugby doesn't kick at 100% or any where near it.

Golfers train day in and day out. Why aren't they nailing holes in one all the time? Tiger Woods, Rory McElroy still put it in the water or the trees or the sand and they are the Best in the world.

Unfortunately our players are not the best in the world. How about cutting them a little slack

Marnitz Boshoff - 87% (61/70) pretty close to 100%, Handre Pollard - 92% (24/26). they can be great (2014 Super Rugby Stats). but i don't think anyone has really ocmplained about the kickers at the force, apart from the fact that we need one who can stand up and kick consistently.

The golfers typically get below Par or better, there are a lot of courses that are impossible to get hole in ones.

lets be honest, there are players who nail it 90% of the time, those that are at about 50%. we need our guys to start pushing that percentage up higher. the more they play together, the better they should be getting.

once again. our decision making in attack is bad. our defense is lacking a bit of starch, and we need a fetcher. We should not have gone so far backwards from last year, with the changes that we had.

[jargan83]

Over the last couple of months there have been a number of Armchair experts who have roundly criticized players for their performance and I thought I might try and give some explanations on various positions to give you an idea of what its like. Some might not agree with this and that’s fine. I just want you to take a moment and consider your criticism before voicing it.

Scrum = OK to experience a scrum you are going to need 15 friends a football and a non-friend to be the referee. OR try and imagine this. Imagine standing with your back against a solid wall with a Carton of Beer under each arm. Now stand on your toes and bend your knees. Now get someone to put a fist in to the top of your chest on your rib cage below your collar bone and lean in with all your body weight. (That is the other hooker/Props head) Now if you are Nathan Charles – try and kick out with your right foot and drag it back – without falling over and remember that you are carrying 15 kilos of beer not 830 kilos of opposition pack pushing down on both of your shoulders.

Lineout Calling = You have 30 seconds. Think about where you are on the field, who is catching the ball at 2 4 or 6. Do you want the ball off the top of the lineout? Do you want the ball to be brought down? Are you going to run a rolling maul? Are you going to have the Half-Back run a back line move? Where are the opposition jumpers lined up and do you need to take them on, or avoid them? What was the last line out you did and is the Hooker throwing well tonight are the catching having a good night? How strong is the wind? What Code are we using for tonight? Now is a big voice so you can be heard over the crowd, call the play.

Lineout Throwing. You have just received the call. Convert it from our Code to what it going to happen, now throw the ball 3 metres or 14 feet in to the high and 7 metres or 20 feet back to fly though a gap the size of a small hoola-hoop and make sure its timed right so that the jumper/lifters meet it in the air after they have confused the opposition either on the ground or in the air.

Kicking in play – This seems to get the most criticism of all. AS a tactic I believe that it is warranted for our team. The Western Force do not have the players that can break tackles at will. We need to get to the other end of the paddock – that is where the try line is. Kicking is the easiest way to do that. A dropped ball, a knock on, pressuring the opp. FullBack all makes metres for the Western Force. Sometimes kicks go astray. That’s a risk. BUT, take a look at the 2 games we played in South Africa this year. We lost both of those games by less then 10 points in total. Our Kicking tactic kept us in the game.

Ok now some of you can say – that our players our professional Rugby Players and they shouldn't complain about what I have listed above. They aren’t complaining. You are. They are doing their very best for us. They haven’t quit on us. I don’t want us to quit on them.

Geez I'm glad someone explained that because I thought we were at NiB to watch an AFL game

[jargan83]

We should not have gone so far backwards from last year, with the changes that we had.

This x 1,000,000!

[beige]

Once again there is an implication from some on this site that any form of criticism whatsoever is as sign that you don't support the team. Personally I think that criticism, however misguided it can sometimes be, is a sign that somebody actually does care because they've put an emotional investment in how the team goes. As long as people don't stray into personal attacks on players/staff then I don't see the problem.

But anyway, I'll let everyone get back to tending to their high horses...

[Moono74]

Lets not turn the Force into one of those children that are constantly praised by their parents and never hear a negative word. They grow up with an unrealistic mind set and at the first sign of adversity crumble because they have been sheltered their whole lives.

Everyone loves the Force and will back them in against any opposition. But we do need to be realistic and draw attention to areas where we think the club/team has been deficient, just as we praise them when we see a spirited performance (even if they ultimately lose). As long as any criticism is expressed in the right manner I don't have any problem with reading other members perspectives on the team good or bad.

[DazloT]

We should not have gone so far backwards from last year, with the changes that we had.

That is exactly what is at the heart of the criticism and emotions expressed on this site and even at the games. We are all bitterly disappointed with the season and handle it different ways, some need to vent and some need to fix.

Needless to say the players will be the same and handling it in their own ways. Whether they read these pages or not they would surely understand the the criticism is a result of the disappointment. And hopefully understand that the reason we spend time in here commenting (rightly\wrongly praising\criticising) is because of our passion for the team.

[Alison]

Cannot 'favourite' that post enough Dazlo!!

[palitu]

at least the criticisms have become a little less intense over the last few weeks!