Ahhhh, that’s how you do it…

 

No.1 Beating the blitz defence

 

In the first of our regular series of coaching features – imaginatively title ‘Ahhh, that’s how you do it…’

–Harlequins’ former Waratahs’ coach Andy Friend tells us how to beat the blitz defence….

 

Bit of background
It used to be just Wasps who used the blitz in the Premiership but now Bristol have got one, London Irish have one and Leeds also employ a blitz-style defence. More and more teams are starting to use it. What you need to make it work is a very intelligent 13 – to be honest I don’t understand the defence entirely as I’m used to employing a normal drift defence. If I was to try and coach it I would make errors, some of the reasons why blitz defences fall down is that coaches see it and think that looks good but don’t know how to use it properly. In the year they were relegated Harlequins tried to employ a blitz defence which confused players and was a major reason for their poor start to the season. They later reverted back to the drift defence they had previously employed. The blitz all looks well and good, but only with coaches who understand it and can do it properly. I certainly wouldn’t be comfortable coaching the blitz defence because I just don’t understand it – I know how to coach against it though. You learn from experience, I first came up against it with the Waratahs and we were trying to throw passes over the blitz defence – we ended up throwing two interceptions to the opposition that night. And the rest of the time our 13 just got smashed!

 

How to beat it
The way to beat a blitz defence is a short passing game off the ten and 12 and attack the fly-half, which is often the weak link. Cross-field kicks can also work and little dinks in behind are good too – it can be tedious for a defence that’s coming up hard to keep going back for these kicks.

The one thing you don’t do with the blitz defence is give them a target in the middle of the field – so you don’t throw a miss move and you don’t play too wide passes because it gives them easy targets which is what they want.

You have to ask why teams want to blitz – it’s because they want physical confrontation, so don’t give them it. They obviously back themselves in that field otherwise they wouldn’t do it.

 

A move to use
If there’s one play that works against, other than the standard, it’s this one, pictured right.

 

Basically:

1. The nine feeds the ten.
2. The 13 goes over the top of the 12 and into the 12 channel to draw the opposing inside centre.
3. The 12 cuts into the 13 channel to draw the opposing outside centre and receives the pass from the ten.
4. The blindside winger cuts in between both channels to receive an inside pass from the 12.

 

Five golden rules to beating the blitz

1. Do not give them confrontation, it’s what they want. 2. Don’t try and pass around the blitz defence

3. use plays based around your ten and 12 channel

4. Employ cross-field kicks

5. Use little kicks over the top