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Watch Like an Analyst - Winging It
Apologies for the lack of these over the weekend. I was enjoying a weekend with @DitchlingRugby , owners of the most beautiful pitch in Southern England. Give them a follow.
Thanks to @micheleamos7 for this idea
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Apologies for the lack of these over the weekend. I was enjoying a weekend with @DitchlingRugby , owners of the most beautiful pitch in Southern England. Give them a follow.
Thanks to @micheleamos7 for this idea
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Question: What is the role of a winger?
There are many answers to this, but none of them are/is (which I think is grammatically right) - "stay on the wing and finish off a move".
Wingers are often the quickest, most agile members of the team. Why hide them?
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There are many answers to this, but none of them are/is (which I think is grammatically right) - "stay on the wing and finish off a move".
Wingers are often the quickest, most agile members of the team. Why hide them?
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Take a look at this example, same as above. This is a maul from a lineout on the right hand side of the pitch. What does your right winger do here? At so many levels of rugby the answer is - stand on the wing in a completely unthreatening manner.
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Let's work through this logically:
1. The winger can now contribute to the attack
2. That draws the opposition left winger away from the maul
3. That frees up space around the maul making it easier to attack off the back of the maul
4. You now have two attacking opps
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1. The winger can now contribute to the attack
2. That draws the opposition left winger away from the maul
3. That frees up space around the maul making it easier to attack off the back of the maul
4. You now have two attacking opps
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Watch how that works for Ollie Thorley's first try against Leicester. Jonny May comes into the midfield, overloading it, and helps put Thorley away on the outside.
If May stays on the wing then Tigers just add their winger to the defensive line and the try doesn't happen
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If May stays on the wing then Tigers just add their winger to the defensive line and the try doesn't happen
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Look how the Scarlets use the terribly coifed Steff Evans. At Old Knobheads 3rd XV he would be stood behind the lineout offering nothing. Here the Scarlets use Evans as a crash ball option - going for agility over power to get through the defense.
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You can use your wingers away from set-pieces of course. How often do your wingers pass to each other? McNicholl and Evans link up here in the midfield to carve through the defense. The other option was for Evans to pass then stay stuck on his wing.
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If you are coaching you need to give your wingers the confidence to go looking for the ball. That means absolving them of blame if they do go looking and leave their wing exposed.
If you are a winger then back yourself to go and find some work. Otherwise you'll be bored
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If you are a winger then back yourself to go and find some work. Otherwise you'll be bored
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Finally, rugby is a game of match-ups. A 7 v 5 is converted more often than a 5 v 7. You're entitled to leave your winger on their wing, but why would you want too? You're just deliberately disadvantaging yourself.
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Next match look out for the wingers emerging from their wings. Try and identify when and why they do it and what impact it has on the opposition.
If you're a winger then try this out for yourself, and if your coach tells you off, send them my way.
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If you're a winger then try this out for yourself, and if your coach tells you off, send them my way.
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