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The HakaIn a week or so I am to be instructed in the ways of the haka. In the event that this proves to be an Orwellian experience, in case I am rendered a Terpsichorean fool slathering and slobbering over the beauty of Maori dance culture, let me state now that I believe the haka to be a daft way to preview a sporting contest.
Wayne Smith: Decision Making on Attack TrailerA sneak peak of Wayne Smith’s latest video to be released on Friday. Wayne demonstrates a simple model to assist in guiding your players to attack the space provided by the opposition defence.
Reason's Round-UpOur resident journo’s weekly round up of news from around the rugby world, this week featuring: A very odd week indeed; de Vlliers sounding almost sane, strange happenings on planet Wallaby, Lievremont’s mad decision, match officials making up new laws and Flutey’s omission.
FitnessIt took me a couple of days to recover after our win over Australia at Eden Park. It was a hard physical test match – what you would literally call a bruising encounter – and without a high fitness level it would have taken me much longer to recover from the knocks…
JG's Round-UpOur undercover man’s weekly round up of news from around the rugby world, this week featuring: Springboks Captain Fantastic, England’s set piece dominance, Japans progress, a lack of yellow cards, the growing Rugby World Cup injury count and the launch of Matt Hampson’s book…
Reason's Round-UpOur resident journo’s weekly round up of news from around the rugby world, this week featuring: Johnson’s decisions, Welsh fitness levels, Scotland’s lead-up, Dwyer on the Wallabies performance and the All Blacks jersey debate…
Pitch Size MattersCan someone please tell me why there is a maximum pitch size but no minimum size. In recent years both the Osprey and Wasps have played blitz defences on small pitches and reduced rugby to a hit-athon…
Reason’s Round-UpOur resident journo’s weekly round up of news from around the rugby world, this week featuring: Shane William’s believes, England’s midfield tactics, injury fears in lead up to World Cup and how many players can a coach rest before it becomes a scandal?…
The Four BasicsIn this short video by All Black Captain Richie McCaw he describes the four simple things he thinks he needs to do well to be a good rugby player…
The Best in the WorldIt’s always interesting to select a World XV heading into a World Cup and then see how much it might have changed by the end of the competition. The players who often come through are from the smaller nations. We simply haven’t seen them play enough rugby at the top level to know how good they are…
Reason’s Round-UpOur resident journo’s weekly round up of news from around the rugby world, this week featuring: USA looses key World Cup player, the return of Stephen Ferris, South Africa’s loss to the Wallabies, the All Blacks starting line-up and Rugby World Cup ticket pricing…
What's bugging Wayne Smith?Laws that promote negative play make a lot of coaches want to throw rugby’s rulemakers under the deck of a scrummage machine. I am not talking about the laws that stop good, aggressive defence or the laws that hold attackers back from having an unfair advantage. I am talking about those laws that strangle an opportunity to attack before it has even started…
