Last Sunday, I went to my first Touch Rugby training session. I mentioned it a few days ago, but now is the time to explain how it went.
To put it mildly, it was completely discombobulating. I had played casual games of touch in the past at school and with friends, and liked how it was very much “pick up and play”. Success was largely down to avoiding mistakes, exploiting your opponents mistakes, fancy footwork, and most importantly, speed. That is NOT what I experienced down at the park last Sunday.
There were a few major changes I noticed between what I was used to, and what the current USA National Champions did.
- It was VERY tactical, and with those tactics came a ton of lexicon. While the overall strategy was fairly straightforward (use your first five touch to move the ball up the field and encourage the opposition to bunch up, then spread it wide into space), it was the tactics to get you there that were complex. The team had about five or six set plays that they would run, all with completely unobvious names such as Smash or Colours.
- The best tactic is to exploit instincts: While there were a lot of tactics, they all revolved around luring your opponents into making a mistake by letting them play naturally. There is a natural pull towards the ball, this causes space out wide. Even though everyone knows this, it still keeps working
- Subs are critical. In some sports, a substitution can take minute or two to do. In touch, it’s more like ice hockey, where players run off and on super quickly to try and get an advantage of freshness. When done well, it is magic, but you have to be alert.
I’m already looking forward to the next session.
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