Moving to Fly Half

[best_fullback]

(I have searched for topics relating to this and I did not find anything helpful so I have started this thread)

I am hoping next season to go into the fly half position after lengthy spells at Fullback, Wing and Centre, as I feel I would like the challenge and it would help to enhance my skills.

My main questions are:

1) What skills should I be practicing apart from the obvious kicking, goal kicking, passing and tackling?

2) Does anyone have any useful tips from experience?

3) Can you recommend any good tactical/training guides that would either be relevant of Fly Half specific?

Any comments would be appreciated

 

[candybum]

Communication and vision!

 

[paddyknight]

1) do drills with 2/3 defenders rushing up on to an attacking line, with no plays called by either and get used to having to read a game quickly and hitting different type of runners.

practise getting the ball out of your hands quickly once youve caught it, if you're not running something which requires you getting to the gain line the quicker you ship it on the more time you're giving to others.



2) communicate to your forwards and backs always, numbers in attack and reading the game directionally are important, you can see less than say a full back can but you have to play with your head up at all times being aware of where the opposition are. similarly be clear with your scrum half at all times.

mix it up, if you start getting into the rhythm of only being a passing fly half as soon as an opposition 'knows you' they will stop covering you and just drift pass you as they expect the pass, gaps will appear.

kicking accurately is more important than kicking far, with the elvs you're always going to have 2 or 3 sweeping so distance makes far less difference unless you can completely clear them. a wild hoof straight down the throat of the sweepers is an attackers dream into a broken field.

have confidence in yourself, you're gonna have to be ordering alot of people around - particularly if you are playing with people older than you and that idea doesnt appeal, you have to back yourself, if you dont they wont.

study the opposition fly half/ defences weakness in the early part of the game and attack them - e.g. back foot tackles, all rush up too quickly, or not fast enough etc.. adapt.

 

[best_fullback]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (paddyknight @ May 19 2009, 01:03 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

1) do drills with 2/3 defenders rushing up on to an attacking line, with no plays called by either and get used to having to read a game quickly and hitting different type of runners.

practise getting the ball out of your hands quickly once youve caught it, if you're not running something which requires you getting to the gain line the quicker you ship it on the more time you're giving to others.


2) communicate to your forwards and backs always, numbers in attack and reading the game directionally are important, you can see less than say a full back can but you have to play with your head up at all times being aware of where the opposition are. similarly be clear with your scrum half at all times.

mix it up, if you start getting into the rhythm of only being a passing fly half as soon as an opposition 'knows you' they will stop covering you and just drift pass you as they expect the pass, gaps will appear.

kicking accurately is more important than kicking far, with the elvs you're always going to have 2 or 3 sweeping so distance makes far less difference unless you can completely clear them. a wild hoof straight down the throat of the sweepers is an attackers dream into a broken field.

have confidence in yourself, you're gonna have to be ordering alot of people around - particularly if you are playing with people older than you and that idea doesnt appeal, you have to back yourself, if you dont they wont.

study the opposition fly half/ defences weakness in the early part of the game and attack them - e.g. back foot tackles, all rush up too quickly, or not fast enough etc.. adapt.[/b]

Thanks for the comments paddyknight.

The impromptu drill with 3 defenders sounds like a good idea, I will give it a try.

I am planning on buying 4 or 5 balls over summer so I can just go and prictice all my kicking. The major work comes though as you say when you have the ball in hand. Adaptation.

Cheers for the advice

 

[Woldog]

FH's need to watch for gaps alot more than any other position, and they need to act on impulse rather thank thinking everything through, at least you will have the forwards close to hand.

 

[aligmacd123]

Its all about awareness and vision.

Then you need to back yourself to execute the move because the opposition flankers race at you and you need to hold your nerve.

Confidence is key as well. Look what happened to Butch James for Bath he just lost confidence but he was the fly half who won the World Cup. Just keep on practising the basics and also try and have good communication with your scrum half and inside centre and less so with the rest of your back line.

 

[OSU Blue]

As a current self-taught fly-half i say this: find someone (a coach, old friend, teammate, etc.) who knows the position inside and out (or at least backline play) and have them evaluate each time you do something and just give you continuous feedback. those watching you with knowledgeable eyes will tell you what you need to work on more than anyone on here can. I don't have that, and i truly wish i did. When I make a mistake, no one around me except maybe one teammate has the knowledge and vision to give me any suitable insight on what went wrong or what i should have done. and don't get caught up in the moment, if you watch the best then it seems like they're playing the game slow-motion in their head. no panic, just decisions with whats at hand.. good luck..

