ALEX SANDERSON
T he ex-England back-row who is now Saracens’ highly-rated head coach
EVERYONE wants line speed in defence because it’s sexy and you get turnovers, but if you’ve got poor connections between players you get big gaps. So if I was giving advice to an amateur team I’d say to focus on spacing and connections. Look at Exeter and Wales – they don’t have great line speed but have great connections, which means two-on-one tackles and slower ball.
That’s the technique side of things but mentality is key too. You need to have as much energy for defence as attack. Attack is sexier but you can get energy from stopping teams too, winning the contest both with and without the ball. It’s about creating excitement about defending. That’s where the ‘Wolfpack’ thing came from – players take pride in it, so it becomes more than a system.
Defence stems from mentality and Brad Barritt is a good example of that. He doesn’t want to let players across the line and is so strong in that area. He’s the best defensive centre in Europe and makes 20 tackles a game.
High tackles have been a big talking point this season and I understand the focus on clamping down on head shots. I got concussed as a player and I’m sure it led to some mental health issues I had when playing, a bit of depression.
There’s no doubt we need protocols in place to try to reduce incidents of concussion, but at the moment there’s too much variance during the season.
In the Premiership there’s a lot of communication between coaches and referees to get consistency. They send clips through to give examples and we might have a referee come in for a tackle technique session. Then in Europe there’s a change in emphasis and we’re told they will harshly treat any head shot with yellow and red cards.
It needs to be more subjective. Seatbelt tackles are lumped in with head shots but one is someone dipping into a tackle, the other is poor technique. Seatbelt tackles have no bearing on speed of ball or the gain-line, but under the letter of the law referees have to adjudicate on them.
Officials shouldn’t just look at outcome but intent. There have to be harsh penalties for reckless or malicious or poorly-controlled contacts for tacklers and ball-carriers. When people aren’t in control of their body and are looking to hit someone, that’s when it’s dangerous. Not just in the tackle but rucks as well.
At Saracens, we’ve looked at how our outside defender, the second man in the tackle, can minimise the risk of making a high tackle when the carrier is dipping into contact. The big guys in the second row, your Will Skeltons, struggle to get down so are risking a card, so we’ve looked at going in chest up rather than leading with a shoulder. You still get a dominant tackle, but there’s less risk of high contact from the shoulder.
It’s not one rule for all
– a lot of it is down to body type. Guys like Brad Barritt and Dan Lydiate suit chopping; they’re flexible through the legs and want to go low. Michael Rhodes makes a lot of dominant tackles but he’s more upright and carries them back.
There are law changes every year and we’re always working with players to find the best solution. They’re the ones at the coalface. We put a group of four or five players together in a breakdown brains trust to come up with some ideas on how to slow ball up while coming through the gate at rucks.
We’ll also test new drills before running it in a senior session. Every minute on the field has to be accounted for with the strength and conditioning team, who monitor loading each week, so we can’t afford to waste three minutes on a drill that doesn’t work.
The variance in officiating means we have to change emphasis for different competitions, which takes up time. It’s being done for the right reasons but I wish the governing bodies all agreed on how to consistently interpret the law.
“Attack is sexier but you need as much energy for defence”