Season 21; the Ups and Downs!

daheff wrote: »

So in a relegation playoff tonight vs Vitamin G. Not looking forward to this...have a bad feeling my lack of tactical knowledge is going to come home to roost

anybody want to share what tactics they would play vs Vit G? I reckon his fullback is short & needs targeting, his backline is good, so not sure whether to play drift or MOM against them.

http://www.blackoutrugby.com/game/tools.live.scoring.php#fixture=12081173

I'm no wizard at tactics myself, but he seems to slightly have an advantage at scrum time and has a decent lineout advantage. So set-piece isn't going to be your friend if you're looking to target it for an advantage, so for that I'd probably look to kick for territory more than touch and definitely look for some up and unders between the two 22's to see if you can get some change off his full-back. (don't over do it though and don't totally neglect touch finding kicks either, just balance them a bit more infield I would suggest) - A big word of warning here though, his back three are very good, so weigh that up against your own, it depends on how much he kicks back, a long kick could be sent back into touch giving you possession further up the field, or if he runs it back, you could be in trouble if your defence isn't right. A rush defence in this instance (I think!) would suit best if playing that sort of territory game...

You're pretty even on rucking and have a half star advantage on maul, but he has about 20kg on weight in the pack, so I think you'll be doing well to get much out of your maul, I'd limit it's use (but try and balance all forms of attack, as barely using one makes you predictable and makes other attacks less effective).

His 7 is his weakest pack player, so consider that when setting tactics. If he's not quite quick or strong or technical enough, some pick and go or width inroads could be made.

In terms of attacking his backline, his weakest area is centre, so maybe some creative play in midfield could be the key to unlocking him...

These are just random observations though, you may decide none of it is any use, but it's a really, really tough one to think of tactics for as it all seems very even. I've just looked at his team, haven't really made comparisons with what you have, but if it's pretty even you might be better off focusing on your own strengths rather than trying to compensate to find ways around his..