Formal dates and Flyer posted for the tournament – time to start thinking about sponsors, plans and real training!
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or the FIT site page for details and the Flyer HERE
Get working Guys and Girls, just 135 days to go!!
I noticed tonight in the 3 on 3 at the end that quite a few potential overlap opportunities were missed from not getting into the right mind set just yet, so here is some food for thought
If you are in the middle and have 2 defenders in front of you then think smart – don’t run at the person in front of you and hope that something will just happen. Rather angle your run a little (don’t go too far and lose the space on the outside) so you are either between 2 defenders, forcing them both to commit, or go towards the winger and try to draw them into the touch. If you then do a quick dump split to the outside then you will have your free space to either score, or at least get the opposition scrambling and out of shape
So in the diagram below B has the ball, aims to dump on the oppo outside body and does a quick split to the left. Provided A is on their game then they want to rush in, do a quick scoop and pop back out to B who is narrow and runs / dives over the line
Now more than ever we need to make sure the message gets out. The more people that get involved in the game the more fun we can have. If we want to achieve our goals of setting up leagues and competitions then we need people to get involved in playing, coaching and reffing
So tell people you know, convince them how good it is and get them to come along!
Remember that when you are retreating in defence you have go in a straight line. This means that you can not change direction until you are in an onside position and not that the line has to be parallel to the sideline
When you are close to your own line there is often a need to cover gaps and ensure the blind side is closed off. In order to do this players need to go back together at a 45 degree angle, avoiding any gaps or dog legs
Remember to push hard for the first few strides to get into position early, communicate with your team mates and be aware of your surroundings
Turn Defence into Attack as quickly as possible
3 Man Powers – keep running at the same defender and remember Dump, Dummy, Receiver
When you are the Receiver start out wide, hold the run to avoid a forward pass and angle to end up in front of the previous Dumper
You might as well run on the angle straight away because most people know what you are doing and if you do it quickly and efficiently enough then it won’t make a difference anyway
The 6 players on the pitch are split into 3 positions – 2 Middle, 2 Links and 2 Wingers
Middles
As the name suggests the Mids are the 2 players in the centre. They do most of the donkey work and are the brains of the operation
Links
These are the speedy little feckers that do all the loops, wraps and backdoor stuff when the Mids tell them to
Wingers
Unlike other forms of Rugby these are not all about speed. In attack hog the touchline, stay behind the ball and catch anything that comes at you. In defence shout at everybody – most tries are your fault!!
For the sake of moves the positions are given numbers and these depend on where you are standing on the pitch. The wingers will be 1s, the links will be 2s and the mids 3s. The difference here is that if, for example, a mid stands in the link position then they can still call themselves a mid, but they are now a 2 and not a 3
If that sounds confusing then just come training more often and it will become clear 🙂
‘Run straight’ can at times be confusing for people new to the game because it doesn’t always mean run parallel to the sideline, but it’s a lot easier to shout than ‘continue along a direct path’!
It basically means take the shortest route to get where you going, whether that is the Sub Box, the Tackle or the Try Line
Putting the ball down correctly is such a vital part of playing well
There are few things more frustrating than working your ass off in a game to make good ground and then lose the ball because of a basic skill error. Refs are usually pretty quick to blow up and award the turnover if the ball is not placed correctly and in the right place
Not just that, but also if you do it right and do it well then it is a huge benefit to your team mates
Rules and Guidelines for the Rollball – Read Rule 9 for more details
Keys to a good Dump
So it was finally time to stop the talking and start the walking on Wednesday night as we got our first official training session under way
Thankfully there was more running than walking and we got a good starter under the belt, with thanks to Eddie for helping out with the coaching
So we might be playing in a sand pit barely half the size of a proper pitch, relying on the light spilling over from the soccer field next door, but at least we are playing!
Check out the training blogs to gets some tips, overviews and reminders of some basics and come along to join in next time out
It was no big surprise to see Australia continue World Cup dominance on home turf in Coffs Harbour last week. They maintained their record of competing in every final played, in this the 8th running of the event, winning 8 of the 9 categories this time. In spite of the weather it looked like a great tournament and setting and will always regret not booking that flight and just heading over! However, it was good to see the live matches that they streamed – even if it the perfect condition of the main pitch was in stark contrast to what was going on elsewhere at the venue
From a personal point of view it was great to see so many Touch friends involved, even though the endless Facebook updates did make me super jealous. From the You Tube streams it was nice to see GT carrying the flag for the refs at the Opening Ceremony, as well as the likes of Frosty and Chowie officiating in some feature games. The difference between the set up in Australia and Ireland was highlighted in the Opening Ceremony commentary when the Irish lads walked out and they were talking about the Over 50’s
Four of these guys actually played for the Over 40’s in Wales just last year!
Clearly we don’t have the numbers that allow you to retire young in Ireland!
Other honourable mentions go to young Billy as he continues his growth towards being one of the World’s top refs, the Irish reffing trio of Mark, Gina and Aoife togging out, medals for Gregg and Jules (even if they are for England!), Telise getting a medal in the Bowl, Jose doing a good job coaching the Chileans, Pete Walters and co just missing out in the 40’s final, the Irish mens open giving it a lash and of course the highlight was the Irish coffin dodgers getting a bronze in the over 50’s – well done lads and your great supporters
