Writing in the Daily Telegraph, former England coach Dick Best believes New Zealand will teach England a few lessons about quick ball.
"New Zealand tomorrow should provide a valuable lesson to our young inexperienced team in how to produce quick ball. It is the core strength of every All Blacks squad to perform the basics well and this class of 2008 are no different. Pay special attention to the contact skills of the New Zealand forwards and backs at the breakdown.
"Slow ball from rucks has restricted England's advancement, not just this season but for a few years. Instead of fixing the problem, they have resigned themselves to creating pods of players to one side of the ruck and trundling the ball forward into the opposition, who are waiting to smash this juggernaut to the ground. Then the process starts all over again. The object of the exercise is to turn slow ball into quick ball by forward momentum apparently.
"Not only is it a Neanderthal exercise performed at a snail's pace, it is not working. England need to concentrate on getting a ball carrier over the gain line where there is less congestion. They also need to get support players to that ball carrier quicker and on arrival be technically proficient at clearing players from the tackle area."
RSS feed
