It is easy to think of a Rugby tackle as simply the enthusiastic application of brute force against an opposition player, but the best tackles are not necessarily defined by the hardest hits. In much the same way as martial arts seek to use the momentum of an opponent to gain an advantage, so the judicious application of a few key principals can help increase your tackle count and even the odds when faced with an opponent who is bigger, stronger or more mobile. What follows are my ten top tackling tips.
Assess the opposition
Rugby is a thinking man's sport, and the most effective Rugby players are constantly assessing the situation on the pitch, playing "heads up rugby" as championed by former England coach Brian Ashton. In terms of tackling, you must examine the attributes of the 3 or 4 key players you are most likely to have to tackle during a game at every opportunity. As a flanker, this could be the opposition flankers, the number eight and the scrum half, as a full back it could be the scrum half and centres. Look at how fast they move, how they run, are they direct? do they like to sidestep? do they like to hand off? by knowing what your opponent prefers to do you can preempt their attempts to avoid the tackle.
Step to the side
To stack the odds in your favour you must impose your will on the player you are about to tackle. One of the simplest ways to do this is to step slightly to one side of the player as he runs toward you. If you stand centrally, most forwards will choose to run directly through the tackler, using a hand off or a dropped shoulder to power past. By stepping to one side, the strength advantage is immediately negated allowing the tackler to make the tackle without having to fight against the forward. Against a back, standing centrally allows the fleet of foot to sidestep to the left or right, leaving the decision to the attacker. By standing to one side, for example to the left, the attacking player can only go right unimpeded, any sidestep to the left has to cross the tackler, making the tackle much easier. 9 times out of 10 the attacker will go right, meaning the tackler knows in advance where they will be headed. You can also use this tactic to push the attacker back in towards your team mates who can follow up any misses more easily as a result
Tackle Early
Faster moving players are harder to tackle. The easiest way to counter this is to make your tackle as early as possible before the attacker has got up to speed. Also, a player is most vulnerable to a tackle at the moment they take command of the ball, either as they catch a pass, or pick the ball up from the floor, if you can make your tackle at this moment, the attackers attention is on the ball and not the tackling player.
Forget the ball
Until the tackle is made, don't worry about the ball. You cannot be sold a dummy if you are focusing on making the tackle. Rugby is a team game and your job is to stop the man in front of you, if he passes in the tackle so be it! He has done his job well and it's up to one of your teammates to do their job now and tackle the next man. Even if the ball gets passed on, by making the tackle well you can put doubt in the player's mind, next time he has to go up against you he knows exactly what is coming and may make a mistake.
Think about balance
The key to an effective tackle is balance. Focus on the centre of gravity of the attacker in order to bring him down as easily as possible. A player who runs bent over, no matter how big and strong will go down easily with a downward tug from the shoulder, this is particularly effective when dealing with a number 8 who has just picked the ball off the deck. A player whose posture is upright will not go down if you tackle them at chest or shoulder height. Finally a player who is in the middle of a sidestep is inherently off balance in the direction of the step so will go down if you hit him in the same direction.
The faster the lower
As a rule of thumb, the faster an attacker is moving the lower you will need to go when tackling, the good news is, the lower you go, the lighter the force needed to bring the man down. A winger moving flat out will generally go down under a tap to the ankles
Be committed
Don't go into any tackle halfheartedly, make your decision and commit to it, whatever happens. If it results in a miss so be it, you will make more than you miss by being positive. You are also more likely to avoid injury and even if you don't hit the player as you hoped to, the extra 10% effort may be enough to make the tackle anyway.
Grab hold
Make sure when you make a tackle you get a good grip on your opponents shirt or shorts, even if you fail to take him down at the first attempt, you can still be effective by slowing the man down, allowing a team mate to follow up at the second attempt. Also by holding on you disrupt the attacker, increasing the likelihood of a bad pass or a knock on
Learn from the misses
Every missed tackle is a chance to assess your opponent once more. Think about why you got beaten, what did the player do that meant he got past? was it your positioning? was he faster? or stronger? Whatever the reason, think about how you can adjust your technique in order to take him down next time.
Communicate
Even if you do everything right, there are some players who are to skillful or too big to take down cleanly every time, in these situations call on your teammates to help. Communicate as you approach the tackle and work together to bring the opposition down. While this may leave a gap elsewhere, the most pressing threat is the mutant with the ball, if he is not tackled a solid defence elsewhere on the pitch is irrelevant.
Hit smart
Your aim is to hit smarter, not harder. By combining the suggestions above you can position yourself to maximise the efficacy of your tackling. The more efficiently you can tackle, the more energy you save and so the easier it is to dominate later in the game as people get worn out.
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