ELVs: It's a brain game
Wed, 13 Aug 2008 21:20
The Experimental Law Variations (ELVs) have turned rugby into a 'brain game' more than a 'brawn game', according to the All Black coaching staff.
Speaking ahead of the Tri-Nations crunch match between South Africa and New Zealand in Cape Town on Saturday both Kiwi head coach Graham Henry and backline coach Wayne Smith spoke of the need to be more astute to master the ELVs.
Just a few weeks ago, after back-to-back defeats at the hands of the Springboks and Wallabies the Kiwi coaching duo admitted that they had been caught short on the new laws.
And while they do not profess to have mastered the art - of playing under the ELVs - just yet, they have made progress and now have a good idea of what it will take to be successful.
Henry said that "astute substitutions" are required to ensure teams are able to stay the distance.
"I think there's pretty positive signs for the game as a spectacle," Henry said when asked about how his view has changed on the ELVs in recent weeks.
And some of those signs were there to be seen when the All Blacks bounced back from consecutive defeats to the Boks and Wallabies to post an impressive 39-10 win over the Aussies a fortnight ago.
"I know the guys enjoy playing under these laws," he said, adding: "I think in our last game the ball was in play for 39 minutes, whereas last year we were averaging about 25-26 minutes.
"It's going to require a different athlete to play under these laws if he's going to be on the field for 80 minutes and it will take some pretty astute substitutions I would think.
"So it's a different ball game and it's something you learn as you go along even though you think you've got it sussed out before the game."
Smith spoke of the need to be clever with whatever possession you get.
"It's not a matter of possession, it's how you use that possession that counts," the Kiwi backs coach said.
"You've got to be effective with ball in hand because of the sanctions at the breakdown.
"You don't want to be caught too often at the breakdown in your own territory, considering the momentum of the opposition when they're awarded a free kick."
By Nick Pawson
