Playing Philosophy (Pre season Prep)

The Rugby Coordinator and Pre-Season Preparation – Playing Philosophy

The philosophies and patterns you embark on will be dependent on the ability and skill level of the players that you have in your squad.

The Psychological Edge
Choose the major strength in your squad which if developed fully will give the team the greatest psychological edge in every game.
Work hard on making this aspect the focus for the team; something they know they are really good at, and if carried out with purpose and clarity will provide a good chance of victory and enjoyment. This can be based on a confrontational zone or it may be based on a tactical, speed and skill area.

 Once you decide what this aspect of play is going to be you need to establish the basic skill set and continually work on the appropriate skills and tactics.

For example, if you decide it is the scrum, these steps need to be put in place:  
a) Every individual must understand his technical role and how the technical, power and strength aspects combine as a unit.  There are many tricks of the trade to learn so getting an ‘expert’ along is a good idea.
b) Every individual needs to understand the mental aspects of scrummaging. In any given situation each player should instinctively know whether they are pushing left or right or straight; or perhaps ‘locking out’; and prepare for the second shove and so on. 
c) If the scrum is to be your major psychological weapon how is it used to create doubt in the mind of the opponents and scoring opportunities for your team.

Think about other key areas before deciding on your ‘psychological weapon’. These could include:
 a) the tackle area on attack and defence. Specialise in making this a physically dominant zone based on good technique, aggression and a full team understanding of what is trying to be achieved at the zone and what opportunities it creates and how to develop these.   
b)  The lineout is a great tool for establishing how you intend to play the game.  You can be physical; speed the game up or slow it down; provide variations that produce attacking platforms where you want them; and create real pressure on opposition ball.  If this is to be your ‘psychological edge’ you need to spend a lot of time practicing against opposition; and you need a good thrower (who may not be the hooker)                                                                                     
c) If you have explosive strength and speed in the team you may wish to play a continuity game based on players threatening with the ball and the ball being a moving target.  Lots of time should be spent with the team working together, establishing patterns, and making sure every player understands their role.  Work out how to get your ‘key’ players in the key positions.
This concept will require work on a variety of continuity aspects at the tackle.

Patterns of Play.

Club coaches have a limited amount of time with their team each week so the training sessions need to be used wisely.  The most important aspect is that all the squad know and understand the Patterns of Play. Senior teams should understand the tactics within the patterns and tactics used against different opposition and in different weather conditions.

With this in mind you need to know what your style of play is going to be and then coach the mini-unit, unit and team requirements to successfully carry out your Game Plan. 
For example; if your ‘psychological edge’ is scrummaging, then you must plan to put the opposition scrum under pressure on their ball and on your ball, you need to sort out the situations when you keep the ball in the scrum to create a psychological advantage and when it is to come quickly.

If the ‘psychological edge’ in your game is going to be the physicality, then variety and technique associated with the contact zone must be learned and practiced. Develop methods that suit your team and if necessary divide them in to two groups and establish the patterns with plenty of contact situations at training. Once the patterns are established, reinforce the techniques.

The Basics.

Once you have established your ‘psychological edge’ requirements, and how you want to play the game (Patterns of Play); then you will know the coaching requirements for ‘The Basics’.

If for example your ‘psychological edge’ is scrummaging, then it is likely your lineouts need to reflect your particular strengths in that area.   

If you have a very strong and physical lineout, this set piece may take a similar physical dominance as in the way you are using the scrum. There would be lots of driving and plenty of physical pressure on the opposition ball.  If you have a relatively small lineout you may well use short lineout variations and get the ball in quickly, and then establish the next sequence of quick ball and continuity.

If your ‘psychological edge’ is the contact zone you may well plan a very physical defence both in the backline and at phase play.  Set out your basic defensive pattern and once that is established introduce variations with blitz defences, a front runner, big hits and any other ideas you may have. 

When you plan your kick offs they need to reflect your attitude towards the game. Are they to be confrontational which takes a lot of training time, or are they to be long with a good chase?

There will be many aspects that you need to cover off on during the season, but it is important to remember what you want to achieve and keep your focus on that.  Remember, spend 80% of your time on the 20% of the game that is going to make the biggest improvements.