World Cup Lessons - Week 1
So often we see some great ideas come out of the World Cup and try and emulate them in our own team! The box kick seems to be very popular this tournament and has been re-invented over the last few years. Now more than ever it is used as a tactical tool for:
- Relieving Pressure
- Applying Pressure
- Regaining the Ball
The skills involved in delivering consistency in the box kick are significant. It is a complex, multi-joint balance, power and confidence piece of skill. This unfortunately has to be coached in most players due to its technical factors. Simply playing the game may teach you the when and why but it does not teach you the how.
Howard Graham, ex-coach at Quins demonstrates really well using (questioning and demo process skills) how to deliver a technical session around the box kick.
There is a drawback to the box kick - its low success rate! Currently in this world cup the most successful box-kicking team has a success tate of 33%. This means 67% of the time the box kick does not achieve one of the aims above.
So why is it proving popular?
Is it a better option than other choices or one that will go out of vogue as other changes occur in the game? As a grassroots coach you might use the box-kick infrequently, yet it does work in applying pressure, isolating defenders and testing the opposition's skills. As a coach you therefore need to think "Can I coach it?" an "Should I coach it to all my 9s?".
Here we play some kicking games, in your practices you could add some constraint that on every 4th ruck in near the touchline a box-kick is used. This helps with context and the role of the chasing players.
Did Fiji lose or did Uruguay win?
Stats can only say so much but they are definitley worth having a look at for this game for many resons. The bare bones are that Fiji should have won and by a long way, according to this:
- Fiji carried the ball 746m compared to Uruguay's 288m – (Go Forward)
- Fiji had 175 runs of which 63 crossed the gainline – (Go Forward)
- Fiji made 253 passes compared to Uruguay's 98 – (Continuity/Support)
- Fiji made 21 offloads compared to Uruguay's 6 – (Support)
- Fiji had 59% of the ball and 59% of territory in the game
There are some great stats there for Fiji suggesting a dominant performance. However, the following stats shed some light on Uruguay's tactics.
- Uruguay kicked the ball from hand 26 times – Fiji just 9
- Uruguay made 681m from kicking – Fiji 227m
- Uruguay made 181 tackles – Fiji 95 (but they had the ball for nearly 60% of the time)
- Uruguay 79% Tackle success
- Uruguay 11 Turnovers won – Fiji 6
So from these stats, Uruguay kicked for position, pushing Fiji back and letting them run from depth. They obviously had to make more tackles but they also contested the breakdown more successfully. Fiji then fell into the trap of running the ball back, rather than make Uruguay play from deep.
This game was about pressure and Fiji did not rise to the occasion. Uruguay were outstanding in managing the Fiji pressure and converting their oppurtunities.
Stay tuned next week for even more World Cup breakdowns!