How to be a better backs coach

When I run a backs session, I do not always predetermine what I am going to do. I am like a doctor. I ask questions, observe and then recommend.

So, I will watch the backs run through their plays. From there, I can identify the issues and then address them. If possible, I will test the moves under some pressure.

The most common issues are with footwork and alignment. An attacking backline must challenge the defence. The ball carrier needs to beat a defender with their footwork and body shape.

They can do this by their depth and width onto the ball and the pace at which they take the ball to the line.

Using simple plays

I have found that the backlines I’ve coached have been excited by the possibilities of changing their attacking shape.

We have not come up with a set of complex moves. They have found that they have had a lot of success by simply adjusting where they stood. From this, it has been easier to read the game and manipulate the defence.

That doesn’t mean we don’t have some strike moves in our playbook. We need these to probe the defence. But we don’t rely on them.

The danger of having a load of ’moves’ is that players choose to use them at the wrong time or for the wrong reasons.

I have often heard players say: “We tried that move because we haven’t used it for a while”.

Instead, players must look at the defence when they choose which move to use.

Two questions to ask

Think about: Firstly, what spaces are they giving me? Remember, no backline can cover the whole pitch. And secondly, how can we manipulate this defence?

One way your team can tell what space the defence is giving up is to work out who is tackling who. This gives you a good indication of the defensive system the opposition is using.

For example, if your 12 is being tackled by their 10, then they are using a drift defence. Your most effective moves will be the ones that hold the drift and go wide, or over-stretch the drift and cut back.

Coaching influence

The amount of influence you exert on the choice of backs moves depends on the experience of your team and how long they have been together.

Younger players need more structure and fewer options to choose from. That structure in their game helps to create the opportunities to play. However, you must give them confidence to go for those opportunities when they arise.

We call this “shooting the gap”. When you see a gap or a mismatch, take it!

Stress the defence

You can use the two options in this set-up to make the opposition change their behaviour in defence. Your 10 can then pick the gap to release the strike runner.

There are two simple ways in which you can put pressure on a defending back line:

1. Always make the blindside winger a threat. They should be lingering behind the 10 at the very least, and be a credible option in any move. This will focus the defensive effort on more than one point.
2. Ask your 12 to align much wider than usual. This asks the defence to react - what will they do? They might keep their original shape, which means space on the outside. Alternatively, the marker might shift out with the 12, allowing space on the inside.

Exploiting the spaces

In practice sessions, you can set up the scenarios using semi-opposed rugby to test out how your team might take advantage of the new formations. The play focuses on the decisions made by the 10.

Say your attacking 12 goes out wider than normal and their 12 does not - I would suggest to the attacking 10 that they aim at the opposition 12.

They can then release 13 with a long pass, or 12 if their 13 moves out to defend. If the defending 12 does go out to mark their opposite number, then your 10 attacks their 10 and passes to the blindside winger coming into the line, or 12 coming back on the angle.

CREATE THE HOLE

• Push your 12 further out. Your 13 will stand wider too.
• The defending 12 now has to decide whether to step in to mark the space or step out to mark 12.

THEIR 12 STEPS OUT

• Your 10 steps in and attacks their 10 hard.
• Just before contact, 10 pops to 14 running into the hole.

THEIR 12 STEPS IN

• Your 10 drifts into the hole.
• Your 14 attacks their 10.
• Your 10 miss passes to 13, who is running into the space.