Watch Like an Analyst: The Six Passes of @BristolBears l Steven Luatua

Or

How upskilling your forwards revolutionises your attack

Upskilling = making better for any of you who don't work in a blue sky thinking office....

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As an analyst you look for the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition. If they had a forward with a particularly good passing skill set you have to ensure that your team are aware of it and during the preparation run-throughs you assign a non-starter to take their place.

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At a very basic level, the presence of Luatua, or a forward with those skills, forces teams to focus on them and that leaves less time to prepare for the multiple other threats Bristol bring.

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On a practical level what does Luatua bring?

He can pass a long way which stretches the defense which forces each defender to cover more space. That opens the gaps between defenders which means the outside defender can't drift early.

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Watch the video clip above. Luatua straightens towards the line, that stops the outside defender from drifting. Luatua's long pass forces the defender to charge to the sideline, opening up an easy side-stepping opportunity for the penultimate attacker.

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We'll talk about 1-3-3-1s and 2-4-2s another time - it's fascinating. Watch how Luatua, pushed out onto the wing, acts as a link twice to keep the ball alive. He could crash himself, but why bother when your team mates are in better positions and you can then clear out?

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This is maybe the best. When you have three forwards stood together the defense reacts by grouping their forwards there. That creates a seam between the last defender covering the forwards and the first defender covering the backs.

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Teams sometimes try to make that group of three forwards, the pod, wider to spread out the defensive forwards and put pressure on that seam. To do that you need a forward who can launch a pass like this. It is a thing of beauty.

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This is more about the initial run. Most forwards simply ship this ball on, allowing the drift and killing the opportunity. Luatua runs straight, ties in defenders and then passes. It is that action which keeps the fair defender close and forces the high tackle.

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This pass isn't textbook, admittedly, you want Radradra to be running onto it a bit more. But, Exeter send their outside defender up to force Bristol to either stay tight or throw a pass like that. Luatua calls their bluff and the gain is very significant.

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I say everything in rugby is connected. So let's look at this example and work out why Twelvetrees misses the tackle. Most analysts would say that Bristol score here because Twelvetrees misses the tackle, but that confuses cause and effect.

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Twelvetrees, I believe, misses this tackle because he sees Chris Vui charging through, Luatua with the ball, and his brain says this will be a pop pass with Luatua following up on the clear out.

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If Luatua passes too soon then Twelvetrees can re-align without any issues. Every millisecond Luatua holds onto that ball 12T gets more convinced it will be a pop pass and gets closer and closer to Vui's run.

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Then, Bang! Luatua passes out the back, Sheedy feeds Radradra and 12T and his outside defender have become separated. Radradra runs straight through that gap.

In future, if someone misses a tackle, try and work out why that has happened.

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Firstly, let's just appreciate that we get to watch Luatua at what might be his best.

Secondly, keep an eye out for how upskilled forwards make defending harder, specifically.

Thirdly, if you play or coach - please upskill your own forwards. It's so valuable.

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