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Backline Attack Concepts
BACKLINE ATTACK CONCEPTS - Ian Snook
What are you trying to achieve?
Destabilisation of the defence. Penetration
Continuity
Scoring
How do you achieve this?
All players being a threat. Passer/ball carrier/decoys/support players
Players making judgements. Scanning /ball in two hands
Running at the defence. Timing of the runs.
Changing the angle. Changing the pace. Changing the depth and width.
Clearing channels.
Accurate passing.
Keeping the ball alive. Passing early. Pop pass. Standing in the tackle. Passing under pressure.
Support players waiting; looking; coming from depth; choosing the best channel; changing – pace, angle.
Each individual understanding his role to clear a channel, create 2 v 1 situations , and continuing the play.
Working under pressure. (as the team progresses)
Planning Process
Aims: What and why are you doing this.
Objectives: What you are hoping to achieve.
Skills: individual skills required/mini unit requirements/unit requirements.
Drills: to practice the skills and tactics. Start simple and work to opposed situations.
Important Concepts(You need to understand).
Attack line. Tackle line. Defence line. Gain line. Running lines.
Width /depth variations. Deep attack-run fast, pass with balance. Flat attack-balanced running, fast passing. Different formations create different problems.
Speed / direction variations. How changes create problems.
Support positioning. Players in the pocket.
Space and time required (applicable to player level)
Requirements at the tackle point.
Starting Point
What strengths and weaknesses your players possess. Plan a philosophy around these.
What are the necessary skills and patterns required to make this successful?
What drills can you devise to practice your strategies?
Produce a plan (with video footage) to demonstrate/illustrate what you are hoping to achieve.
An Idea.
With backlines at scrum time now starting ten metres apart there is ample opportunity to achieve your destabilization of the opposition from the set piece without having to create a tackle point.
The following is a suggestion.
This is just a starting point with limitless opportunities which you need to adapt to as you discover what works best. Initially you are threatening the defensive line by the whole backline standing close and running at pace directly towards the tacklers. It is decision time for the defence. If you can make better decisions than they do you will be in behind them. Then it is just a matter of which player receives the pop pass/early pass/makes the quick clean out, and you are away! If you have high quality passers you might start further apart; or you may start close together initially and a player can receive a pass after he has drifted hard and hit an outside shoulder. Think of some more ideas. Change your players to suit the role. If the scrum is on the left side of the field you have even more opportunities open to your thinking!
Good luck.