Talking Points: What the hell is Tactical Periodisation?

Five big issues in rugby right now that will keep you talking in the bar from opening time to last orders.

SUPER RUGBY’S HERE!
You’ve seen Jamie Wall’s oracular eight-step preview to the Super Rugby season that kicks off on Thursday, right? Go…

THE SIX NATIONS IS BACK!
Admit it, you missed it at the weekend. So, England are two-for-two and everyone else except Italy has won once in the opening two games for the first time since Danny Cipriani was a boy. Or something. Points difference alone separates second-placed Ireland and Scotland, in fifth. Ignoring the foregone conclusion that is England vs Italy, there’s still plenty to debate about in Scotland vs Wales and Ireland vs France – from Ireland’s growing injury list to whether France’s brave new style has stalled already; from what Wales should do next, and if Scotland have lost momentum after that high-octane opener against Ireland at Murrayfield. Just find an Irishman, Scotsman, Welshman and a Frenchman, buy them a drink, light the rugby touchpaper, and retire.

Tactical Periodisation
Admittedly, much of any conversation about Eddie Jones’s buzzword training ground tactics will be spent trying to explain and understand what they actually are (basically, the above-gameplay-intensity practising of skills, tactical and mental awareness, and fitness to prepare players and improve decision-making using and for in-game scenarios. Got that?), before working out whether they have worked during the All Whites 16-match unbeaten run. The idea is that players learn to react more quickly to events and think more clearly at crucial points in games. For the record, Jones got it from Pep Guardiola, who may have got it from Jose Mourinho. Jargon it may be, but at least it’s not as easily mockable as Clive Woodward’s T-CUP. 

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Jonathan Davies’ poor kick
Yes, it’s old news, but you can extend the tactical periodisation conversation by at least one more round by referencing that kick at the Principality Stadium. You know, the one that gifted England their second come-from-behind win in this year’s Six Nations. It is surely a prime example of poor tactical periodisation in action, or at least a broken T-CUP. Most of the post-match blame has been pointed at either Jonathan Davies, for successfully finding the middle of the pitch rather than row Z; Alex Cuthbert for the double sin of coming in too tight and giving centre-on-the-wing Elliot Daly room on the outside (and for, well, being Alex Cuthbert); and the Welsh management for apparently making the avoidance of touch a legitimate exit strategy tactic. But all this mud-flinging misses an important point. Should the ball have been fired out of the back of a close-to-the-line breakdown to Davies, who was in the in-goal area, in the first place? Why didn’t it go to better-known kickers Dan Biggar or Leigh Halfpenny? The short answer is: because they weren’t in position following a period of desperate defence. To which the response should be: would it not have been better to play just one more phase to run down the clock a little more and get those players where they needed to be? Hours of prime-time discussion will surely unfold.

The Lions are touring … and they want to right some wrongs
The last time the Lions headed New Zealand, back in 2005, it’s safe to say, things mostly did not go well. Not only did they lose every match, but they gave up a lot of public respect – and made themselves easy targets for the media. Now, Warren Gatland has put the entire Lions touring party, whoever they end up being, on a charm offensive footing ahead of this summer’s tour. “We want to engage with the community, to play some good rugby, we want to get the public on our side. We want to be great tourists.” Which is nice. But, what do they have to do to win over hearts and minds? Discuss…