The Lions tour is in full swing, and against the Force, we saw an impressive display. It started in the first minute, with Sheehan offloading the ball before grasping a second touch to open the scoring. However, the attack wasn’t their most impressive aspect on Saturday; instead, it was their exertions without the ball which …
Tag Archives: Analysis
Deconstructing Dominance: Analysing the Crusaders’ 7th Title Triumph
The Crusaders are the standard setter in Southern Hemisphere rugby having underlined this status with a 7th Super Rugby title in a row. Today we dive into the building blocks behind their triumph. First we look at how they use forwards in their attack before focussing on their ability to change the point of attack. …
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Kick to the title: A Leicester Story
In the final written piece of this deep dive into Leicester Tigers, we look at the strength of their kicking game. One of the key parts of any rugby side is their approach to the kicking game. As the modern game has developed controlling territory and “playing in the right areas of the pitch” has …
Chop, Jackal and Scramble: How Tigers Designed Their Title Winning Defence
Welcome to the second part of this series breaking down Leicester Tigers. Today we take a look at the formidable Leicester Tigers defence. The defence built by the superb Kevin Sinfield were the only side to restrict their opponents to below 20 points per game. A superb achievement given some of the attacking talent in …
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The Brutal Attack behind Leicester’s Title Winning Season AND How to beat it
Our story begins with a side languishing second from bottom. At the end of 2019/20 season Leicester were a side who had won just 6 games, and scored under 400 points. To resurrect themselves, in the space of two seasons is an admirable feat. But what exactly is behind the Tigers’ return to glory? In …
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What does Adam Beard’s try tell us about the Lions?
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 …
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Wayne’s Wales: Lineout
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 …
Wayne’s Wales: Defence
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 …
Wayne’s Wales: Kicking
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 …
How France’s Innovative Lineout Is Leading To Try Scoring Opportunities
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 …
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