A little bit of Ruck help

[wolfie]

Hi

I am in my second season now, have been well assesed and am getting good reports. I speak with coaches, fans, captains and players after every game and the one recurring comment I get is "a lot of hands in the ruck." I know I do penalise this a fair bit, But I definatley seem to be missing a lot too. I have listended to advice but still seem to be struggling managing the ruck. I cant see where I am going wrong.

I do go through in my head and shout, "tackler away, release, no hands, stay on your feet" and so on.

Does anyone have any advice on how they keep on top of the Ruck that might me be helpful.

I wouldn't say I am doing it very badly, but it is the one recurring theme at almost every game.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Lee Lifeson-Peart]

............

 

[Lee Lifeson-Peart]

"tackler away, release, no hands, stay on your feet" and so on.

No hands doesn't necessarily follow the first two. Remember first one in is quite within his rights to have a go at picking it up - assuming on his feet, through the gate etc. Has the first man in actually got it off the floor? therefore another oppo in making contact is not forming a ruck. Then if he's grappling for the ball as well what you've got isn't a ruck it's two oppos fighting for the ball. i) Get the tackler way and the ii) release sorted and at our levels you'll see the ruck form. Assuming i) and ii) if first man in can't pick it up it's invariably a penalty for holding on.

Trouble is just as you get used to it at your level they'll move you up and it starts again. :sad:

Don't call ruck too early!!!

 

[gillburt]

I was having problems until someone on here suggested I was maybe calling ruck too early.... I'll give 'em some time now (not much) before calling.

I've also started saying, from the moment there is a tackle...

"release..... ruck.... no hands"

Less words, less noise, players seemed to respond more.
Also freed up my brain from talking to concentrating on what's happening.

Prior I was going "Tackle, tackler release, now roll away, that's ruck, no hands"...
I Often found I was getting to the "ro.." bit and the ball was out, I never felt in control and probably it came across like that too.

In recent assessment, got told my reffing of rucks and mauls was very good (apart from my positioning) *cough*

 

[nealed]

agree
give it a bit of time before calling ruck
allow the first man into tackle the chance to get ball
they wont moan so much about hands if you dont call the ruck
it also gives you time to think
you can still ping for hands even if you dont call ruck
tell the players at the brief that you will do your best to help manage the game but cant promise to call ruck every time
remind them that they also have a responsibility to be aware when a ruck has formed

 

[Davet]

Don't call "ruck" until there is one.

1 player from each side, on feet, bound together over the ball on the floor (or on top of player on floor - which is normally deemed to be on floor).

When there is one, call it, "Ruck". You may want to add "No hands", shouldn't be necessary, but can help - don't call it if there are no hands in anyway.

You don't need to call it for it to be a ruck, but why not? You must have established in your mind its a ruck, simply vocalize that as the thought happens.

 

[beckett50]

1st ensure a ruck IS formed

As soon as you shout "RUCK!" anyone that handles the ball is liable to PK. Talk early to the Captains to nip the behaviour in the bud. If it persists pull a card from your pocket.:wink:

 

[Dixie]

Good advice above. It sounds as though you are saying and thinking all the right things - the question then is whether you are seeing the right things? The biggest issue here is fitness - if you are off the pace, and calling from a distance, you well miss the initial illegality of the flankers. Not much you can do about that, except to resolve over the summer to work really hard on your conditioning, and get yourself around the park a bit quicker.

As you move up the levels, the breakdown action becomes much more snappy and crisp. If you get two evenly-matched opensides, the competition in the first second after the tackle can be intense, and whoever wins it secures possession. You really have to be on top of those guys, to see what's going on and decide which of them was illegal first (they're never legit - they're flankers for goodness sake )

 

[backrow]

(they're never legit - they're flankers for goodness sake )

I object at least once in my time I was legit.

 

[FlipFlop]

(they're never legit - they're flankers for goodness sake )

I object at least once in my time I was legit.

At kick off you were onside once?

 

[gillburt]

(they're never legit - they're flankers for goodness sake )

I object at least once in my time I was legit.

Slacker...

 

[lawsons]

I watched a county match on the TV and noticed the ref calling players numbers almost every ruck. In fact he was calling for the tackler to get away before the tackler had finished tackling sometimes. I was very impressed. Often he would name more than one number ' green 13 and 12 away' etc. The players duely cleared out and the tackle area was much cleaner as a result. I tried it at my next match and realised how hard a skill this is. He either had remembered each player and his position or was registering their numbers before they tackled so that he could call them when they did. When I got it right it worked like a charm and much better than the bog standard ' tackle away' etc.

My tip therefore is get the tackler away first - it gives you a better line of sight and enables cleaner possession - thus less mucks. Be really strict on this from the off - even bin someone - you will then be able to see whose doing what better.

 

[Simon Thomas]

good advice all round above

to d the 30,000 feet view :

your objective is to have a text-book tackle / ruck process and handle it stage by stage to get the first offence - so first action is tackler away

1. tackler release & away, 2. tackled player pass/place/release, 3. tackler back on feet, 4. arriving players on feet, through gate, etc 5. player bind over ball (ruck)

if the players do it all correctly there is no need to call anything -silence is golden !

if there is non compliance then use a balance of preventative (warnings) & punative (PKs) measures to get compliance (the balance is your judgement and comes with experience)

don't call ruck too early (a common error by level 7s and downwards) as you will deprive players of hands contest as still at tackle phase

don't call ruck / hands off if you don't need to (urban myth is that ruck or hands off is called every time) as it is just white noise and reduces effectiveness of the call when you do use it. the players and spectators may be impressed at all your calls but the assessor may not be !

call colour and number every time (e.g. tackler - red 7 - roll away) you use a preventative or advisory

do not 'parrott' calls - red 8 hands off, red 8 hands off - he has done the job of delaying the ball by then !

 

[Mike Selig]

Agree with most of what's been said. The key is for you to get to the tackle early (you should be there before the first arriver to have any chance). This season I've been talking less and have found that less is more (at least in the level 9/10 matches, when moving down to 12/13 it is entirely different).

As Simon T says, if you say something say it once. I am all too frequently astonished by some refs on the box who say "hands out" 3 times and don't penalise. I tend to say "no hands, ruck" which is already in my viewx saying the same thing twice so if there's a hand in after that it's advantage straight away.

But having said that, DO make sure the teams are allowed to compete for the ball at the breakdown. Particularly at lower levels a too frequent use of "let it come blues" will fustrate the players and they will start cheating more than before.

And finally don't be afraid to praise positive play, particularly if reffing junior rugby.