Throughout the Lions tour we have seen Gatland developing the structures he believes will beat the Springboks. While most of the games were not of the highest calibre, they have provided a useful laboratory for the Lions. By looking at Adam Beard’s try against the Stormers, we can begin to see the fruits of their …
Continue reading “What does Adam Beard’s try tell us about the Lions?”
The British and Irish Lions face South Africa this summer in what promises to be a fantastic series. Both sides are incredibly well matched, and it is almost certainly due to come down to small margins. One area of the game that will be incredibly tight is the lineout. South Africa had an incredibly strong …
Under Wayne Pivac the Welsh lineout has been quite the roller coaster ride. In the 2020 Six Nations Wales had perhaps the worst lineout. Using Simon Gleave’s Lineout Effectiveness Metrics they sat bottom, however by the end of the 2021 competition they had risen to the top. This piece won’t focus on how they fixed …
Under Wayne Pivac, Wales had a rocky start defensively, conceding over 90 points across for the first time since 2015 in the 2020 Six Nations. The defence wasn’t any better when Wales played in the autumn, when they conceded the 3rd most points of any team. There were still some problems with the defence under …
Wales under Wayne Pivac have developed into an innovative and forward thinking side. They have melded various strategies and tactics into a high skill, attack minded gameplan. The development however has not just been on the attack, with innovation also present in their kicking strategy, whether it being double footed scrum halves, 2 man chase …
Under Wayne Pivac, Wales have developed one of the strongest attacks in the Northern Hemisphere. In the 2021 Six Nations Wales scored the most points on their way to the title. One of the main drivers of this success has been the innovations by Pivac and Stephen Jones especially around the “no numbers on back” …
France are the big story of international rugby in 2021. From the strong showing against Italy to an assured victory over Ireland, Les Bleus have continued to make good on the promise they showed in 2020. They have also been innovative, and their first try against the men in green shows a new development of …
Continue reading “How France’s Innovative Lineout Is Leading To Try Scoring Opportunities”
As Ireland arrived in Cardiff, there was a degree of dread in the Welsh capital, after a less than fruitful 2020 in which Wales had only won three games, against Italy (2) and Georgia (1). This set the background for a clash where Wales were considered the slight underdogs. However, as the game progressed Wales …
Continue reading “Wales’ tweaked attack structure bears fruit in win over Ireland”
From the team selected to the lack of preparation before the test series the lions tour to South Africa will get exponentially more coverage over the coming months. The squad selected to face the Springboks this year, will be Warren Gatland’s first major headache with the back row key to the squads success. Gatland will …
Continue reading “Player Stats Deep Dive: The Back Row to beat the Springboks.”
The Gallagher Premiership returned last Friday, and while the ink had barely dried on the final, we were served up with some great rugby. The first two tries of the Premiership season whet the appetite, and showed what could be in store this season. Both had remarkable similarities, starting from a lineout and being finished …
Continue reading “The Lineout Launch: An analysis of the Premiership’s two opening scores”
The Analysis Guy