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25.01.2022 All points to an Ireland win. doesn’t it? Grand slams are hard to win, Ireland only have two, in 1948 and 2009. England have 13. Analysis of last weekend’s performances by both sides is over. Now it’s a shoot-out at Twickenham. Selection a major issue for England. Ireland are a team in motion, playing with intensity, and strong in the areas where England are weak and ineffective, namely the back row, tackle contest and 12 channels.... A top coach working in Ireland recently told me, there is an unbelievable pathway of talent coming through. This puts pressure on those ahead. A realisation that you must play well to keep your place in the team. When injury created a problem at 12 Schmidt was quick to act.globally. The problems inherent in England performances when Jones took over, are still there, at 7 and 12. Inside support lines are poor, ball into contact and re-cycle poor, and despite possession England fail to attack the inside shoulder. In those areas Ireland are good, and as will happen on Saturday when the breakdown/tackle contest turns into a s fight, as it always does when Gardner referees, Ireland are better equipped to deal with it. Ireland improve the longer the game and build pressure. They are composed close to the line and score tries as a result. See Stockdale’s second try. However Grand Slams are hard to win and English pride is on the line, and maybe Eddies job, and certainly Hartley’s captaincy. England will need field position in attack and team mobility in defence. I would play Farrell at 10, Teo at 12 and Daly at 13. England must run straight first! At one point in Dublin, Sexton stayed on the inside of the ball in phase play defence. Not one Scottish attacker held him, and the attack drifted sideways into touch. The attack was pretty to watch but.? To utilise England’s pace out wide, the mid-field must run straight. Brown comes back in at full back, for the high ball, Watson on the wing. Work will surely be done this week with the back 3 playing as a unit? Lawes is a big loss, not only at line-out, but his tackle work-rate is impressive. Launchbury must have 60 minutes at least. Itoje just stays in, but this is not a game for celebrities! The coal face will be tough going. Experience will help so I would stick with Dan, Jamie and Mako. In the back row I would bring in Armand at 6, move Robshaw to 7 and play Simmons at 8. To win England must beat a team that. Improves as the game goes on. Applies relentless pressure. Gets to the breakdown in numbers. Has team units playing well. Has impressive team mobility and effective work rate. Is mentally tough, and the championship would count for nothing if beaten. My tip is Ireland by 9 See more

22.01.2022 Rome and Eddie Jones At its height Rome and the Caesars controlled the Mediterranean world. At his height Eddie Jones controlled the Mediterranean rugby world. Such was Eddies power, the RFU tried to manufacture a game against New Zealand to prove England were the undisputed rulers of World rugby, let alone the Mediterranean. The men in black from down under can rest easy now. Rome fell to numerous attacks on its borders from external tribes, while internally suffering from ...corruption at government level. A slow and painful decay! England’s fall from grace equally painful, with players returning from coaching weekends in Portugal complaining of fatigue and what was the point of doing all that fitness work? 3 losses and a dubious win against Wales is proof enough of decay but what have been the causes? Lack of consideration to player workloads? Lions/Aviva/Champions cup/6 nations? Positional competency. Is Farrell a 10 or 12, Teo a 12, Daly a wing or 13, Watson a wing or full back? The back 5 of the scrum equally so. It’s like musical chairs! Why do we now refer to scrum halves as kicking scrum halves? A scrum half should be multi-skilled surely? If we have no penetration at the breakdown, all our fancy football 10 meters from the advantage line counts for nothing and is easily defended. The latest scrum half never threatened a break!! Leadership is about performance on the field. Follow me I’m going forward. (Rory Best) No- one for decades has addressed the issue of developing back row players. We just hope they come along, and if one appears who seems technically competentcommentators have an orgasm! Before the decay, superlatives flowed like champagne after an England win. Now the commentators struggle for words and look glumly at each other in selected groups. South Africa has a new coach and England play a 3-match series against them in June, in South Africa. If we have learnt anything about South African rugby from Super rugby, it is you do not run into them, they win the physical contest, and they like the physical contest. Fortune favours the brave and England have some very good players and some talented emerging players. So, it’s down to Selection Rest. Positional competency Leadership. Not forgetting, team play is. Using the ball is a blend of understanding with attitude; of team awareness with individual virtuosity; of practised patterns with spontaneous reaction. The blending is elusive and short-lived. If you get that right, you will beat South Africa. www.rugbycoachingconsultancy.com

08.01.2022 Team mobility is more than just support play The game of rugby used to be played where running support lines were clearly defined and attached to positions on the field. Now there is less competition at the tackle contest and less go-forward within proximity of the tackle. Tedious multi-phase re-cycle against a spread defence is a new age feature. Without agility, quickness, acceleration, and sleight of hand off-load, the outcome is usually a knock on, not much further forwar...Continue reading

