Rugby fans and players alike have been dazzled by the footwork of twinkle-toed wizards for decades, from Gerald Davies, to Waisele Serevi and now with the likes of Jonathan Joseph and Nehe Milner-Skudder. However, the importance of footwork extends beyond the crowd-pleasing stepping and can be found at the foundation of all parts of the game.
When approaching contact, the defender should aim for smaller steps, with the goal of being able to quickly re-position for taking contact in the best possible position. Check out the Jamie Joseph tutorial (below), where he emphasizes the importance of the defender getting the lead foot into position. This gives the tackler a much better chance of reaching the all-important outside knee.
Body positioning is vital at the breakdown. We talk a lot about 'winning the height battle', 'entering low' and 'driving through', but none of this is possible without controlling and constantly readjusting your foot positioning.
Have a look at Sam Warburton and Steve Hansen talking through the breakdown:
Backs like to joke that the scrum is an excuse for the fatties to have a good cuddle, but from 1-8 there is a lot of technique that goes into it, and footwork is one of the core features.
Here is a video analysis I made (originally for HRC ahead of the 2016 season) of the scrums from the Finland v Turkey game. It looks at several different aspects of scrummaging, including combined body positioning and angles, but footwork is a repeat topic (excuse the mild profanity here and there - sorry, Mum):
If you have access to The Rugby Site, then take some time to watch the videos from Martin Castrogiovanni and Kees Meuws on scrummaging - you will pick up some great tips! Even in the preview trailer, you can see Castro emphasizing the importance of foot movement and repositioning during the drive:
The Lineout:
Leaving the whole jumping part aside, this is massively important in the Finnish game. Think how many games you have seen in Finland where a team has had so little confidence in their lineout that they do anything to avoid it when they get a penalty. Throwing power and accuracy certainly plays a role in this, but the speed and stability of the lifting is a major factor, and footwork can fix this.
Check out this video from the Hurricanes, which provides both a good and bad example:
The good examples start at 01:55. The two lifters work hard to get as close to the jumper as possible during the crouch phase of the jump, so that they can explode up with him, but they don't stop there. During the lifting phase, the lifters continue to step closer, so that they lifting as close to vertical as possible (particularly on the second go).
The bad (at 03;15): the timing is off and, more importantly, the front lifter is too far from the jumper. When the jumper goes to the air, the front lifter cannot get under him and ends up having to almost shoulder press the lifter, resulting in an unstable lift.
Practical stuff:
And so to training - how can we improve footwork in our game? For things like scrums and lineouts we have specific drills and sessions for the forwards to work on, but there are some more general steps (see what I did there?) that we can take.
First there are the drills which are not necessarily rugby-specific. There is no shortage of videos on YouTube with dozens of ladder drills and other SAQ work. The video below with Tom Varndell and Christian Wade is one decent example.
Yet the studies have shown (and pros like New Zealand 7s star Gillies Kaka back this up), that all these speed and agility drills do not, on their own, make you better at beating a defender or tracking an attacker. For that you need human vs human drills, where you can read the body position of the oncoming player and react accordingly. Check out the final drill in the Varndell/Wade video, as well as these two videos from the Crusaders and Bok Smart:
At the end of all this, the lesson to take away is that in all aspects of the game, be aware of where your feet are and what they are doing. It's fair to say that 99% of the time, if your feet are planted, then there is something that you can be doing better. Stay mobile and always be prepared to move into a better position to take your game to the next level.
The tackle
From start to finish, footwork is at the heart of an effective tackle. Starting with the press of the defensive line, the defender tracks the ball carrier, shepherding them to where they want them, without giving them too much opportunity to cut back inside. If the defender rushes up with big strides at full pace, a nimble attacker can step them with ease.
When approaching contact, the defender should aim for smaller steps, with the goal of being able to quickly re-position for taking contact in the best possible position. Check out the Jamie Joseph tutorial (below), where he emphasizes the importance of the defender getting the lead foot into position. This gives the tackler a much better chance of reaching the all-important outside knee.
The ruck
Body positioning is vital at the breakdown. We talk a lot about 'winning the height battle', 'entering low' and 'driving through', but none of this is possible without controlling and constantly readjusting your foot positioning.
