Manipulating the Defence – Separating the Forwards and Backs
This article will be part of a series looking at how the attacking side can affect the defensive structure of the opposition.
A good way of being able to manipulate the defence is by splitting their forwards and backs. In open play, typically a defence wants the forwards in the middle of the field and easily able spread across the pitch. The 8 forwards make up the majority of the defensive line in open play and therefore are critical to a good defence. If the attack can control the defending forwards, they will have a lot more space to exploit. This tactic primarily works from set pieces like lineouts and scrums. All forwards are situated in a very small part of the field and the backs have a lot of space. The goal is to keep the defence in this set up for a few phases, looking for gaps and overlaps to open up.
Phase 1
The first phase from the backs needs to be close to the set piece. This will stop the first forwards out of the set piece from spreading across the field. In the example below the crash 11 is not looking to break through the line but instead initiate contact with the opposition 7 and 8. With quick ball coming from the attacking 7 and 8, the defence can’t shift and the second phase can start.
Phase 2
The second phase should also be close to the forwards again, attacking tight on the open side looking to draw in the defending 10. It should be noted that the attacking 1, 2 & 4 have set up a pod on the blindside, this keeps the defence from sliding over and helping defend in the openside.
Phase 3
The third phase is usually a good time to get the ball out and find the gaps that have been created through stopping the forwards from spreading out. In the example below there is an overlap on the outside but it is equally likely that their will be gaps in the midfield.
Complete 3 Phase Pattern
A key to this type of attack is quick ball. Being able to recycle the ball quickly stops the defence from reorganising and spreading the forwards across the field. The attacking forwards have to work very hard to make this pattern work as all the contact is happening against the opposition forwards. If the attacking forwards can dominate this forward battle in the first 2 phases, the backs will have great options for the 3rd phase.
Obviously this 3 phase pattern isn’t guaranteed to produce a line break. If on the third phase there is no break out wide, the attacking side should reset and go back to their normal phase-play. Looking at this play all together you can clearly see how the defending forwards will have their focus fixed on around the 15m channel. This leave the only 5 or 6 players defending across the rest of the field.