Rugby Union will never be able to compete on a global level if it does not embrace a professional work ethic and mindset.
Rugby union is the best sport in the world! I guess I did not have to tell you that as those who will read this column will know it already.
How is it then that union, as a global sport, is so far behind the trend-setters? And no, the fact that the Rugby World Cup is the third most watched global sporting event does not change this, the fact is union is the sport of choice (most watched or followed) arguably in one country in the world only, New Zealand.
Some comments from individuals who are regarded as the leading experts in union has again re-affirmed that those who run the game, or has the power to change the game, are stuck in an archaic mindset.
One individual has everyone in the game talking at the moment, you know who I am talking about don’t you? Mr. Sonny Bill Williams.
There is no doubt that just about every single person that has anything to do with the game of rugby either as a commentator, coach, player or just a follower, is in absolute awe of the man. From parents encouraging their kids to do ‘Sonny-Bill’s’ (off-loads on tackles) to journalists literally salivating all over their keyboards when they write something about him.
I am not sure if I am just stupid and have no clue what I am talking about, or if the ‘hype’ surrounding the player is as simple as a player that has broken the norm in his approach (more by accident than anything else), and because of that has everyone deluded just to what he is all about.
Sonny Bill himself probably sits back and thinks to himself; ‘What are all these damn fools on about? I am just doing what is natural to me!’
Perhaps allow me to explain.
A comment from a leading rugby expert and legend within the game of South Africa recently mentioned on one of these Rugby Magazine shows on television that he believes that the 15 players you pick to run onto the field should be the best 15 guys, and the 7 left on the bench should only be used if completely necessary (in other words if one of the first 15 gets injured).
What???
Am I the only person on this planet that thinks that this statement is absolutely absurd? It seemed like it because his two in-studio guests all agreed with him (both Rugby World Cup winners no-less).
How, given the shifts the game of rugby has made globally since the start of professionalism, can we still not have the leading minds of the game accept that rugby is a 22-man game, played for 85 minutes? And if they cannot accept it, is it so surprising that our coaches still don’t get this or accept this and ultimately, neither do our players?
Not only do you have to coach, plan and strategize for a game today using all 22 players afforded to you to get maximum return from each individual and a massive advantage over your opponents on game-day, you have to ensure that you have at least 35 to 40 individuals in a squad system good enough to be called into a so-called ‘starting 15’ position on a 12-hour notice!
Which brings me back to Sonny Bill Williams…
Is this guys awesome? Damn straight he is! Is he a rugby phenomenon the likes of who we will see once in a lifetime? No, well yes…, if we continue to think about the game the same way we did 30 years ago, the Sonny Bill Williams’ of this world will come around once in a lifetime.
When I was first asked for my opinion on Williams a couple of weeks ago, I did not think he was anything special or phenomenal. What I did recognise is how he executes certain things on a rugby pitch with such brilliance, or better than anyone else, and does so consistently. You see I don’t think anything he does on a rugby field is groundbreaking or new, but why he does it so effectively is what caught my interest.
All of a sudden everyone wants Sonny Bill Williams clones, but has anyone actually asked WHY he is able to do what he does?
Firstly, recognise that Sonny Bill is a complete athlete, but being a complete athlete does not account for the ultimate product. We all know his background and influences, not only was he a league superstar, he is also a professional boxer.
In each sporting code you have different disciplines which are important if you are to succeed in them, more importantly in the context of this subject, it allows you to develop a specific skills sets which you would not normally develop if you had to practice just one of the codes and not all three like Williams has and still does.
Now I am not for one second suggesting send all rugby players on a league course or hand them a pair of boxing gloves, but what I am saying is that if you are to move forward, or stay ahead of the pack and develop the ultimate rugby player, you need to get your head out of your ass and realise the archaic mythologies we currently subscribe to is not good enough anymore.
Not only does a rugby team need a defense coach, they need a defense coach who is assisted by a contact expert.
Not only does a rugby team need an attack coach, they need an attack coach who is assisted by visualisation coach and experts in the field of biokinetics.
