Australia rugby deception

Australia rugby has been enhanced recently by some exciting deception from some of the players. These are the players to watch and follow.

Recent wallaby action

A number of Wallaby players have stepped up at the right time - backing themselves with great results.

There have been few times I can recall when there have been so many players in one international squad who have shown you can beat opponents with a sidestep.

The players I have in mind are

Kurtley Beale (clip on YouTube)
Quade Cooper (clip on YouTube) (and another one)
Digby Ioane (clip on YouTube) doesn`t include his best sidestep

James O`Connor (clip on YouTube)
Adam Ashley-Cooper (clip on YouTube)

All these players have shown they are capable of some dazzling footwork. Of course that is nothing in itself, but I`m sure they have other teams thinking!

When any of these players have the ball they have the ability to break the defense. Any one of them is capable of turning a game by creating something from nothing.

The more opponents become aware of this the more it is going to play on their minds. We are in for some interesting times.

Update: Those interesting times have arrived.
The Queensland Reds are into the 2011 Super 15 Final.

Have a look - highlights (including a great sidestep not even mentioned!) how they did it (on YouTube) Great stuff!!

Improving in leaps and bounds

Here is a clip I captured myself.

This is not about how to play rugby - but if you learn to move like this you will improve in leaps and bounds!.

Sorry this video just leapt off the page. I`m going after it. I`m sure it will be back soon.

Australia rugby - deception, rugby sidestep

Over the years Australia has provided plenty of enjoyable rugby for rugby supporters and plenty of victories

Thinking about individual rugby skills only a few players come to mind as being truly able to deceive opponents one-on-one.

One is Ken Wright who played Union and League in the 1970s. See an excellent example of his sidestepping ability in the 3rd Test against The All Blacks in 1978.

Find this on the excellent rugby DVD "Rugby in the 70s" my dvd player showed it at 2:6: 42:30

Hipwell gathers an awkward ball from a line-out. He passes, missing out five-eigth Tony Melrose, the ball going straight to inside centre Ken Wright.

Wright`s fantastic sidestep takes him in behind the All Blacks defence and he races across field before Greg Cornelsen goes in at the corner, getting his third try of four tries for the day in a memorable win for the Australian Rugby team.

Andrew Walker is another. I`m going from memory so I don`t have any footage to mention.

And they seek him here, they seek him there - it seemed to be so hard to catch the amazingly elusive rugby winger David Campese

Australia rugby - lacks sidesteppers

Like most rugby nations, Australia for long periods concentrate on bigger and bigger players barging past smaller big players!

Sometimes complex moves are used to try and create breaches in defences.

But surely it cannot go on forever unless the laws are changed to make it even more like NFL.

A time must arrive when individual evasion skills will be valued again at the elite level, when an agile, evasive smaller big player is able to get past a larger big player!

Be ready - learn to sidestep!