Wisdoms of the Super 12

A fascinating extra dimension of watching the Vodacom Super 12 tournament is picking up on the little pearls of rugby wisdom that are imparted by commentators, players and the repetition of match situations.

In this era of video analysis I often wonder whether coaches, their technical assistants and the players they are trying to help are too caught up in specifics to notice the insights that are there to be grasped and used.

Naas Botha, for instance, the other day remarked that clearance kicks from behind your own goalline should go out at least on the 10m line – or even further – to take the pressure off rather than leaving the opposition with an attacking and threatening lineout.

This was an insight into the standards Botha used to set for himself and should have been a reminder to flyhalves (or fullbacks) all over that merely getting the ball out is not the aim of clearing your line – the kick should also relieve pressure and allow you to re-group.

Then there was Tana Umaga remarking, after leading the Hurricanes to victory over the Reds, that his team’s intention had been “to go out there and really respect the ball.” In other words, what Umaga was saying is that the aim of the game is to possess the ball and use it to score points; that possession is precious and that the ball should not only be won but protected.

This is fundamental but how often don’t we see teams going through the motions, not “respecting” the ball, or individuals giving away possession with aimless punts, grubbers or tap-kicks that amount to nothing other than giving away possession? How often do we see grubbers that have no chance of being re-gained or players not moving up to close off the open-side after the ball has been kicked ahead?

This would be unforgivable at schoolboy level yet it continues to prevalent among the professionals of the Super 12!

I came upon this while putting together a video tape on the importance of not making mistakes, given how often a misdirected pass, knock-on or turned over ball leads to a score against the attacking side, and started wondering about the standard of coaching and whether this might not be the root cause of South Africa’s current malaise.

Some other gems that have been available, for free, off the tube have come from former All Blacks such as Murray Mexted and Ian Jones.

Mexted recently mused: “Why long kick-offs? It’s just giving opposition the ball!” Quite. Has no South African coach noticed the success the Brumbies are having with the short centre-field kick-off chased by a tall sprinter such as Stirling Mortlock? Or is it a fact that some of our highly-paid kickers can’t perform a task they should be able to do blindfolded?

Jones is a recent All Black – he was part of the ’96 side that became the first to win a series in South Africa – and his comments are full of maxims… if we would only listen.

“Core rugby,” said Jones recently, “is about dominating set-pieces.”

A little later, while watching the Highlanders against the Sharks, he remarked. “This game is a lot about building and maintaining pressure. It’s about domination. Dominating possession, dominating territory, dominating on the scoreboard.” Can it really be that simple? Of course it can. That’s what we used to do when the rest of the world feared the Springboks.

Jones constantly laments the fact that teams don’t get “enough numbers to the ball.” Bless him. One of the reasons England became strong is because they noticed southern hemisphere sides defending rucks and mauls with two or three players and they went back to the old axiom of getting greater numbers to the break-down and either driving through the opposition or blasting them off the ball.

Rocket science? Not on your life. I had coaches at school more than 30 years ago who used to stop a practice to point out forwards lurking among the backs and who would also use a cane or whistle-cord to encourage loiterers to keep up.

Then there is losing the ball in rucks. Why has it taken so long for South African side to adopt the “long” place once contact has been made? Simply by extending the arm and placing the ball away from the contact point a player can make it almost impossible for the opposition to get at it because the ball is so far behind the off-sides line and anyone who steps over – unlike a team with numbers who can drive over! – is caught by the referee.

Or what of the lineouts? South African sides have recently become wont to running around to catch the opposition unawares, but as Phil Kearns tellingly remarked: “The Cats are succeeding only in confusing themselves.”

South African coaches have been seduced by the Brumbies and their intricate rugby. Intricate my foot! The Brumbies in fact have done just two things. They have taken physical fitness and ball-handling skills to a higher plane while concentrating on a relatively simple game plan of constantly and in-depth supporting the ball carrier.

My, my isn’t that so clever. I first read about what the Brumbies are doing, the triangles of support, the patience to build a move, in a book by a rugby guru named Izak van Heerden who, incidentally coached Natal in the 50s and 60s, and came to be know as the father of Argentine rugby.

So there’s nothing new. No magical formula. It’s all there and it’s been there for years. Doc Craven used to say “you steal with your eyes.” To that can be added “steal with your ears.” There’s gold in them TV transmissions, guys. Look, listen, find it… apply it.