I think these days, especially at higher levels, what separates the teams these days is the players decision making. The gap in skill and fitness these days is fairly minimal now so decision making is key. In practice you might practice based on yeah if the 9 isn't there slow it down, pick and go and reset, but the players have to be open to the potential that it could be on elsewhere and need to trust their own and each others decision making to go when it is on.hugonaut wrote:Yes, you make very good points and have certainly got me thinking harder about it. I still think that there's value in having a 'go-to' option in that situation, but as you have pointed out, you can't be blind to the particular circumstances of a given situation. You play the game, not the pattern.
Sometimes speed beats quality, perfect example of that is the all blacks two pass rule. When they turn the ball over they get the ball two passes away ASAP, don't have to be the best passes they just have to do the job.
Sorry for the tangent, lack of rugby is causing my tactics nerd brain to overload and spill out every so often I think