And I can carry on…
But what do most professional rugby teams have today? Well for some professional teams a dedicated defense coach alone is apparently a luxury…
I have no doubt Sonny Bill Williams’ ‘awesomeness’ is thanks to his development of specific skills no normal rugby player is currently exposed to, hence the fact he does what every rugby player has been doing for decades, he just does it differently, more effectively, and with greater consistency.
The one thing I will give Sonny Bill, is that he was an ‘accident’ that needed to happen in rugby union for some time now, and I can just hope that once we are all done wiping the saliva off our mouths admiring the exploits of this player on the rugby pitch, we will actually recognise the real reasons behind it.
But I fear listening to the leading rugby minds in South Africa currently, our own Sonny Bill’s are still some years away…
Agreed, like Lomu (Although completely different players, Lomu ran over you), this guy is way ahead of him time.
sonny bill jansen,sonny bill roux,sonny bill gerber,sonny bill du plessis,sonny bill gainsford nuff said….
@ Winston:
his time.
Reading this article makes me wonder if Pierre Spies would not have made an incredible 13 with his pace and strength, because we all know how he does not like the rough stuff in the tight stuff.
Once agree I have to concur with what you say, but need to add that the IRB are as responsible for keeping Rugby Union where it is on the world sporting stage as the dinosaurs like those “Ja Broers” on the magazine show you mentioned.
SBW is undoubtedly a breath of fresh air in Rugby Union, it’s a pity about the “snake in the grass” in Dublin that is slowly constricting the life out of the sport’s development.
“Putting Rugby First” says it all, and anyone who loves this sport and wants it to progress beyond “fringe status” on the world sports ladder should “google” the phrase, download the full brochure and read it thoroughly at your leisure.
morné jou doring
this is what i’ve been trying to say for the last few days …. he’s as good at offloading in the tackle, as good in getting the ball away to his support runners even with 2,3 tacklers around him,
because this is what he’s developed over a long time
…
now look at this
..
this has also been developed over a long time and may at time of pressure come to the fore … just as he can offload without thinking about it, so he can do the above without thinking about it!!
..
sorry
i know this is not what this article is about
but
i feel like pulling my hair out … cause we’re like idiots .. allowing him to do what he do best
but not forcing unto him situations that will bring out his worst!!
..
sorry about #6 guys
i will not comment again today!! 😳
Rugby League.
A sporting code for flankers.
No Scrums (to talk of), no line outs, and not allowed to “rip” the ball in a tackle.
The IRL are nearly as narrow minded as the IRB, and the average league spectator is about as far seaming as an amoeba.
I wrote an article about applying martial arts in rugby a while ago. That article was the product of 30 years involvement in karate. I therefore see things differently. I notice attacking strategies and footwork instananeously as a consequence of my karate background. SBW is so constistent and effective with his offload because he also see attacking lines and close contact situations differently. He developed the footwork and upperbody movement through his boxing to create space for himself at close quarters. He doesn’t think shoulder charge and leg pump when he goes into contact; his intinctive reaction when he goes into contact is to shift using his feet, to feint and sway by using his upperbody and hands and to keep a centered posture. Notice how his head and hips remains centered namely in a vertical line with each other whenever he goes into contact. It is that centerdness developed through boxing which allow him to shift away from the tackle on impact; to pull off the hand-off and to offload. It is also because of his boxing background that he caries the bal in one hand. With boxing you create an opening by leading with one hand; basically setting the openent up for the hit. SBW does the same with his hands but you can’t do this if you carry the ball in both hands like rugby union players have been taught over the last 100 years.
Good article and your main trust that rugby union has to start thinking professionally is I believe spot on.
Constructive comments and summing up of SBW here.
I have made it clear for a while that I believe he is the very best we have seen and will change the game.
South Africans, starting with PDV should realize the good that this player is bringing to rugby union and see him for that, rather than a Kiwi who we have to beat.
We need to embrace this positive force in rugby and allow rugby to progress as a result, rather than stick our heads in the sand like PDV.
The simple matter is that it is all about “THE BALL”
Something that we tend to forget about.
