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How to use the left-footed kicking game to your advantageA good left boot could help stretch the backfield defence to both corners of the field. The recent tour match between Ireland and the Maori All Blacks was an object lesson in the importance of left-footed kicking.
How to find the pressure points with the midfield kicking gameThe kicking game is employed in between the two 10m lines for attack purposes. However, as Nick Bishop explains, it only really works if you have a specific target in mind.
How to set the tackle trapNick Bishop highlights in this week’s analysis how by setting ‘tackle traps’ the attacking side can help the referee and the game as a spectacle.
Does New Zealand need a true lineout number 8 in the Kieran Read mould?The previously unbeaten Blues lost a total of ten of their own throws to the lineout in their Super Rugby Pacific 2022 final loss to the Crusaders.
Nick Bishop details the key to the Crusaders’ successful lineout plan.
How to use the attacking lineout drive to split the defenceThe maul remains one of the most contentious issues in rugby. Nick Bishop looks at the latest contentious development by a team, in this instance the ACT Brumbies, of playing as far ahead of the ball as possible at the maul.
How to double up at the defensive breakdownWin more of the collisions between attacker and defender and go forward in the tackle, and you will probably win the game – that is how the theory goes.
Using the recent European Champions Cup final, Nick Bishop puts some context to the theory.
Why a scrum-half has to be the fittest man on the teamThe modern scrum-half not only has to be the fittest man on the paddock in terms of aerobic endurance, he also has to be able to use his judgement. as evidenced in Nick Bishop’s analysis.
How far can you clean out ahead of the ruck?What is considered too far for support players clearing out?
A ‘reasonable’ distance with ‘advantages’ as Nick Bishop details in this week’s analysis.
How to use the reverse-pass to split the wood up the middleNick Bishop explores how a sussessful old move – the reverse pass, is gaining popularity to open new defences.
How to shave the odds by narrowing the gap at lineout timeLineout defence is becoming ever more important in the modern game, as the lineout becomes the by far the major weapon of choice for set-piece attack.
Nick Bishop details ways in which teams are successfully defending the Lineout.
How to run same-way attack with angled cleanoutsIt is always nice when circumstances come together to make theory absolutely limpid, and crystal clear in practice.
It is even better when they do it in such a way as to tie more than one theme together at the same time.
As Nick Bishops connects recent analysis with a recent super rugby match.
How to find the right angle at cleanout timeIs the breakdown cleanout NFL blocking by another name?
Nick Bishop provides some weight to Offensive Linemen techniques being employed in this week’s analysis.
Why defence begins behind the goal-line, not in front of itThe new trial laws brought in on 1st August 2021 not only increased the effective attacking width of the field with the 50/22 kicking rule, but as Nick Bishop highlights they also extended its depth.
How to find scenarios to make the 50/22 workThe 50/22 kick is beginning to grow in value as the different scenarios in which it can be an Attack option are recognised more clearly.
Nick Bishop details some recent examples in this week’s analysis.
Why rugby news travels fast in the global gameA prop in the back field returning kicks in Australia Super rugby one week and in then the 6 Nations the next!
Nick Bishop explains how it has come about and why?
Anatomy of a try: how kicking duels create countering chancesWhy is defence and the kicking game so important?
Analyst Nick Bishop explains why and how its lead to constructing an effective attacking game.
How to make a same-way attack really workThe most basic version of attacking in the professional era is the so-called ‘same-way’ or ‘around the corner’ attack.
Analyst Nick Bishop details how to really make this attack work.
Is the box-kick exit going out of fashion?How to successfully pressure the box? Nick Bishop illustrates how teams are now finding ways to pressure the box kick even with ‘caterpillar’ protection.
Why do you need ball-playing forwards to create width on attack?Ball playing tight forwards are the ones creating space in which their backs can flourish. Analyst Nick Bishop details how and the positive results.
What can ‘tactical periodization’ mean in a game of Rugby?‘Tactical Periodization’ is becoming a popular phrase in the sporting vocabulary. What is it? How is being effectively used in Rugby? Analyst Nick Bishop explains ‘TP’ and how it is being adopted into Rugby.
Why the modern lineout peel is back to frontThe times they are a-changing, and peels from the lineout are no longer confined to the open-side of the field. Nick Bishop explains why in this week’s analysis.
How to locate and exploit the low-energy defenderNick Bishop depicts how Teams like to use multi-phase attack to exploit the low-energy defender.
Why ‘lefty-righty’ is so important on attackNick Bishop highlights the attacking value of distributors who can offer superior quality with their left-to-right passing.
When is a knock-on not a knock-on?If the ball goes forward off, it is a knock-on and a scrum to the opposition, right? Well not always the case as Analyst Nick Bishop highlights in this week’s analysis.
What does economy at the cleanout really look like?The new ruck guidelines have accelerated the blurring of boundaries between ball-winners and ball-users, contact ‘grunts’ and mercurial play-makers.
Analyst Nick Bishop illustrates the effect it has on different positions and the game.
Ennis Rugby Club producing Red DiamondsHow did 3 of 6 academy players come from Ennis Rugby club, in Co Clare, Ireland, not exactly a traditional powerhouse of Munster rugby appear in a European Champions Cup match and win? Luck of the Irish or the result of a successful development programme?
Why does defence look so different in the modern era?Why is there a need to keep pace in the observation, and explanation of the game of Rugby? Many of the understandings in the game still derive from the amateur era, or the early days of professionalism. Nick Bishop uses modern defences as an example in this week’s analysis.
Why Rugby is creeping into the grey area at ruck and maulProfessional coaches spend an awful lot of time looking for loopholes, or grey areas within the rugby lawbook which they feel they can exploit. Analyst Nick Bishop looks at the latest evidence of Lawbook loophole occurring in the English premiership.
Who won the joust of styles at number 9 in Paris? – Part 2In Part 2 of how the different No 9 styles can work in harmony with the new breakdown guidelines, Nick Bishop examines the mechanics of the outstanding All Black’s distributing No 9 Aaron Smith’s style of play.
Who won the joust of styles at number 9 in Paris? – Part 1Nick Bishop examines the mechanics of how the different No 9 styles can work in harmony with the new breakdown guidelines. Part 1 of 2 articles focuses on the strong and powerful French No 9 Antoine Du Pont’s style of play.
