Mind your language: Bernard Jackman's guide to rugby lingo
The tail gunner is the player that stands at the tail or back of the lineout but isn’t involved in the jump or lift. He will be usually around two metres clear at the end of the lineout standing near the 15-metre line. His role is to protect the space where the out half usually defends and is so attractive to the opposition. Each week, attack coaches spend a lot of time analysing who the opposition tail gunner is and if and how he can be manipulated to increase the likelihood of a line break. Many teams are now using their hooker in this role and put their scrum half in the traditional defensive hooker spot to protect the five-metre channel. But that tactic is all about profiling your players. Wales use Mike Phillips (inset) in this role as he enjoys it and is good at defending against big forwards running from lineout peels.
With the maul back in vogue and becoming increasingly hard to legally stop we are seeing a plethora of penalties conceded. However, I expect administrators to remind the referees to start enforcing the law largely being ignored at the moment. When forming or reforming a maul the ball must start at the front and the defending side must have a chance to make contact with the ball holder before it is transferred to the back. There hasn’t been any change in the rules but for some reason referees aren’t enforcing it correctly at the moment. Truck and trailer is the term given to the tactic of shifting the ball to the back of the maul or the player behind before contact is made with the defence.
Otherwise known as KPIs these are measures used by teams to record how well they are doing against targets or expectations. There is an old Japanese Proverb that says “Man without a target hits nothing” and KPIs help show trends and demonstrate that improvements are being made over a period of time. They also measure performance by comparing results against the opposition’s standards. Joe Schmidt uses KPIs a lot and coaches reference them in interviews. Sample KPIs would be to have a tackle completion rate of 92% and an opposition lineout steal rate of 25% or more. KPIs targets need to be realistic and achievable and should also take into account the relative strengths of the opposition you face on a weekly basis. Using KPIs for the preview and review process helps to take emotion out of the coaching process.
When the TV cameras flash to the coach in the stand nowadays you will see an assistant or two at their side staring into a laptop. The role of the video analyst has been replaced by the performance analyst. These guys present the coaching staff with live data and footage of trends in the game in terms of the referee, the opposition or their own Key Performance Indicators. Performance analysis is an invaluable aid to the coaching process. It provides an accurate record of what happened and what were the consequences of that in terms of an individual or team’s performance. It takes the emotion out of a decision and should help coaches make smarter technical or tactical changes.
The gain line is the invisible line that runs across the pitch from one touchline to the other and marks the position the previous play started from. For example, if Team A has a lineout on the half-way line that is the gain line and the objective should be to get over it by the time of the next maul or ruck. In terms of strategy coaches need to be focused when they design their plays that the call will effect their ability to get over the gain line. They may be content to fail for one or two phases but only if they believe it will help them win a gain line later in the phases. Defence coaches are very gain line-focused. If the defence can win that battle they are a long way towards winning the match.
I’ve touched on this role in these pages before following the performance of Peter O’Mahony against Wales in the Six Nations. There are many different strategies around the defensive ruck. It all depends on the philosophy of the coach and the profile of their players. For example the tackle or jackal (it’s called either) is a strategy used by the Scarlets. As a player Simon Easterby was very hard working and technically efficient. He demands every player in his team plays as if they have an imaginary number seven on their back and expects them all to be able to contest the ball as well as a traditional openside would. The tackle/jackal places a high emphasis on the defender making the tackle and immediately getting back to his feet and trying to steal the ball from the ball carrier who must release it after he hits the ground. Even if the jackal doesn’t win the turnover, he should be able to slow the ruck down and also potentially force the attack to put another player into the ruck.
There is a huge amount of kicking in the modern game and increased accuracy and strategy behind the types of kicks coaches are using. That creates an emphasis on the defending team’s ability to catch those incoming kicks and maximise the success rate of the return. Obviously the skill of the catcher is important and it is worked on constantly but having a good kick escort is also crucial. The kick escort’s role is given to the player who is never going to catch the ball but is running back towards the spot where the ball will land to support his team-mate when it does land. His role is to run a blocking line to force the opposition chaser to veer around him thus giving the catcher a better opportunity to take the ball cleanly. Teams’ and individual players’ investment into their kick escort is often a great sign of how committed they are to the cause. Keep an eye on it this weekend and it will tell you a lot about a team’s psychology.
There are various terms used to describe the player at the attacking ruck first after a tackle has been made. By creating a role and job description for that person it’s far easier to problem solve and coach during a game or in a review. You also have a better chance of recycling quality ball as there is pressure on that first arriver to be efficient and accurate. His job, depending on the coach, will be to win that space just past the ball and negate the opportunity for the opposition to try and steal the ball. I believe that if the first man is accurate then the ruck is easy. You often here the cliché “put more numbers into the ruck” and if you lack resources that’s a valid statement but you often find the problem has started with the ball carrier and the first man to arrive. You can put six or seven in but if they aren’t detailed it’s too late and you will lose possession.
This is the pace or speed the defensive line runs towards the opposition once the ball leaves a set piece or a breakdown. Pundits and coaches will often blame or praise the line speed as a key factor in a loss or win after a game. It’s all well and good sprinting up to make a tackle but if that’s done as an individual it will most likely result in a defensive error. There has to be a good balance with line integrity, which is the speed all the players from props to wings can bring that line up together, and covering the space around the ruck and in behind for chip or cross-field kick. Another important factor is the area of the field the play is starting from. For example, it’s hard to get high line speed off a midfield ruck because you have to defend both sides and the attack have more space. Therefore line speed is dictated by several factors, most crucial of all though is organisation.
In essence there are two types of defensive systems: a drift and a rush. The principal of the drift defence is that you believe you are defending with 17 defenders against 15 attackers all the time, the 15 players and the two touchlines. If you were to draw it on paper it would generally have an up and out curve from the inside or starting point of the ruck or maul.
The rush defence doesn’t really care about the touchline as they believe they can stop the ball before it ever gets there. The Irish teams in general use an aggressive drift defence but can mix the two within games depending on the attack they face.
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