When SBW comes along and shows that even with modern day defences you can still be innovative and create ball contuinity at speed that allows defences to be broken and tries to be scored, we are seeing the future and should embrace it.
Instead we have a national coach looking backwards and showing no understanding of how the game should progress.
@ tight head:
How would you approach the SBW issue in your team planning and team talks.
I dont think we can in such a short space of time play that way ourselves, dont even think NZ have another SBW around, so what do you tell your team about him.
You can look at it 2 ways and yes i am again protecting PdeV.
Tell the World he is the best and secretly build a plan to eliminate the threat he is. Hoping they build their game around him and your plan works.
Or tell them his game is a fake and not real and hope he tries to do too much on his own and falls into the trap you planned for him.
Remember the hype around SBW is thrown in Peters face every time a NZ journalist interviews him, and yes he will take the bait, that is PdeV.
Although i realize that SBW is not the same player as Jonah Lomu, the same build up towards the WC is happening. Jonah was policed by Joost and that took him out of the games against SA. Joost had others supporting him but he was in Jonahs face all the time.
Who will take that role this year? I am sure that we have a few volunteers for that.
tighthead @ 10
why shouldnt we see him as a nzleander that we have to beat?
isnt that the measure of how good a player really is? when he’s been worked out, pressure’s been applied to his “weakness/es” and he still performing consistently?
@ McLook:
Another gent made a comment on his eyes.
If you look how many rugby players goes into contact situations with eyes closed (study photos on google there are millions) and compare that to Williams whose eyes are always open then it opens up a whole new area of possibility!
Of course, in boxing, if you punch or get punched and you close your eyes you will get floored in 5 seconds…
tighthead @ 12
i havent actually compared him to jonah,
but to the situation coaches were facing … finding weaknesses in the play of both these players
..
now, i’ll try and make this clear AGAIN
i have NEVER said that sbw is not a exceptional player
or
that, what he’s doing is not changing the face of union
but as he (by my estimate) must by now have more than enough praise singers, i’d rather not join that chorus (cant sing anyway!)
..
in his article morné wrote yesterday, he said (more or less) that the skills sbw have learned (and perfected?) came about because of the different sporting codes he took part in. now, those skills at this point in his career, come as natural to him as breathing … he dont need to think about it …BUT SO DOES HIS BAD HABITS!!
…
BAD HABIT 1
have a look at the link i posted at #6 (its called sbw’s biggest hits btw) … its all shoulder charges!! i wouldnt have posted that link, if it wasnt for the fact that we’ve seen similar shoulder charges from sbw in THIS YEAR’S super competition … which means that this bad habit is still there, and dont even need pressure to come to the fore.
…
BAD HABIT 2
falling backwards in the tackle … i know i’ve mentioned this one before, but please be patient with me here … this is his “safest bad habit” … (again .. from his league days) … expose him there by, as i’ve said before, running off the shoulder of the ball carrier etc etc etc and thus creating momentum through his channel, and he will have to go back to habit 1 (because he now need to tackle the ball carrier away from his support) and he will run the danger of conceding penalities or even being carded) or he need to do something completely different (read: out of his comfort zone).
..
if he comes through that … well, then good on him … if he doesnt, then maybe he’ll start doing things that he would in normal circumstances not even contemplate doing!!
@ Ashley:
These bad habits are a figment of your imagination.
They do not exist.
How many times is he being blown up for shoulder charging?
You are desperately looking for things that don’t exist.
@ superBul:
Firstly as the Bok coach you say nothing that gives anything away about how you intend playing and you saying nothing that motivates the opposition.
Then you quietly formulate a defensive plan for SBW and the runners running off him for the pop pass.
It is NOT just about who can stop him physically, it is about a strategy to deal with the runners at angles opening up the defense.
This is not just about SBW but about coaching that understands the challenges of the game in 2011.
A very good coach would be looking forward to this challenge, and planning the next step in taking the game forward in defense in just the same way the Crudsaders have taken it forward in attack.
This is what progress in international rugby should be all about.
New strategies testing players and coaches constantly in taking the game forward.
14@ Ashley:
The comments posted by Rugby League bloggers on the link make it quite clear that shoulder charging is quite acceptable in RL.
