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An 'alignment group' and 'ABC' analysis - how Bristol have upped the dressing room ante during recent Premiership intervals
Pat Lam has lifted the lid on the way Bristol successfully go about their half-time business, conducting forensic dressing room reviews that recently saw them transform 5-9 and 14-10 interval scorelines into respective 27-19 and 29-17 Gallagher Premiership wins over Harlequins and Newcastle.
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The Bears, who this weekend head to reigning champions Exeter, has been very much dependant on their second-half performances in recent weeks, a situation that also stretches back to last month’s European matches versus Connacht and Clermont.
It has been suggested that Lam must be giving his players the hairdryer treatment in order for them to respond the way they have done after recent Premiership intervals, but the Bristol coach has revealed the various improvements are down to simply running through their process and making fixes as they go.
“The beauty is having a clear plan,” said Lam about the difference in recent weeks about how Bristol have performed in the second half compared to what they have done in the first half of Premiership games. “We have two different groups – we have a leadership group which runs the team and different personalities look after it, but we have an alignment group that is selected every week after we select the team.
“There is probably about ten of these guys who determine the mindset for the game and they are aligning the coaches and the players if you like. They look at the last bit of the week and certainly the game and the tactics.
It's rugby but definitely not as we have known it in England#GallagherPrem
https://t.co/BbfkALDqmM— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 6, 2021
“The beauty about that is when they go out to start the game we have a clear plan on what we want to do, so the half-time talk is always just referencing the plan. It’s not emotional. Like the Quins game, we knew the plan and whether that is the technical or tactical side of it or whether it is around work rate or physicality, the boys always determine the key things.
“We maybe have five or six key things we need to deliver and we work our way through it, so half-time becomes checking off that, how that is going. The last two games, the first one we knew straight away it was work rate and that got sorted. And the one on the weekend was we were able to work out if this is not working what is it?
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“Is it discipline, guys not doing certain jobs? You look at the way that Newcastle mauled us and we have got one of the best maul defences – it’s the first time ever we have lost the maul metres battle which John Muldoon does.
“What we knew straightaway is two or three guys were causing the issue but John was able to go through with the forwards and highlight that, it got fixed straight away. Funnily enough, I know George (Kloska) and Pete (McCabe) did a great effort stepping in, but again what I challenge some of the guys who came in they didn’t get those roles right.
“They were fantastic on their tackles and stuff but there is a system that they have got to do and if they get the system wrong we all pay the price. So we tidied that up, made that aware and they just sorted that out. A lot of that second half when we improved, people think it is my talk but all it is is a focus to the area where we are not working to what we agreed would work.
“That game plan is something that comes back to ABC when we do analysis. A, all our assumptions – what we believe the other team is going to do and what will work. B is we believe they could try something different, and C is confirming so all we are doing on the field is confirming what we train and what we say we are going to do and at half-time, I’m just putting a focus back on those areas if that makes sense.”
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Chiefs also admit to some positive tests ahead of their Premiership showdown versus Bristol #HeinekenChampionsCup #GallagherPrem https://t.co/kKa2bJwRkU
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 6, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Je suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
25 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
25 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
25 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
25 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
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