“WINNING ISN’T EVERYTHING, BUT STRIVING TO WIN IS.”
Score blowouts are an ongoing concern in Small Blacks rugby. The winning coach may want their team to play to their potential and not worry about the score. The losing coach may be most concerned about fairness. Both teams lose out when the game is no longer a contest. So how do we bring these two views closer together?
If a blowout is happening (for example, 35+ points at halftime), both coaches should meet and agree how to make the game a more even contest. Here are some ideas to try.
The winning coach can:
- Spread your best players across the field instead of stacking them together.
- Use all your players. It’s a chance to give more game time to players who don’t usually get much.
- Try new tactics, moves or combinations.
- Rotate positions. Put players who don’t often get the ball at First five-eighth or Halfback.
- Swap your forwards and backs around (consider age and safety requirements).
- Encourage support play and passing into space, rather than running through or around the defence.
- Set a minimum pass challenge before scoring, for example five passes before a try counts.
- Have the try scorer come off for a short break.
Together, the coaches can:
- Turn the second half into a learning game. Play as usual, but pause when there’s a lesson to learn and set up the next play to practise it. For example: offside at the ruck. What makes a ruck? Where are the gates?
The losing coach can:
- Give the team meaningful, achievable goals that aren’t about the score, like winning a turnover, making three tackles in a row, or putting together a run of passes.
- Celebrate effort and improvement after the game, not the result.
Remember: the measure of a good Small Blacks game is whether every player enjoyed it and wants to come back next week.
