With the season drawing towards the final rounds and two national team games on the horizon, here's a look at Division 1 North leaders Vaasa Wolves hosting Kuopio RC.
Video part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IogYhDD7wKQ
03:05
Have a look at the coordination of Vaasa's scrum. On the 'crouch', the whole pack is aligned in one flat line, putting them in the best possible position for the second shunt,
08:04
Sonny-Bill fever is alive and well and infecting forwards again! Keep it simple ;)
15:45
Vaasa are caught napping here, with the bulk of the team drifting across to the action and leaving a big gap exposed. One more pass from Kuopio would have created a 3-on-1 overlap.
21:00
Is that a downhill slope into the in-goal area?! The pitch seems to just drop away in the corner!
21:05
Vaasa are a little too cavalier in their own 22 and pay the price. They had the opportunity to clear the ball choose to run it. Kuopio rally well to pile on the pressure and force a good try.
24:05
Vaasa up the tempo nicely, quickly securing possession and moving the ball away to keep Kuopio guessing. It's a brilliant pilfer by Kuopio's 6 to save the day.
25:25
Clever kick in behind the defence to increase the pressure. Vaasa's 13 is lucky that that pass didn't lead to points for Kuopio.
27:10
It's an important steal in the line-out, but where was the defensive communication from Kuopio to make up for it. Again it's KRC's 6 to the rescue, but the same problem happens again as the defence let Vaasa's 7 stroll through for another 10m.
29:10
Raw power from the scrum gives Vaasa's 8 the initial momentum while forcing KRC's back row to try to defend while retreating. The first tackle was way too high on a big man like that.
Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikrw-nZO7cY
01:30
Vaasa's aggression in attack is good but at the same time we are seeing the ball carrier going into contact with multiple defenders alone and still making yards when Kuopio should be punishing them.
03:30
Vaasa could have made life a lot easier for themselves by having lower body positions that close to the line. Instead the ball carrier give the defence a break by providing easier targets.
Although KRC did well to win the turnover and get a kick away, the kick needed to find touch and definitely not land in open field where Vaasa could run it back. Too many of Kuopio's players were still trapped around the breakdown area and rather than relieving the pressure, it allowed Vaasa to draw out one or two defenders and pile it right back on.
Part 3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFvWvD8RHTc
03:40
Over the next couple of minutes, Vaasa make steady progress up the field. This comes partly from their quick support play at the breakdown, but Kuopio don't help themselves with slack defensive pressure. There is little pressure put on attackers and defenders tend to bunch too tightly, leaving obvious gaps to attack.
09:55
Again, you can see the difference it aggression: Vaasa have their confidence up and are running hard at gaps between defenders, whereas Kuopio's defenders are standing waiting to attempt tackles, rather than being itching to press up make the tackle before the gain line.
16:10
Good decision-making here: KRC's scrums have been a mess and a tap-and-go is always a gamble, but their line-out has been reasonably solid - and it pays off!
19:10
It's the same story again: you can see KRC's defenders on the open side are calling for support but it just doesn't arrive fast enough. Again the defenders are caught flat-flooded and Vaasa flood through the gap.
22:50
Without meaning to be condescending - that's an impressive lineout throw for a Division 1 game!
24:00
This time it's Vaasa who get lazy. You can see the defenders are only half-interested around - there's no urgency or communication as to who is marking who. Sharp defending by the fullback to make the steal.
26:00
It's no wonder that Vaasa steal this. Kuopio's defenders need to check their body position going into the breakdown. They are coming from high to low and bending at the waist, which allows Vaasa to get in underneath them.
Part 4:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoE6zTVyB2s
00:01
Refs out there: would you ping that for tackler not releasing? We think we would.
00:20
Ouch. Obviously Kuopio have been watching Scotland......
02:10
Great to see Kuopio finally attacking with some purpose for a few phases!
02:40
Vaasa's 10 - you cheeky little..... Get back onside, sir! Kuopio have been robbed blind of an opportunity there!
05:44
Slight moment of insanity - what's the thinking there?.....
General points:
This was two teams with two very different attitudes. Vaasa played aggressive, front-foot rugby, attacking the gain line at speed and pressurising Kuopio in defence. Kuopio, by contrast, allowed Vaasa to run at them and they paid the price.
Rucking was a key area here. Vaasa had support players at the breakdowns faster and entering with better body positions.
It was not a good day in the scrums for Kuopio, but their lineouts have a lot of promise. The main problem seems to be a lack of unified planning in attack: the ball is passed from one guy to another, each expecting the next to work some magic, without anyone seeming to take the initiative and move forward. It was not until the final quarter when Kuopio finally started to run with purpose and exploit Vaasa as they took the foot off the gas.
