To Ruck or Not to Ruck

There is no doubt about it every player in your team needs to be coached up on the technical and tactical aspects of the ruck. If your team cannot recycle good, clean and often quick ball you are going to have problems.

The question often asked is just how much phase play should the coach try to create through patterns and rucking to eventually penetrate and score.

The aim approaching the tackle is to create the best option to establish continuity with the intention of finding space either outside, inside or behind the tackler. These decisions will be based on the weather, the ability of the opposition on defence and the attacking skills and concepts of the team with the ball.

What you promote as a coach will dictate the plans.

The starting point at least must be to attack and penetrate at the set piece where you can devise plans based on knowing where the opposition players will be set up. The attack needs to create pressure and doubt through fast running, passing and supporting.

Individual skills such as a step, a fend, a change of pace and angle need to be tied in with the role of the close players running on short lines, drifting lines, in lines and at changing speeds and angles.

The concept is to get in behind the tacklers and as a first option look to get away a short pass either after hitting the ground or as the player is being tackled.

These are the skills that need to be taught in the modern game. The ruck is the option that is required if the player is unable to offload because of the number of defenders in close proximity or if that is the safest option because of the wet or windy conditions or when a thin defensive line needs to be driven through.

Although no coaches have the pleasure of being in charge of such a skillful team as the All Blacks, their last two test matches demonstrate that if there is any possibility at all to run with the ball there needn't be a whole host of rucks to slow things down, whilst when the weather is nasty and the opposition is big and strong, the least number of passes connecting the rucks can be handy.

However, club and school coaches should be encouraging as much running and passing as possible, coaching the appropriate skills for the fast continuity game, and only using the close hit up patterns as a means of maintaining the ball and dominating the tackle area, as one pattern to be employed and not the whole 80 minutes of rugby.

For example the All Blacks tries against the USA give an indicator of the sort of coaching aspects that are required to play the modern game.

Try 1 was from a quick tap kick followed by two passes and a try in the corner. This required speed of thought, speed of getting in to the correct positions, speed of pass and a strong surge for the corner.

Try 2 started from a lineout with one hit up and quick ruck in the midfield before a player offloaded in a tackle out the 'backdoor' and the try scorer varied his pace to stop the defenders before using a fend on the final defender and scoring. Plenty of individual skill that can be coached.

Try 3 was created after the USA won three rucks before running short of ideas so they kicked it high. This was regathered by the All Black fullback who ran hard back at the defenders, made an in pass to a support player bursting on his inside. He then passed to a player in support who offloaded in a tackle with that player timing his final pass well to set the next player off for a try.

These sort of situations can be practiced with small groups playing against each other so they get used to running hard at the defenders, support players running hard in to gaps, the timing of passes and the need to constantly back up.
There were 12 tries in all with many similar aspects happening, including a strong set piece domination of course but the statistics at half time, with All Blacks leading 43-6 make interesting reading.

USA were winning the big ones. Territorially they were ahead 64-36. Possession wise it was 63-37. Minutes in possession they were ahead 17-11 minutes and they had recycled the ball at 73 rucks as against the 29 by the All Blacks.

In the 12 tries scored by the All Blacks there were only 8 rucks involved in total. Of course this was the No 1 ranked side in the world up against No 18 but the point here is that you don't need to create rucks to score tries if all the other aspects are in place. Most importantly your team needs to recognise where the space is, move the ball to space, create 1 v 1 situations, and have the skills required to be effective.

The following week the All Blacks were up against the No 3 ranked England at Twickenham with plenty of the game played in wet conditions.

Interestingly England were slightly ahead on the scoreboard at half time 14-11 and also in territory (56-44) and possession (53-47), but they had made 56 tackles as against the All Blacks 53 and the All Blacks had made 10 offloads as against England's 2. The offloads obviously indicate New Zealand's desire to keep the ball alive which is a major concept in their game.

England though actually scored their two tries with far fewer rucks. The great try at the start of the game was created once they took an All Black clearing kick, had one ruck and made three wide passes before the speed and strength of the winger beat an All Black on the outside and burst through the final All Black defender.

Their second try right at the end was a penalty try from a scrum which is just a reminder to make sure the set pieces are up to standard.

New Zealand however had to work much harder for their tries with the first try following 6 rucks after an All Black chased and caught a high kick. This is a tough skill, but it is another one you could put on your list.

The first few rucks were only one or two passes away from the base but the crucial ruck took place after 5 passes, a forward breaking through several tackles, quick ball and a short flat pass to a hard runner.

The second try started from a lineout around the halfway with 5 rucks all connected by a single pass or two passes either side but staying between the 15m lines before space opened up on the left which was started by a long pass from the halfback which created a 3 v 1.

By now it was pouring with rain, the game was tight and the All Black forwards were taking control. Their third try came after 21 rucks with only once there being more than two passes away from the base.

There was a mix of pick and short pass from one forward to another, pick and go by forwards, one pass with another short pass, before the try was scored with a forward picking and driving through the ruck.

Generally the hit ups were close and had hard straight runners. Players tried to stay up where possible and were driven forward. Occasionally a fast arriving defender was stepped and a metre or two was gained. On one occasion the second pass went behind a short runner with the receiver then passing back inside. This created an extra couple of metres and was the final play before the pick and drive and the try.

What this all demonstrated was that both backs and forwards had to carry the ball and complete their task of keeping the ball, whilst the support players had to be close, strong and technically good as well. The pattern was created many times by the appropriate receiver calling for the ball.

Of course what this article does not tell is the number of times both teams carried the ball in to rucks without coming up with a positive outcome. It was one of those days though.

So there it is. All your players need to be coached on the technical aspects surrounding the ruck, but don't leave it at that. The most exciting part for many of your team will be learning how to fend, change pace, change angle, support, and offload.

Don't spend all your time establishing patterns that require multiple set ups and rucks. The game is more than ever about running, passing, supporting, continuity and understanding where the space is