Set Piece
Constructing the lineout drive as an attacking setpiece
At the top level of the game, the lineout drive has become the set-piece weapon of choice for many successful teams, ...
Insight & analysis
Articles
Deep dives on the modern game from The Rugby Site's contributors and coaches.
Attack
How the All Blacks are becoming a typical Dave Rennie team on exit counters
Current New Zealand supremo Dave Rennie has brought the same principles to the running of the All Blacks that he espoused in the Waikato ...
Set Piece
Is the new maul law working out as intended?
A minor, apparently trivial change can trigger an unforeseen set of consequences within the same system, and a major chain reaction furth...
Latest posts
News & Opinions
Continuity the key to continued success for England
In a sporting landscape where the news of a coach losing their job often appears as common as a kick off, word of one...
Breakdown
Winning the fight on the ground
Josh Syms’ excellent new series, focusing on techniques adopted by both sides at the breakdown, illustrates the amoun...
Attack
Why Scotland are sending opponents homeward ‘tae think again’
Scotland have won 13 out of their 21 matches, and five out of their last seven under coaches Vern Cotter and Gregor T...
Leadership & Management
The benefit of coaching out of your comfort zone
Ronan O’Gara is set to swap French Top 14 side Racing 92 for the Crusaders in New Zealand next month in a bold bid to...
Breakdown
How did the trial laws at the breakdown work out in end-of-year tour internationals?
World Rugby’s trial laws for 2017 included some potentially game-changing alterations at the breakdown. The end-of-y...
News & Opinions
Money talks in World Cup bid process
In the wake of their success, even France acknowledged that the current financial model and the selection criteria ma...
Attack
Is the All Blacks midfield beginning to gel?
Analyst Nick Bishop considers whether the the current All Black’s midfield combination finally starting to ‘gel’. Or...
Breakdown
Rolling, rolling, rolling… why a double movement can cure the problem of isolation
In theory, the laws of World Rugby require everyone involved in the tackle on offence or defence to move away from th...
News & Opinions
Is the congested calendar slowly killing the game?
Graham Jenkins considers ongoing debate about the physical and mental demands of what is quite clearly an over-conges...
Set Piece
The All Blacks scrum and the theory of marginal gains
“Aggregation of marginal gains… the 1% margin for improvement in everything you do.” Put all those little micro-wins ...
Attack
Running attacking decoy plays in theory and practice
The viability of using decoys on attacking plays has become absolutely essential at all levels of the professional ga...
