Restarts and kick-offs (from the halfway)

Receiving a kick-off

The Guru said he would deal with kick-offs and here he is as good as his worthwhile word.

Usual formation of forwards receiving a kick-off:

Most sides will kick off to their left so that if the receivers wish to kick the ball back downfield they will have to do it from the left foot. The standard line-up of the receivers is this:

3, 7 and 14 in the five-metre area on the right of the field, 3 on the 10-metre line supporting 5 who is there with him, 7 is on the 22 and 14 is on the line 5 metres from the goal line. 2 is on the intersection of the 10-metre line and the 15-metre line and 8 is on the 10-metre line in the middle of the field. 4 is on the 15-metre line about 5 metres ahead of the 22 and he is supported by 3 on his touchline side. 9 is on the 15-metre line just inside the 22 with 13 parallel to him in the middle of the field 6 is behind 2 and 8 more on 8s side of the field and he is behind 4 and 1. 15 is on the left of the field close to the 15-metre line and on the line 5 metres from the goal line. Inside the 5-metre line on the left parallel to 15 is the blindside wing. 12 is between the 22 and the 10 metre line just about 5 metres in from the left-hand 15-metre mark.

This is a painful way of describing this but, as I am unable to include diagrams with my articles, it is the only way I can do it. I suggest you draw a field on a piece of paper and as you read the description, pencil in the numbers in the place described and you will see the pattern and understand why it is the generally accepted one.

Place your men so that they can run into the ball rather than having to move backwards to take it. Some coaches even put the players on the right-hand side in touch so that they can move in to the ball rather than have the ball land behind them and roll into touch. Many coaches do away with the supporting props and leave the receiver to jump unassisted in taking the ball. The props move into gaps to cover any holes from the kick-off. You will see that 6 and 7, behind 1 and 4 on either side of them are positioned to run off the ball as dummies or receivers. Scrum-half is deep enough to move up behind any play that develops. 10 and 14 watch the deep kick to the right as do fullback and 11 on the other side of the field. 13 is positioned to run as is 10 and even 14 while 15 and 11 can come up to run and 12 can drop back, depending upon the situation, also to run. He is where he is to stop the short kick and that, too is why 2 and 8 are up on the 10 metre line.

Let me simplify it by saying just make sure that each player is in a position to accept a kick, to support the receiver, or to run in support in attack. There are dozens of variations determined by the coaches usually to suit their style of play which in turn depends upon the available talent. I, for example, like to have my 8 back from the 10-metre line, closer to the 22 so that I can use him as a runner. I move my fullback, who is usually a counterattacker and a runner to a position where he can spark off a counter deep on the right-hand side of the field and I bring the fly-half up to play off his scrum-half leaving 11 pretty much on his own to cope with the deep blindside kick; there is always time for the other players to fall back to help him.

The staid coach will tell his players to consolidate from the kick off by supporting the catcher and forming a ruck or maul, playing back to a deep fly-half who will kick downfield behind the opponents who have come up quickly in a line to pressure you from the kick-off and, there is no doubt that this is effective because you will be moving forward with the opponents moving back. Often they will return the kick but at least then, if it goes into touch, it will be your line-out, your possession and if you have put enough pressure on the kicker you could force a poor touch. Once again, it is sense to put the opponents on the left foot. So if their re-start was to your right you would kick down the right-hand touchline to put the receiver on the left footed kick.

A very effective kick is from the scrum-half from behind his ruck or maul high and behind the opposing left-wing. Opposition fullback will normally be hovering around midfield covering both sides and opposing blindside wing will, one hopes, be up to pressure you from the kick-off. 

At worst from a good kick-off from the opponents we try to set up a maul or ruck and then play behind the opponents; better, we set up a maul which drives towards the midfield opening up a blindside and then we attack on the blindside. Any deep kick we immediately move wide as quickly as we can, using skip passes and dummy angle-runs. I use my loose forwards to attack on the blindside from mauls and rucks. Best option of all I try to avoid ruck or maul by getting the forwards to move the ball amongst them in close supporting play - hand to hand as we used to call it; there is little more effective than that in rugby especially from a kick-off where the forwards opposing you are focussed in one area and have come up fairly flat and quickly so if you break through their initial line of defence you are right through. It is difficult to do nowadays where every forward seems conditioned to go to ground with the ball as soon as he possibly can - I abhor that! We practise this close hand to hand stuff by running the forwards 4 at a time through two lines of backs, 4 on either side of the 5 metre line about ten metres length; the backs carry contact shields and are staggered in position. Their job is to knock the hell out of the forwards with their bags while the forward try to maintain a steady forward movement, passing from hand to hand, in deep support and trying to pass before contact but not before "pinning" the back so that he cannot move across to defend. The backs with shields may move only sideways, not forward or back, though as the forwards improve, you get the backs to move into their "tackles" a pace or two. It is an excellent exercise. It is also good to let the forwards do the defending and get the backs to run through them passing before contact - I find the backs excel. 

In the next article I shall deal with the side giving the kick-off.