Why you can't split tackling and defence

Tackling is a skill. Defence is a composition of skills that incorporates tackling, among other facets, that help to make your try line impregnable.

To teach tackling without reference to how you are going to defend could mean that you practice thousands of head-on tackles in training - but, actually, in a match, very few players will make that sort of tackle.

So if we are looking at how we teach and practise tackling within the realms of working on our defensive co-ordination, we need to ask ourselves what we are trying to achieve from our defensive efforts.

The answer ’to stop the other team from scoring’ doesn’t have enough detail and is taken as read anyway. 

Consider, instead, ’to press the opposition to the opposite touchline to force them out of space’ or ’to close down their outside options, forcing them back towards our forwards’.

The two styles of defence will employ a different type of tackle - pressing the opposition towards the touchline will use side-on tackles, while closing down the space will use more front-on tackles.

Avoid the early plant

Defenders who sit down into the tackle too early can easily be sidestepped. They need to keep moving and balanced

Derail the train

Have the tackler come from the side, especially against a larger player. It is easier to derail the train than to stop it head on. Avoid attackers running straight at defenders in training. Make the defender move