What made me rethink tackle training

Inspired by a great tackling photo I saw on Twitter, I was intrigued to understand more about the player who made this play.

Luckily Sophie, the player in question, came back to me almost immediately, and I was delighted to hear that one of her coaches was “Treacle”. Known to the non-rugby world as Jenny Davies, Treacle was one of the stalwarts of the Welsh Women’s international team. She was also not afraid to speak her mind when I was a coach, so I was even more delighted to find she was involved in developing women’s rugby in North Wales.

Sophie has been fortunate enough to have the likes of Treacle and Cenin Eifion guide her through her first four years of rugby. She talked me through how she learned to tackle and the key factors she felt were important.

While these factors are not disputed, there has been some debate about the effectiveness of the more traditional methods of tackle learning and development. I’m certainly one of those who think it needs to be more dynamic, with far less emphasis on bag/tube work.

However, Sophie’s traditional path has been one which many players have followed. And she’s one of the best in her age group in the teams she represents.

What makes her so good? I believe it’s the confidence she has in her ability, the understanding she has about how the tackle works and that it’s one of her strengths.

Speaking to her, you know that her mind is in the right place and that’s so important when it comes to tackling. Jim Love, the former Maori All Black player and coach, once said to me that tackling was 90% in the head, 10% technique. Let’s not forget that we must work on the mind and body. Sometimes, it’s the simplest exercises that work the best.