Have a look at Sam Warburton and Steve Hansen talking through the breakdown:
The scrum
Backs like to joke that the scrum is an excuse for the fatties to have a good cuddle, but from 1-8 there is a lot of technique that goes into it, and footwork is one of the core features.
Here is a video analysis I made (originally for HRC ahead of the 2016 season) of the scrums from the Finland v Turkey game. It looks at several different aspects of scrummaging, including combined body positioning and angles, but footwork is a repeat topic (excuse the mild profanity here and there - sorry, Mum):
If you have access to The Rugby Site, then take some time to watch the videos from Martin Castrogiovanni and Kees Meuws on scrummaging - you will pick up some great tips! Even in the preview trailer, you can see Castro emphasizing the importance of foot movement and repositioning during the drive:
The Lineout:
Leaving the whole jumping part aside, this is massively important in the Finnish game. Think how many games you have seen in Finland where a team has had so little confidence in their lineout that they do anything to avoid it when they get a penalty. Throwing power and accuracy certainly plays a role in this, but the speed and stability of the lifting is a major factor, and footwork can fix this.
Check out this video from the Hurricanes, which provides both a good and bad example:
The good examples start at 01:55. The two lifters work hard to get as close to the jumper as possible during the crouch phase of the jump, so that they can explode up with him, but they don't stop there. During the lifting phase, the lifters continue to step closer, so that they lifting as close to vertical as possible (particularly on the second go).
The bad (at 03;15): the timing is off and, more importantly, the front lifter is too far from the jumper. When the jumper goes to the air, the front lifter cannot get under him and ends up having to almost shoulder press the lifter, resulting in an unstable lift.
Aaaaand, of course, in attack:
The automatic image of footwork in attack belongs, unsurprisingly, to the backs. Yet more and more the modern game has demanded that the meatheads do more that 'get ball, find target, crash'. Back rows are now often as fast and agile as any backs (and backs, not to be outdone, are increasingly happy to get involved in the big collisions). Likewise 2nd row forwards are now expected to make themselves every bit as useful as back rows.
All this increased fitness and agility means that defenders are everywhere, with fewer gaps for attackers to exploit. So how do forwards get over the gain line? If the brute force and ignorance approach then a crash ball runner must make the most of any small gaps between the oncoming attackers. Changing the point of attack from chests to outstretched hands gives the attacker a far better chance of going forward when he brought to ground, if not breaking the tackle.
Then there's the pretty boys......
The automatic image of footwork in attack belongs, unsurprisingly, to the backs. Yet more and more the modern game has demanded that the meatheads do more that 'get ball, find target, crash'. Back rows are now often as fast and agile as any backs (and backs, not to be outdone, are increasingly happy to get involved in the big collisions). Likewise 2nd row forwards are now expected to make themselves every bit as useful as back rows.
All this increased fitness and agility means that defenders are everywhere, with fewer gaps for attackers to exploit. So how do forwards get over the gain line? If the brute force and ignorance approach then a crash ball runner must make the most of any small gaps between the oncoming attackers. Changing the point of attack from chests to outstretched hands gives the attacker a far better chance of going forward when he brought to ground, if not breaking the tackle.
Then there's the pretty boys......
Practical stuff:
And so to training - how can we improve footwork in our game? For things like scrums and lineouts we have specific drills and sessions for the forwards to work on, but there are some more general steps (see what I did there?) that we can take.
First there are the drills which are not necessarily rugby-specific. There is no shortage of videos on YouTube with dozens of ladder drills and other SAQ work. The video below with Tom Varndell and Christian Wade is one decent example.
Yet the studies have shown (and pros like New Zealand 7s star Gillies Kaka back this up), that all these speed and agility drills do not, on their own, make you better at beating a defender or tracking an attacker. For that you need human vs human drills, where you can read the body position of the oncoming player and react accordingly. Check out the final drill in the Varndell/Wade video, as well as these two videos from the Crusaders and Bok Smart:
At the end of all this, the lesson to take away is that in all aspects of the game, be aware of where your feet are and what they are doing. It's fair to say that 99% of the time, if your feet are planted, then there is something that you can be doing better. Stay mobile and always be prepared to move into a better position to take your game to the next level.
