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So one of the big debates during and post Rugby World Cup was around England not having a proper 7 while teams like Australia and Wales were playing two specialists of that type. And by "that type" I mean a player who is strong over the ball in defence and wins turnovers.
The emerging All Black position appears to be that this is irrelevant. All 15 players should be strong over the ball at the breakdown. It's a good point. It's a skill not a function of body type and as the All Blacks have shown time and again, if you demand that every player have a particular skill; spin pass off both hands, ability to offload in the tackle etc, you get it. It's lazy thinking to say "props don't need to do that" or "you can't expect a full back to clear out a ruck".
The real issue, in their mind it seems, is how you tackle. For at least a couple of decades the conventional wisdom has leaned toward Rugby league style tackling; going hard and high on the ball carrier and trying to drive them back. It makes sense... in Rugby League. The problem in Union is that it's fairly slow which gives time for the support to arrive and so minimises the chances for a turnover. The pendulum seems to be moving towards the "chop tackle". In other words the old fashioned take the man's legs away. It may concede a metre or two but it puts the man on the floor faster and further away from his support allowing the defending side a much better chance of getting hands on the ball.
Needless to say, none of this is apparent in the Six Nations.
The emerging All Black position appears to be that this is irrelevant. All 15 players should be strong over the ball at the breakdown. It's a good point. It's a skill not a function of body type and as the All Blacks have shown time and again, if you demand that every player have a particular skill; spin pass off both hands, ability to offload in the tackle etc, you get it. It's lazy thinking to say "props don't need to do that" or "you can't expect a full back to clear out a ruck".
The real issue, in their mind it seems, is how you tackle. For at least a couple of decades the conventional wisdom has leaned toward Rugby league style tackling; going hard and high on the ball carrier and trying to drive them back. It makes sense... in Rugby League. The problem in Union is that it's fairly slow which gives time for the support to arrive and so minimises the chances for a turnover. The pendulum seems to be moving towards the "chop tackle". In other words the old fashioned take the man's legs away. It may concede a metre or two but it puts the man on the floor faster and further away from his support allowing the defending side a much better chance of getting hands on the ball.
Needless to say, none of this is apparent in the Six Nations.