The fact that he employed this tactic then doesn’t mean he will continue to do so, but I agree with you that old habits do die hard.
As for holding the ball in one hand, we must also remember that Stripping the ball in the tackle in League is not allowed, so it would not have been an issue to SBW then.
It may be a weak link for the opposition to attack, but I can assure you that the AB’s will be working on it as well.
“The only thing we are certain of in this world is change.”
tighthead @ 15
tighthead @ 15
http://www.superxv.com/video/super-rugby-highlights-2011-sonny-bill-williams-shoulder-on-ryan-kankowski/sonny-bill-williams-shoudler-charge-on-ryan-kankowski-video_ec31fa574.html
…
then he had one 2 weeks against o’connor (cant find the clip)
..
thats the 2 i can think of for the moment, but there’s been more (will have a look for you)
tight head wrote:
You can off course also make wild statements , make them laugh at you and make them think you are a joke and WIN the bleddie thing and have the last laugh. :LOL:
@ Ashley:
How many yellow cards or red cards has he got in rugby union for shoulder charging?
This is the real point.
@ superBul:
PDV is for real.
He thinks he is being very clever when he talks!!!
Hee Hee Hee!!!
tighthead @ 15
you dont believe me?
ok, i’m gonna let sbw tell you himself!!
..
(from rugbyheaven)
“After I did that shoulder charge (ON KANKO) I was just pumped and A MINUTE LATER I went in for another big shoulder charge and hit `Owie’ (Owen Franks). Sometimes I get that aggression but I know that is an easy fix. It is just a mindset thing and I am old enough to handle it.
as sonny bill gaan sit sak die son,waarvoor die vreeslike ophef hy het twee bene sonder hulle kan hy nie hardloop nie,hy het twee arms sonder hulle kan hy nie pass nie,regtig mense hy dra nie n blou suit met n rooi onderbroek nie,en sy naam is nie clark kent nie,jammer juan speel nie die naweek nie…
tighthead @ 20
sorry tighthead, but you’ve lost me there … are you agreeing that he’s shoulder charging or not? (lets forget about the yellow cards atm … oh, and i know of 1 instance in which he has been carded, but i’m not sure whether theres been more after that)!
..
anyway, i’m not trying to moan about his shoulder charges
but
trying to point out that
if you expose habit 2, you’ll f*ck up his mindset, and he’ll have to turn to the only other thing he knows.
IF and IF he gets penalised and/or carded, he’ll come back and try to do extra things to make up for his earlier f*ck up .. if we’re lucky he’ll even f*ck that up … then see heads drop .. not only his, but also those of his teammates that by now must start believing that he’s a demi-god!!
smallies @ 23
😀
@ Ashley:
My point is that if he shoulder charges at times that does not represent a weakness in his game unless he is being penalized for it.
In much the same way MCaw spending half the game off sides at the breakdown is not a weakness in his game until he gets blown up.
So whether he shoulder charges or not is only relevant to what I have said above.
There a lot of “if’s” in your description of how to unsettle him!!
He is not superman and a strategy to deal with him can be employed by a good coach with competent players as I have said in my earlier post.
It is his detractors who are over emotional about him not his supporters!!
He has brought something new to rugby union which is badly needed and instead of putting him down the whole rugby world should be happy that he has moved the game forward.
@ smallies72:
solank ons spelers net nie dink hy is invincible nie. Maar respek is nodig, BAIE.
tighthead @ 26
the fact that i have been discussing one person, and only one, for the last three days on here,
should give you a fair indication of how big an impression this guys has made on me
..
but its almost like you see this guy’s handling-, offload, running skills and go WOW!! :amazed face:
but
then you see him tackle!! 😆
..
jeez, lets put it like this .. uhm ..
theres nothing wrong with his tackling
EXCEPT
that theres something wrong with his tackling!!!
28@ Ashley:
There’s nothing wrong with the Lions’ tackling either.
They just don’t believe it’s required in the sport of Rugby Union.
@ Ashley:
Hey Ash!!
He tackles them.
They fall over.
Nothing wrong!!!
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