Position Specific – Fullback

A coach has much to do beyond a game plan if he is to provide guidance for each individual in his team. There is the physical development, which as the player gets older needs to be specific to the needs of the player, the technical knowledge, understanding and practical application of game aspects and the psychological skills that help develop confidence, concentration and attitudes beneficial to the game such as aggression and mental toughness.

In this article we will consider the technical and game understanding requirements for a fullback.

When you are selecting and then coaching your fullback in isolation he will need to be evaluated on certain aspects of play.

We will look at Ben Smith from the All Blacks at the World Cup and Ayumu Goromaru from Japan.  Smith played for 511 minutes and with Japan only playing in the pool games Goromaru played for 323 minutes.

These are players with very similar physical attributes who epitomise the modern day fullback. Goromaru, strips at 185cm and 98kg with Smith a slightly taller and leaner model at 187cm and 91kg. The most obvious similarities though are in courage, speed and game understanding, with both players being absolutely crucial to the success of their teams.

Smith had the ball in his hands as an attacking option every three minutes (including open field kicking), and Goromaru who kicked in open play a lot more than Smith had an involvement on attack every five minutes. These are significant contributions.

Defensively Smith and Goromaru both tackled at over 80% (Smith 15/17 & Goromaru 11/13) which is a minimum at international level in a position that often finds the attacker with a big advantage, whilst Goromaru was a 74% goal kicker for Japan which I'm picking is only just a 'pass' mark at club level.

With such good players at the back it is up to the coach to devise tactics to get them involved in the game. There are bound to be players who can have the same effect on a game at your level if you provide the opportunities.

The major aspect that is illustrated here is how often you want your fullback in play if you are to have a strong attacking side. He must look for work and read the play so that he turns up on attack at crucial times and is able to create attacking options for his team.

Some players will have a natural ability to 'read' the game and anticipate where to be on attack and defence but coaching these concepts is much more difficult.

From set plays he must understand how he positions himself and what his roles are on attack and defence, generally fitting in a pattern that also involves his wingers (The Back Three). It should be reasonably straight forward following the plan from the set piece with the coach needing to keep an eye on depth and width and field coverage.

He has a big task covering wide open spaces on defence and timing his run in to various attacking points on attack but there can be a few key points for him to follow as a basic starting point which will depend on defensive and attacking patterns that the team use.

At phase play it is much more of a case of the fullback being able to 'read' the game. In both attacking and defending situations he must use the Pierre Villepreux matrix: “I look – I see – I think – I act”. Being able to anticipate what his team are going to do when they have the ball and what the opposition are likely to do when they have the ball will assure your player is proactive rather than reactive and provide that crucial edge in the game.

Having information on the opposition is not always available at club and school level but this information is obviously very handy so if you can get your hands on anything at all it will be useful. Likewise the best coaching tool to help your fullback understand what decisions need to be made can be analysed on video footage of your own games. Then it will be a matter of question and answer.

A special 'buddy' coach can be very helpful for a fullback. Someone who can come along and watch this player and sit down later and go through a few points, as fullback is a position that requires experience before getting most things right most of the time.

If the fullback can 'read' the game then he is well on his way to being successful. He will of course need certain attributes that make him suitable for the position.

A check list could include some of these aspects with you as a coach improving and encouraging what he is already good at, and bringing up to scratch the one or two basic skills that he may need to improve.

Kicking: out of defence to touch; under pressure; attacking in behind the defensive line; counter kicking down the sideline.

Passing & Catching: under the high ball on attack and defence; taking a pass at pace and changing angle and speed; making a variety of passes on the run; picking up the ball on the ground; timing of the pass.

Running: speed and acceleration; running as a decoy; sidestepping/swerving; changing angle; linking up with the ball carrier.

Contact: staying on feet when under pressure; maintaining the ball in ruck/tackle situations; pop pass in the tackle; recovering the ball on the ground; tackling – 1 v1 head on / on the cover defence; creating pressure in the tackle – getting to feet and driving in to the tackle area or recovering the ball.

Reading the game: number of involvements; being in the correct position on defence (did he catch the ball on the full? Did it land behind him and he had to run back; was he covering the correct space; when did he actually start running to the defensive spot – was he proactive or reactive? Is he hitting the ball in the correct attacking channel; is he changing something when running in as an attacker – pace-angle-width? Is he able to maintain the continuity of the team and stay involved? Is he cutting down the time and space when going forward to make a tackle? Is he fitting in with those around him? Is he communicating to his team?

PERSONAL STRENGTHS: The coach needs to discover what his player is really good at that if developed will give him a skill that places him in a different category than his opposite and provide a lot of confidence that will spill over to other aspects of his play.

Smith has a real ability to stay on his feet and fight through tackles before accelerating away. Your player is bound to have a certain skill that you can encourage and make him feel good about.

A check list could be drawn up by taking a topic and researching the requirements on The Coaching Toolbox. There is a season’s work here. Start simple and keep revisiting and developing the aspect of play not only over the season but in the following seasons.

This is just a summary of what a fullback needs to develop to improve. You could research each skill by viewing it on television, a video, reading and researching the detail, or talking to an appropriate person. Preferably doing all of these would be the ideal.

Good luck.