Last Updated on Saturday, 12 February 2011 14:03
This page is based on parts of a presentation by rugby guru Pierre Villepreux from the FIRA website and a presentation of him I found on the Internet. I am very fortunately to have met Pierre several times now and participate in his lectures of the game.
You can download a copy the FIRA presentation in French and English here.
The Pierre Villepreux presentation on which this page is based deals with the type of game you want to play: Adaptive vs. Planned.
Make a choice: Which style of rugby you wish to play?
First you have to decide what style of rugby you want to play. Pierre Villepreux distinguishes two styles:
- the Adaptive Game
- The Planned Game
The Adaptive Game
Played by teams who:
- attempt to keep possession of the ball using a collective system of play;
- allowing the movement of the attackers, (designated positioning and relevant repositioning) to whatever the situation requires on the pitch;
This collective organisation aims, by means of running, passing and the exploitation of gaps and open spaces to avoid the incidents of ruck - and maul situations or if this is not possible, to deliver the ball at the right time to stop the defence effectively reorganising.
- in case of a turnover, attempt to use the ball immediately;
- when the situation requires it, attempt to use kicking strategies;
The Planned Game
The Planned Game is played by teams who:
- try to maintain the possession of the ball by making the defense move back without disorganising it;
- adopt as a priority, individual physical confrontation, increasing the incidents of tackles where a large number of players are involved;
- use kicking but not as a last option;
- do not take advantage of turnovers;
[Note: The Adaptive Game is ofcourse the exciting game we want to play, we use to describe the french way of playing "French Flair". The All Blacks seem to have this adaptive style of play in recent years.
The Learning Process, problems arising?
Look on other pages for more information on the Adaptive gamestyle and the associated game based learning style. Yes, you can develop the tactical decision making skills of your team!
Related topics are
- Skill Acquisition and "Rugby Sense", by Jeff Hollier, more about this learning process and conscious / unconscious decision making.
- How to set up a gameplan, deals with the managing development.
- Cognitive processes and learning motor skills.
- Pierre at the Rugby Heroes website
