The giant still sleeps\u2026<\/p>\n
We already knew that the Eagles weren\u2019t up to the All Blacks level. We had hoped that they would be a little closer to that standard. It was not to be.<\/p>\n
Here are three essential points for development to close the gap.<\/p>\n
Acquire the vision, or rugby IQ, to know what is going to happen on the pitch. This isn\u2019t just knowing the possibilities of what might happen. It is knowing what is going<\/span> to happen. This can only be achieved through experience. The All Blacks have it. The Eagles aren\u2019t there yet.<\/p>\n Let me illustrate by two examples from the game:<\/p>\n At 38:20 into the game, the Eagles are attacking about 25 meters from the line. Kelly takes the ball out wide near the touch line. He turns and off-loads the ball inside to Clever coming up in support. Before<\/span> Clever gets the ball, Cane begins to move to tackle Clever. This is in no way illegal. He just positions himself to make the tackle. He knows<\/span> what is going to happen. (The legality may have been slightly different if the pass didn\u2019t come, but it did, and Cane knew<\/span> it would.) Because of the tackle, Cane and the All Blacks have shut down a promising break. Savea and Read were also covering. That\u2019s four All Blacks covering two Eagles with Scully coming up behind them. Attacking move snuffed.<\/p>\n In the second half, 48:20 gone on the game clock, the All Blacks are attacking in a very similar position on the field and a similar situation. The ball comes wide to Mealamu near the touch-line. He is covered by Tuisamoa and Wyles is deeper moving towards the All Blacks hooker. Tuisamoa makes contact. Mealamu turns in and feeds to Cruden coming up in support. Wyles has overrun the play and the rest of the Eagles\u2019 defense are late arriving. The Eagles haven\u2019t had the vision to see what would happen. There were two players committed to Mealamu and none covering the supporting attackers. The rest of the Eagles didn\u2019t anticipate the need<\/span> to be there so they were not in position. Cruden runs through with 2 or 3 teammates in support. Try scored.<\/p>\n This scenario repeated itself time and again throughout the game. The All Blacks have the vision to see what will happen and then be in position to support or stop the action.<\/p>\n This is a tough one for Mr. Tolkin and the Eagles. It is a little late for the current team to acquire the necessary experience. What we need to do is to continue to develop younger and younger players, then provide them with more opportunities to play at higher and higher levels.<\/p>\n USA Rugby is working towards this. We need to continue to raise the profile of rugby union to make it effective. The Eagles versus All Blacks was a good start at doing that. Let\u2019s follow up with more of the same.<\/p>\n There is a tendency for the Eagles players to go straight to contact rather than seek out the gaps. Smith, Suniula and yes, Clever are particularly guilty of this. The All Blacks, and most of the international sides the Eagles play, are up to the tackling. (See the stats on this.<\/a>) Running into contact just slows the ball down, and increases the chances of losing possession.<\/p>\n I admire Clever as a player. As Captain, however, he is setting an example that the other players follow. Let\u2019s move forward and make the example to be running to space. We are playing Union, after all, not League.<\/p>\n I suggest looking to basketball. Basketball players know well the benefit of moving the ball into space. Perhaps we can encourage current players to spend time on the basketball court where they can learn the merits of moving away from contact. After all, basketball is a game that most American athletes understand. It should be easy, and helpful, to try to translate those thought processes to the pitch.<\/p>\n The Eagles need to provide better support for their teammates. Too many times we see a situation where a ball carrier is alone with no one available for the off-load. Or, the defender is alone facing multiple attackers. Either way, it is an untenable situation.<\/p>\n This comes from either the lack of vision, as in point 1, or from a lack of fitness, or both. I suspect fitness to be the major culprit. Even if an athlete has the vision, without the fitness, there can\u2019t be effective support.<\/p>\n USA Rugby needs to demand a higher level of fitness from our athletes. I understand that the All Blacks are fully professional. They have time to develop every aspect of their fitness. Any player that aspires to play with the Eagles, should make a priority of developing fitness for the game. Selection should be based on fitness to play the Union game and perform the supporting roles that will be required.<\/p>\n If these points can be addressed, the Eagles should be ready to step up a level in the international competition.<\/p>\n There are a few things that stick out. The first is passes: 125(USA) to 221(NZ). Even with 52% possession, the Eagles still only have half the number of passes. The Eagles are obviously holding the ball too long.<\/p>\n Then there are the tackling stats. The US made 92 and missed 42. Not a good percentage, is it? What is more startling to me is the Kiwis made 110 and missed 10. They are not missing their tackles. I mentioned about running into contact. At some point you have to realize it\u2019s not working and change your tactic.<\/p>\n Everything else is fairly even, with the exception of scrummages. I don\u2019t think lost scrummages cost the Eagles this game. The running meters discrepancy is a direct result of my pet peeve, running into contact instead of space. If you run to space, you will run farther.<\/p>\n2. Attack the gap<\/h3>\n
3. Support<\/h3>\n
Miscellaneous Ramblings on the Stats (from ESPNScrum.com<\/a>)<\/h4>\n