What a Coach Expects from his/her Forwards:
A coach would like all his forwards to be good ball players,
able to get around the field and to think.
Props:
- Must be solid in the scrums, understanding the mechanics of the scrum
- Must give strong support in the line-outs
- Must give strong support from kick-offs
- In general play, must support from depth
- Drive forward with the ball and deliver while moving forward not when the
drive is dead/stopped
- She must stay on her feet
- Must be aware of what the situation is on the opponents' line-out and take
appropriate action.
Hooker:
- Must take her own scrum ball (hook)
- Throw accurately in the line-out at the required speed and height.
- Play as a loose forward from the front of a line-out
- The blindside is her play off rucks and mauls in conjunction with the scrumhalf
- Her tackle rate must be as high as a flanker's
- She is the loose forward of the tight forwards; her game begins when the
tight piece duties end
- Gauge herself by number of tackles made and number of times involved in
handling movements
Locks:
- In line-outs she must jump aggressively and ensure possession for her side
- She must scrum strongly, understanding the mechanics of scrumming
- She must support from depth in the loose and tight loose
- She should get around more than a prop and pull off more tackles than they
do especially around the edges
- She must master the take at the kick-offs
- She must learn to feed the ball before a drive dissipates/stops
- She must be a pest on the opponents' line-out ball
Flanker:
- She must be the major ball winner
- Her running lines must be directly to the ball
- She must stay on her feet - Run like a back and handle like a back
- Support from depth - Tackle as many times as or more than a center driving
opponents back in the tackle
- Cause havoc through pressurizing the opposing backs
- Look after the hole between scrum and backs, line-out and backs, in defense;
if an opponent plays the ball back inside, she is the defender
- Judge her success on the number of tackles she pulls off and the number
of times she handles the ball
- She must completely understand the defense systems used from scrums and
line-outs
- She should know all the backs' calls
No. 8
- Must be the God from broken play where she must be the key ball winner as
well as attacker
- Must always be within a pass of the ball in attack and defense
- Handle the ball like a back
- Attack the backline like a back
- Play effectively off the base of the scrum
- Like a good center, create for others; put others into gaps
- Understand her defensive role from line-outs and scrums and like the flanks
watch the holes created by a pass back inside
- Know all the backs' calls
- She will range wider than her fellow flankers who are restricted to an extent
and can thus be expected to pull off wide tackles
- Like a flanker she must have a high tackle count and ball-handling count
-- The highest of the forwards
- Run effectively off the edge of rucks, mauls and kick-offs.
- Of all the forwards, she plays most like a back
A few major points for all forwards:
- Support from depth at pace (if you can see the ball-carrier's number you
are in the right position)
- Stay on your feet - The ball carrier is responsible for the ball, the others
must look after the ball carrier
- Don't play the ball when a drive comes to the end, play while the ball is
still moving forward
- Dominate the tackle when you are the ball carrier, don't let the tackler
dominate you
- In defense you dominate the tackle by cutting down space
- In defense communicate - Help the ball carrier get the ball in front of
the team
- One of the greatest sins in rugby is overrunning the ball because the support
has been too flat and shallow.
What a Coach Wants from Backs Generally:
- Ability to beat a person one on one.
- That means ability to use one's agility & change of pace.
- Ability to create space for others.
- Quickness (not necessarily speed).
- Ability to rapidly read a situation.
- Equal ability to pass with both hands.
- Sound defense.
- Ability to kick punts, chips, and grubbers.
Fullbacks:
- Ability to be a strike player by entering the line.
- Change the angle of running when entering a line.
- Be able to take high balls.
- Good positional play.
- See herself as the wild card of the backs, randomly show up everywhere.
- Work with her wings to become a formidable counter-attacker.
- To come into the line as a decoy.
- To come in the line to give an overlap
- To be strong in the tackle
- Have a good boot.
Wings:
- To be a fullback and able to do everything a good fullback can do so read
what has been said about fullbacks.
- See when the game is going into touch and to come inside.
- Form with other wing and full back a counter-attacking team.
- Sound defense.
- Realize how difficult you are to mark if you move all over the field, like
a number 8, especially when you are the blindside wing with your side attacking.
- Vary running lines and point of attack. - Pace helps- a gift of God, but
also the ability to link and not necessarily go to ground.
- Keep the ball in the field of play, not to give opponents line-outs.
- When you see a player heading across the field, give her the angle by coming
inside to take a scissor/switch pass.
Center:
- Everything I said under general applies particularly to centers.
- Create for another, space, a gap, an overlap.
- The ability to slow a game down and quicken it up.
- Change pace. - Always commits an opponent or beats one.
- To play off and with another as a pair.
- Communicate in attack and defense.
- Defend, especially in an opponent's face
- Be the first into a tackled ball to retrieve it from your partner who is
tackled.
- Primary and secondary support.
- Working off the ball is almost more important than working with the ball.
- Dominate your opponent.
- Play both inside and outside and not just be a basher.
- Communicate with the touch judge and indicate to her teammates the offside
line.
- Communication.
Flyhalf:
- To get her backs away in open field
- To determine the most effective backline alignment in defense and attack.
She must vary her attacking alignment according to the situation.
- Be in calm control.
- Defense must be strong.
- Vary her personal game. Certainly she must as much as possible commit her
opponent as well as the loose forwards and not allow them to drift across
in defense without first checking her.
- Have a competent boot.
- If her outside players are limited for space it is most likely her fault.
She is responsible for the good play of those outside of her.
- She must have the ability, like a center, to penetrate a line.
- Like the inside center she must be a playmaker and not a basher.
- She must attack and be positive.
Scrumhalf:
- Give a good, clean, quick, accurate service to the flyhalf.
- Be a force on attack around the edges.
- Be a good support player by always being a meter inside and slightly behind
the man with the ball. Tough to do.
- Be able to vary her play by using the boot but like the flyhalf, rarely
and with effect.
- Form with the backrow a formidable attacking quartet.
- Be a pain in defense by exerting pressure.
- She must direct her forwards in rucks and mauls pulling out and pushing
in. She has the same function in defense from rucks and mauls, especially
near the goalline.
- She must communicate between backs and forwards. - Forwards get tired and
don't think. She must encourage and instruct.