 

[best_fullback]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (OSU Blue @ May 19 2009, 06:41 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

As a current self-taught fly-half i say this: find someone (a coach, old friend, teammate, etc.) who knows the position inside and out (or at least backline play) and have them evaluate each time you do something and just give you continuous feedback. those watching you with knowledgeable eyes will tell you what you need to work on more than anyone on here can. I don't have that, and i truly wish i did. When I make a mistake, no one around me except maybe one teammate has the knowledge and vision to give me any suitable insight on what went wrong or what i should have done. and don't get caught up in the moment, if you watch the best then it seems like they're playing the game slow-motion in their head. no panic, just decisions with whats at hand.. good luck..[/b]

Cheers for the advice OSU Blue,

I, like you, might have trouble getting someone to evaluate me constantly, though I will ask team mates to give me feedback. Im intrigued though, as you are a self taught fly half, what kind of training do you do to improve your skills? and how long have you been practising to be a flyhalf and what kind of standard were you when you started?

Cheers

 

[best_fullback]

Kicking Tees:

What are peoples preffered kicking styles?

I had tried tees such as these before but i find it hard to get the ball high off the ground.

I was thinking of buying a tee such as this:

That way I think I will be able to get a better connection on the sweet spot of the ball.

What do you use? Why do you use that tee?

Any comments are appreciated

 

[paddyknight]

something that you can get the ball leaning over to about 45 degrees on for me, so the bottom of the ball is showing, that way you're striking up and straight through it. Its each to their own though, lots of people like to have the ball upright, some with it leaning towards them etc. see what you find easiest.

 

[riders of the storm]

Have knowledge of where to stand. If you're going to kick, obviously stand a little deeper than usual. Communication with your halfback will make this process easier. Also, communicate with your inside centre. He's the man that should be able to offer you some options if he notices anything. Don't feel you have to kick either if you're not comfortable doing it. When I played flyhalf, I focused on running and left kicking to the fullback and the halfback. The other key is not to over complicate anything, just focus on getting the basics right with passing and running. Having played fullback, you should be fine.

 

[OSU Blue]

The training I did was directly related to what i needed to work on. Running, juking (side-step), hitting, rucking, tackling and most kicking i was good enough at as fly-half. My ability to read the defense and make quick decisions (which i still struggle with) were the two areas i needed the most help.

Reading the defense is really hard to practice unless you are doing a scrimmage or actually playing a game. Just a couple experiences in games made me aware of what gaps i should be looking for and how to create/capitalize on them. This comes from experience and watching people better than you.

Watching games at just one or two levels higher than you seem to be the most beneficial. watching the best in the world is hard to help you out because they're so damn good it's near impossible for you and your teammates to replicate what they do.

for the decision-making thing, just be the guy in practice in the position that makes the decisions in each drill. 3 on 2, scrimmage, any other drill you do that requires one man run the show and make on-the-fly decisions at some point, be that man. this is where having someone watching you helps, because you can do what they suggest immediately after, rather than waiting for that situation to occur again in a game.

I was first put in fly-half my sophomore year in college, and honestly i just couldnt cut it. i was a little young, so the older players didn't like taking my direction, and i had a helluva time reading play, so my confidence and morale was low. i wasn't horrible, but i was not producing like i needed to. between that and a need for a fullback, i moved to fullback.

This time around has been better. Me and the former fly-half are easily the two best backs, so it came down to the fact that the other guy is better at fullback and im a bit faster than him, so he went there and i to number 10. Now I am the oldest and among the most experienced rugby players on the team, so when i want to try something or order my other backs to do something, it gets done. with this ability i was really able to run things how i wanted, and it worked well and i gained confidence. at this point, i was a good kicker and tackler, well-respected, good at reading defense and making sequences (light-years ahead of what i was), but still in need of work on the quick decision-making thing, which im working on. My pass also isn't what it needs to be, but im watching the best passer on the team close and it's getting better.

As far as tees go, our fullback got that puma adjustable tee, and for some reason we both were very good with it on the first day. The adjustablility part is good, plus the surface where the ball rests is really good, allowing us to place it at whatever angle we please. this works for us, but there are so many designs out there it's obvious that different people take different approaches in their kicking style, but that's the best ive ever used.

I hope this novel of endless babbling is of some help to you. best of luck, and just relax and practice. those are the two things i would tell myself 2.5 years ago when i tried fly-half the first time...