Elite performer – Dwayne Peel, scrum half for Wales and Scarlet’s
Dwayne Peel plays on a national level, and one particular skill he is elite at is his passing. Being a scrum half his passing must be accurate as he is the link between the forwards and backs.
Through an academy master class by Dwayne Peel I have managed to identify the technique he uses to achieve a pin point accurate pass:
The angle of release should be enabling the ball to reach chest height.
His back foot is near the starting phase of the ball during the pass, it is flat on the ground and outside foot is pointing towards the person receiving the pass.
During the execution phase your body should move quickly to transfer your weight from your back foot to the front foot.
Using both hands, release it with a flick of the wrist and fingers. Your arms and hands should end up pointing towards your target.
Having the right technique results in a fast and accurate pass.
Area of assessment 1 (attack) – joining maul following a line out catch.
Self analysis - there is a big area of weakness in my mauling. As i join the maul my angle of attack is all wrong.
Preparation - The flexion of my back around a frontal axis at my hips should be angled so that my shoulders are above my hips, contracting my trapezi and latissimus dorsi to keep my back and shoulders straight and firm, preparing for impact. However my angle is rather obtuse not optimizing the advantage of having a good angle. Slight flexion of the knee joint gives a chance of extending to give more of a push when making contact of the maul.
Execution – executing the maul is a combination of binding, angle of impact and good body position.
I have a weakness in all aspects of executing a maul. Joining the maul my back is at an obtuse angle where as it should be 10-20® above my hips. This tends to lead to me pushing with my torso and arms rather than back and legs. My legs are straight and I push with my feet and toes rather than my quadriceps this is good for small movements as the leverage enables more power; however it is useless to cover a good distance in a maul. My binding is poor; much like a scrum; players should be bound tight and shoulder to shoulder; however my technique to binding is dire; outward medial rotation leaves my shoulder at a bad angle stopping me from optimising the forward pushing motion.
Result- through not having the correct technique and body shape I do not play a sufficient part in a maul, this could lead to the ref ending the maul as it is not making progression and thus not covering any ground and not efficiently attacking the opponent.
Professional comparison – James Haskell
James Haskell – my choice of situation for my comparison to a professional is the match- England V Ireland in the six nations 19-03-2011. His position number 7 – flanker – a maul formed after Dillan Parksley enters contact. Two English players are there already forming the maul. At a light sprint pace Haskell prepares for the maul by flexion of the knee joint giving eccentric contraction of the quadriceps and lowers his shoulder for a perfect angle of entry. He also abducts the shoulder to give a wide reach so that he can bind onto other players. Places his head in a gap so that the shoulders bare the shunt and the weight is distributed and handled by the contraction of the quadriceps and the extension of the knee joint. Rapid movement of the legs are essential, as Haskell is moving his legs as if he is sprinting. This results in a good forward momentum and pace.
