One of the key roles of the modern day hooker is the throw at the line out. This was one key area for me personally and an area I took great pride in. I feel my ‘darts’ were pretty decent and I wanted to explore with you some of my thinking in regards to this area.
1. The Throw
Firstly, I want to state at the outset I called every line out I every threw into in my senior career. Yes, I’d take guidance, but my rationale was I had a much better view than the other forwards and I knew exactly the conditions and what I was capable of. I also could obviate calls that were tom high risk- the long tail ball in muddy or windy conditions, the flat ball when someone like Matfield was around (see below) and so on.
I always wanted to throw ‘into space’- by that I mean throw were gaps in the opposition are, not where their players are! It’s key, understanding that space. I spent a lot of time practicing throwing, but generally I found that the best practice was throwing into a fluid, moving line out rather than at a static target such as a goal post. I really felt the ball- by that I mean the fingers feeling every inch of purchase I could muster, and, like a good swing bowler in cricket, I knew immediately when I’d released a ‘good ‘un’- I could really feel it in my fingertips.
We’d practice all our moves- our ‘banker’ balls (low risk, guaranteed return) and the more expansive moves like the long throw over the line to centres, the lob to the tail, the short lob and so on. I’d want to replicate as much of a game situation as I could.
There are 3 main options for the throw itself- the flat throw, the lob throw and the ‘movement throw’ where I’m throwing where the player isn’t and he moves onto it. Note also, you’re never really throwing at a target (one reason I don’t advocate static target throwing too often)- I’m throwing to ‘air’- the space where a pair of hands WILL go. It’s not about flatness or speed, but intelligence. If I could throw slightly behind the jumper, then I know I’d miss the opposition front guys and that my man was taking the ball not only on fingertips but with a momentum going back into midfield, which allowed very good ball for the backs. I often liken it to that great computer game ‘Angry Birds’ – where sometimes you have to ping the bird high to get it to lob over an obstacle and down onto the target- play it and you’ll see exactly where I am coming from, and, like rugby, in that game, you know exactly when you’ve released a ‘good ‘un!!’
2. The Catch
I was lucky enough to work with some great line out operators- the best of all being Mal O’Kelly with Ireland and Leinster. One of Mal’s great strengths was his core flexibility, which would allow me to throw that lob as described above and for him to arch back to take it- very difficult to try and take that ball as an opponent. This would also give me an extra yard or so margin of error, as by the time the ball was catchable, it had beaten the defenders trying to get up in front of Mal. You have to work with your man to make sure you know what he can do and what his preference are. Practice real time real moves together and get a rapport going.
3. Reading the Opposition:
I always wanted to beat the defence by making it easy for my catchers. I’d spend a lot of time studying tapes of my opponents and looking for how they moved and how they attacked my throw.
In my time there were a number of players that made things tough; Victor Matfield goes without saying as a line out king- as Cozza mentioned recently on here, he wasn’t the line out student you may think, but very dynamic, quick to get airborne and used his pod supporters to get very high. Consequently, flat balls around him were a nonsense, and not worth considering. Like Leo Cullen last week, he’d use every trick at his disposal when airborne- a slight touch on the hands, a nudge- he was very strong once airborne too. I’d make a point of the high lob for Mal or Paul O’Connell in this instance and try and get it over the big Springbok. Another pair that spring to mind are Bonnairre and Harinordoquy of France. Both of them are supreme line out technicians, and will watch intently to track the ball and where it may go. Both or either of them would then enter or move into the line out very late to attack. Both are also quite light so getting them up quickly to attack is not difficult. Brad Thorne, although not the tallest, was very disruptive and intelligent too, and I made sure to try and move him around when he was looking to attack our line out.
So, there are some useful tips to assist you with line out play.
In summary, I believe these are the key lessons to take away:
- Practice- and practice your match moves in a dynamic situation
- Look for the gaps, not the players
- Throw to space
- Try and have a repertoire and practice the moves that are difficult to defend- the lob the 4 as described above
- Call the line out dependant on conditions and aim for completions, not risks.
- Read the opposition.
That’s all for now
Munch.