06.01.2022 The vulnerability of Super rugby Empty seats and barely quarter filled stadiums! Once the pub talk has moved on from the quality of Kiwi rugby, what’s left to talk about? Quite simply the skill level in Super rugby is at its lowest level since the competition began! Just look at how many defenders reach and touch the ball on a 2 v 1. If attackers can’t time a pass on a 2 v 1, what chance a 3 v 2? We have a two-tier system operating. The Kiwis, Bulls and Lions, then the rest. ...Despite the loss of an Aussie franchise, and strengthening of others, the quality of rugby is poor, and spectators are voting with their feet. Some Aussie players have already agreed moves to Europe next season. The Reds v Brumbies game on Friday night had no basic shape and the winners didn’t score a try! Australia has a new CEO, yet nothing is on the table? I love making a coffee on Sunday morning and watching the recorded game from the previous night. This Sunday it was the Sharks v Waratahs. I stopped watching after 20 minutes. Passing, catching, kicking, tackling all woeful. The Sharks game management in the second half, when I re-connected, non-existent!! The conference system isn’t working for spectators. Should we move to a two-division system with promotion and relegation? Or would it be, who plays with the Kiwi’s? OR should we add a skills league, where clubs are positioned on the ladder by the quality of their skills, in each game. You wouldn’t want to be at the bottom of that league, especially with sponsorship involved, not to mention the wages players receive? So why are basic skills being executed so poorly? (Kiwi’s excluded). Players are available all week for practice. (Look at some of the pre-professional era games, and the execution of basic skills, hmm food for thought?) Are modern day players complacent when it comes to basic skills? Once the contract’s signed, the money is in the bag/bank, or is it just plain old concentration? Maybe coaching sessions are all about set plays and patterns to the detriment of instinctive have a go? One thing is for sure. You can’t fool the public. Unlike Gladiator, players would be ill-advised to ask the crowd, are you not entertained? Just for the record the Kiwi performance model is all about Team mobility, tempo, accuracy, ball retention, alignment, re-alignment, pace, quickness, reaction timeoh, and catch, pass, kick, tackle. If we coach the young kids with that in mind, Super rugby may have a future? At present it’s an impending GFC. www.rugbycoachingconsultancy.com See more

03.01.2022 Rugby Union Champions Cup quarter finals. Rugby common denominators. Why did the 4 teams win over the weekend? Was there a common denominator? There was heaps of passion at all the venues, and apart from Saracens a desire to produce quick ball. Why on earth do Saracens persevere with a half back who jogs to the breakdown, then plays around with it with his footoh and then he box kicks. Whenever quick ball was served up, play became exciting and the teams with greater team mo...bility went forward at pace. Look at the support of the Irish tight five forwards around the field, especially those from Leinster!! There needs to be some adjustment to ball into contact skills, especially if your opponents have players with proficient jackaling skills at the breakdown. Ball carriers need to begin their movement to place the ball before they go to ground. Scarlets will have taken note of Dan Leavy’s outstanding ability, and performance for Leinster. Finding common denominators when watching French teams play is like predicting the fall of the dice. However, such is the influence of overseas players that maybe some predictability is emerging, let’s hope it is in the willingness to support, because Nakarawa’s try for Racing 92 was a coffee spiller! (I leapt up off the settee and spilled my coffee). The two P’s also contributed to winning performance Passion, not only on the field but off it as well. Crowds can get teams home in tight games. They are the 16th man, and dare I say, they might influence the ref? I once stood on the Kop at Anfield. For 90 minutes you are in another world. If Liverpool attacked the Kop in the second half a win was inevitable. I always thought pace was something you react to, BUT Conway’s try for Munster defied reaction. He was a bullet from a gun, a blur in the twinkling of a game. The semi-finals are a feast in waiting. Scarlets have ignited the Welsh renaissance this season, with a return to core coaching principles and quality execution. Their semi-final against Leinster in Dublin has the makings of a coaching classic. All the ingredients are in place, the mixture and the serving could be exhilarating. Racing 92 will play Munster in Bordeaux, an away venue for Racing, but the hoards from Munster will make it seem like a home game for the Irish. All 4 teams will want to play on the front foot, in the face of the opposition in attack and defence. Ball retention, building pressure and composure close to the try line paramount! I think Leavy’s talent at the tackle contest will weaken Scarlets defence and create just a little more time and space out wide, plus Ringrose is approaching his best. I think the back 5 of the Racing scrum, particularly, their broken field running in the second half will get them home. My tips Leinster by 6 Racing 92 by 12 See more