Rugby
Flats Blog: Skills separate you from the rest
Skills might be the easiest part of your game to work on. Evasion skills, of course, require another mate's help, as sidestepping the family spaniel might not quite be match specific. But with ball in hand, you can do a huge amount all on your own.
I still remember watching former England scrum half Richard Hill doing two hundred passes a day when I was a kid. He didn't always have a partner – he just made a target and worked.
I still remember watching former England scrum half Richard Hill doing two hundred passes a day when I was a kid. He didn't always have a partner – he just made a target and worked.
I'm also a believer that skills aren't something that we need to complicate or to rush. Those naughty little offloads out the back door can be practiced slowly and with correct technique. If you do have a training buddy, taking the contact and getting ball away is, again, something that doesn't need to be hurried in practice. You don't need to hammer one another, just take it easy and work on those ball skills.
Invariably with anything involving skill, the key is to repeat and repeat and repeat it. Then, over time, it'll begin to feel natural and you'll be able to use these new skills during games. It's worth remembering, I think, that the most skilful guys in the game – guys like Sonny Bill Williams – practice constantly. They don't just turn up and throw offloads, they grind away. And Williams' work ethic saw him transfer from 15s to 7s almost seamlessly, which is astonishing given the unquestionably increased pace and anaerobic demands of the latter.
Ultimately, assuming everyone on the field is big and strong enough to play the game, skills are what will separate you from the rest. Doing things with the ball that the defence can't match or predict. Showing your teammates that you've done the work – for them as much as for yourself – will see you accelerate as a player. Good luck, and keep on practicing.
And keep on following my journey @DHLRugby
Content from disqus has been blocked because you did not allow to load it.
Loading the blocked content will adjust your privacy setting and content from this service will not be blocked in the future.
You have the right to revoke or change your decision at any time.
Posting Guidelines
All communications on Logistics of Things should be appropriate for a professional community, respecting the diverse views of individuals from different backgrounds. We will review all comments and reserve the right to terminate or restrict access to user's account and to delete any content posted through it, without notice and at our discretion, if we deem it to be overly promotional, offensive, or off topic.
All posting become property of DHL.