Tactics at Phase Play

“If you don’t know what you are looking for you don’t see it. - "Tactics at phase play”. Ian Snook

With the large amount of televised rugby nowadays, as well as the opportunity to view high quality games live, it is an ideal time to conjure up a plan for your phase play concepts which will suit your team and create plenty of attacking threats.
The challenge is to move away from the common everyday flat and static rucking combinations, and only use this sparingly. The opportunities are endless if you are prepared to stretch your imagination just a little. For example, why were the Reds so successful in the Super Fifteen of 2011 and teams such as the Hurricanes were so poor? The more enlightened approach to dealing with ruck ball had a lot to do with it.
By the completion of any game you should be able to state the basic concept each teams utilizes in dealing with phase ball and which method/s have been most successful.  By doing this you can then begin to formulate your own philosophies and methodology.
What to look for and think about:
Where do the teams set up the first contact point in relation to where the set piece has taken place?  Very close/midfield /wide.  Why do you think they have attacked this point? (What opportunities are being created in other parts of the field?) Do they appear to be attacking a distinct player? Is the attack stopping at the player or are they moving in to the space and beyond the player?  Is the ball carrier looking for options beyond just setting a ruck?  How many players are the attacking team sending in to this point? What does it appear their roles are?  What options are carried out at the ruck- pick and go / scoop pass to close player / passing to a close runner / passing to a wide runner /passing to the second or third man / passing flat or deep / changing direction of the attack. Are runners changing angles or creating loops and scissor type plays?
At the second contact point answer the same questions again. Also, how have the players regrouped at the first tackle point (and beyond)? Where are they attacking? Why have they done this? What opportunities have been created?   Have they been successful? Why / why not?  How significant is the speed of the ball from the ruck?
There will be more rucks to dissect, but from this you will be starting to see what the team is trying to achieve and whether or not they are successful.  Answer the same questions at each tackle point.
Are they managing to break the first line? Are the winning the ‘corridor of power’ in close? Are they trying to spread the defenders and get forwards and backs mixed up in the defensive line?  How are they achieving these goals?  What technical aspects are you going to need? What patterns within the patterns are occurring?  How are they making the crucial penetration? Are they working an attack pattern so that they get the key penetrator in to a good position?
From all this you will be able to design plays that are difficult to defend and create the most pressure. You are also looking for plays that create momentum so that the team goes forward as quickly and as often as possible.
Another aspect to look at is the differentiation between what happens in certain parts of the field. The one to take note of is how the pattern changes once a team is in close attacking proximity to the tryline. Do they go wide straight away? Do they try to get the ball off the ground and go forward? If they go wide which players are available to ensure extra numbers? Do they have patterns or do they run angles?  How are they aligned?  
Make up a philosophy for your team and break it down in to mini aspects that need to be coached. The most important aspect though is what your approach is going to be as this pretty much labels how your team are going to play.
Once this is in place you can start thinking about changes for a wet day or against certain opposition. There is much to do but it will be a lot of fun.
SUMMARY
1-    Where is the attack point after each phase?
2-    What attackers are in the zone? What techniques do they use at the tackle?
3-    Where is the attacking team re-aligning?  How have they manipulated the defence to create the greatest amount of pressure each time?
4-    Why has the pattern been successful/unsuccessful?  
5-    Make a plan that will provide a constant threat and your team can perform (after much practice)