It’s about the ball

“The object of the game is that two teams of 15, 10 or seven players each, observing fair play according to the laws and sporting spirit, should by carrying, passing, kicking and grounding the ball score as many points as possible.”

Those are the first words you will encounter in the IRB’s law book and I re-produce them here with special emphasis on ball.

After yet another weekend of trying to come up with some plausible reason of what is wrong with South African rugby I would put forward the contention that a prime reason is because South African players have no respect for the ball.

As the tension has grown in the Super 12 and opposition teams have applied themselves and concentrated more keenly, South African teams have fallen away because of a lack of appreciation of the key fundamental that success in rugby is about the ball – winning it, keeping it, using it.

One of the biggest ills – there to see in every game involving all local sides – is the seeming ignorance that, to amend an old maxim, possession is nine tenths of the law.

The malady was no more evident than among the Stormers after the Crusaders had been reduced to 14 men – the home-side’s predicament being all the more difficult because the banished man was a loose forward with greater tackling duties than, say, a wing.

So what did the Stormers do? Instead of holding the ball and setting defensive demands on the Crusaders in the hope that the inevitable gap of being a man short would be exposed they kept kicking the ball; literally giving it away.

It was tactically naïve, no stupid, and, sadly to say, completely in keeping with a tendency among South African sides not to treat the ball as precious.

If there is one facet of rugby in which South Africa has definitely fallen behind it is in the appreciation of and application of the correct techniques in maintaining possession of the ball.

Too often players lose possession when making contact while the inability to provide proper support in the rucks and mauls results in countless damaging turnovers as teams in attack mode are caught short on defence.

Game after game one sees players falling badly, losing contact with their support, trying to force 50/50 passes, exposing the ball to the opposition or not having a proper hold of it.

Much is made of attacking opponents and running into space, but in the modern game this is a fallacy because so often it leads to players getting themselves into positions where they cannot protect the ball or pass it to a teammate in a better position.

In fact, one of the interesting aspects of a succession of coaches’ fascination with the Brumbies is that they have failed to pick up that the key to the ACT team’s exceptional continuity is not based so much on attacking skills but on awareness of where their teammates are.

Support is the key element and not only do the Brumbies work hard on sustaining it on either side and behind the ball carrier and ensuring they get greater numbers to the break-down, the man with the ball is acutely aware of where his support is and of ensuring the ball is not lost.

In many ways there is greater emphasis on staying in possession of the ball rather than going for quick gains… and, of course, if the re-cycling is quick enough, if the other side is forced into making many tackles the gaps do appear so the impression is that the Brumbies are a great attacking side. They are; but their real skill is their ability to stay in control of the ball.

It is a lesson that especially South African coaches have to learn and in turn drum into our players or those depressing Saturdays are going to continue.

Forget about carrying, passing, kicking and grounding the ball; the message should be: “This is the ball. It is precious. Keep it. Protect it. Fight for it and woe betide anyone that loses it!”