Thoroughness in basic skills cultivates winning habit
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One should inculcate winning habits
People kick dirt as they walk with no intention or purpose to what they are doing. Looks like they are walking and relaxing without a care in the world, disregarding what situation they are currently in. This is a way of being careless. The Urban Dictionary Defines this action as “kicking the S***.
Unless you have been in the habit of kicking dirt, you would not understand why somebody would kick the ball away, after the opponents score a try. This happened and cost Sri Lanka (SL) 3rd Place in the Asian 7s Series last Leg played in Colombo. It also put SL to face a situation where, if South Korea won the Leg in SL, it would have exposed the Tuskers to losing a slot for the qualifying 7s to be played in Hong Kong (HK).
HK and SL will be the Asian representatives in the qualifiers for the HSBC World Rugby 7s Series in April 2017, to be played alongside the HK 7s. It, however, needs more planning, commitment and involvement to realise the higher participation.
Commitment, understanding and knowledge are important, if we are to rise. Take the case of the 3rd/4th Place Playoff. Sri Lanka had a comfortable lead with 2 minutes left on the clock, but conceded 2 tries and a 3rd through an unwarranted kicking away of the ball after a try was scored. In 2 minutes, we lost what we had won. At this point, the hooter would have been sounded and things would have been left around without a foolish kicking of the ball. This resulted in a penalty and also a Yellow Card to boot. The penalty, for an offence after the try was scored, China took at the centre and had the best over Sri Lanka who had only 6 players on the field. Another issue was the marshalling of troops, which can improve with more matches and exposure. Options against contact small frames and kicking when challenged, have to be revisited. Seniority and age too, I believe, has no place in 7s. Decisions to be taken may be hard but, need to be taken.
How do we get there will be an issue with XVs League about to start. The League which raises little dust is yet the darling of the clubs. In this scenario, will they agree to release players for National Duty, if we are to prepare for the HK qualifier as well as the 7s next year? It is not easy to retain the overall 2nd position with China and Malaysia breathing down our neck.
It is, therefore, time to start more 7s like the Super 7s or, whatever you call it, that will draw young robust players who will have monetary benefit and form a core 7s group. The carnival must start.
This will have to be supported by a change in the philosophy of playing Rugby. What are we playing for and why are we playing? The focus now seems to be playing to win by whatever method you adopt. That is not what can be changed overnight, as people who spend want results and the people who benefit such as coaches, need to show results. In such a situation, will anybody be looking at the philosophy in terms of the National Game? It is the difference of balancing a win to sustain the expenses and the development of the player to higher levels.
Eddie Jones explains his philosophy and how coaches can improve young players: “Winning must come second to skills”. He says, “Coaches have to put the building blocks in place so skills are developed, winning mentality doesn’t necessarily produce good players”. I know from watching schools Rugby all over the world that, there is a great temptation to concentrate on winning above all else. The attention on winning is great in one sense but, it does not necessarily produce good Rugby players. You have to get that balance between fundamental skills and being obsessed with winning. Coaches should always look to establish ‘building blocks’ of the fundamental skills, such as catching, passing, tackling/breakdown, before the win-all mentality. It is essential for young players to be taught those fundamental skills so that, they can enjoy the game. Every session I coach, whether international, club or school I include basic, core skill work. Every player at whatever level, has to work at those skills. Some sessions I break down into 15-minute slots for each of those skills, and always ensure that when conducting attacking drills, players have defenders opposing them. That creates competition and makes them react to real players and events, rather than running round tackling bags.
On injuries in the sport, he says, “If the core skills are coached properly, then you are giving the player the best chance to play the game safely”.
On asked how a good ‘little un’ like the Brave Blossoms can beat a ‘big un’ like South Africa, “We had to find a way of beating the Springboks who wanted a set-piece game. That was the last thing we wanted because, we did not have the strength to compete in those areas. We wanted to do the exact opposite.”
This a lesson SL should take, as, even in the 7s, the players did what they cannot do. That is to make contact and try to beat the bigger men. On second thoughts, isn’t this the way we play in schools and clubs. We play with the forwards, rather than move the ball into space as quickly as possible, which New Zealand, Australia and Argentina did in the last World Cup. May be, we need coaches from Australia or Fiji, and referees from Fiji, to whom the flow is more important than the more than 40 mistakes our followers show to hack a referee.
We need to identify whether the problem is with the players and/or, with the coaching pushed by a winning philosophy. The knowledge of the laws is as equally important, especially in 7s. In SL, we played the Mercantile 7s using the rolling substitution experiment which was not implemented in the Super 7s. The Asian 7s Series used the rolling substitution which helps to rest the lungs of those who are taxed a lot. Was our team ready to use this, as we did not play the local 7s that way, as somebody said there is no such law. It owes so much to the pundit who says the wrong things and then justifies or, crucifies those who differ, just like the kicking tee.
* Vimal Perera is a former Rugby Referee, coach and Accredited Referees Evaluator IRB