ILLUSTRATIONArtlife2
Yu Tamura can now move into his usual position at fi rst receiver.
Michael Leitch has held his width. He fi nds himself in clear space
on the outside of the defensive line, but England’s fast line speed
prevents the ball reaching him in the wide channel. England’s Joe
Cokanasiga tackles Akihito Yamada man and ball, but the Japan wing is able to
offl oad to Leitch as England’s cover defence shifts across, cutting down the space.
Coaching points Controlling foot speed and holding depth are imperative to
counteract defensive line speed. Attackers need to get closer and move onto
the ball from depth. Offl oading drills can easily be designed in short channels
or grids – condition tacklers to go low for better offl oad success.
4
Even though he has support on his inside,
Leitch takes on the last line of defence,
full-back Elliot Daly. He moves as if to run
for the corner, forcing Daly to run fast
laterally and exposing a vulnerable inside shoulder. Leitch
steps off his right foot and his momentum takes him through
Daly’s attempted tackle and over the line.
Coaching points Using your upper body and an arced run can
force a defender to over-chase. Set up a ‘fi nishing’ corner on
the fi eld. Promote the defender in diff erent ways (eg, overrun
and too central, or slow into position leaving space in the
corner). Practising scoring 1 v 1 or indeed saving a try like
this is rarely done by coaches and can be a competitive end
to a session or a short skills session in its own right.
3
The cover defence includes Danny Care
pushing up from the backfi eld, plus Dylan
Hartley and Harry Williams drifting across.
Leitch steps off his right foot inside Care’s
tackle, dips his shoulder and bumps the No 9 to ground. As
he dips, Hartley’s tackle attempt is high which enables Leitch
to duck underneath the hooker and break free. Williams is
his next victim as Leitch fends off the despairing prop.
Coaching points I used to love allowing players in confi ned
spaces to work out ways of evading defenders, orientating
themselves in contact, using feet and getting away from
trouble. To practise this in training, set up a 5m x 5m grid
and conjure up live 1 v 1 and 1 v 2 situations, with defenders
coming at the ball-carrier from diff erent angles.WHO IS
SEAN HOLLEY?
A former Ospreys and
Bristol coach who has also
worked with Wales and
is now a TV analyst