Gate too narrow to defend or attack

[SimonSmith]

Good question.

I think some coaches do, others don't.

There is a dependency on the coach in some of the smaller/weaker teams. Almost to the point of blindness - run this play here, that one there. And the players do it even when they can see a better play in front of them.

I was at a coaching session last night helping out. What I liked about that session was the fact that the coach gave them a series of options that they can execute within a general philosophy of the game, and trusted them to make the right decision. He was also open to player feedback and suggestions which is something a lot of coaches aren't.

As I may have referenced before, though: the absence of coaching basics under pressure.

What will hold USA Rugby back won't be the quality of athletes, or pace or power. It will be game appreciation and execution of basics.

 

[Dave Sherwin]

Jarrod, sorry only to pick up on this now, but I think you make an excellent point regarding the desire of US coaches (and players) to "exploit" loopholes in the law. Having refereed for a number of years in the UK and having relocated 4 years ago to this side of the Atlantic, I definitely find it is a trait whenever I end up refereeing US teams, including US representative teams. When we have our sit-down with the coaches the day/evening before the match, I can guarantee that my coaches meeting with the US team will be two/three times as long as with any other representative team (and that includes Mexico where many of the questions and answers have to be translated due to my deficiencies in Spanish!) because they will be testing my thoughts on a range of "bright ideas".

However, we should be careful of thinking of this as a bad thing - amid many odd ideas are some great developments. For example, it was definitely the US and Canada VIIs squads who were the first among the elite teams to do the "knee-bounce" whilst tackling in the Sevens game in order to win themselves the tackle entry rights of a tackler when they were really more of a tackle-assist. It took most of an international sevens season for other teams to catch on and now it is, of course, common practice.

Interestingly, having attended some USA Panel Referee meetings, I think the trend to some extent extends to some US referees as well, who can look for nooks and crannies in the law that most of us would probably feel aren't there (and Rich is generally keen to knock those on the head). However, again, there are some interesting talking points that this generates so it is definitely a case of sorting the wheat from the chaff.