One of my good friends Mark has recently joined one of the men’s rugby teams down here in Austin. He attended the Lonestar Dallas 7s Tournament of mud, mud and more mud along with the women’s team. As I watched him play in his first game I was amazed at his tenacity on defense!He left bodies all over that damn field…tackling guys with the ball, or right after they had passed the ball and doing it with such ferocity. It was amazing! He had never played rugby before, but with a history of wrestling and horse wrangling, he was a perfect fit. That is until it came time for offense! He was like a fish out of water! He tried valiantly to be in the right place and the right time, but as every new rugby rookie knows, there is not such place. You are either in the way, in front of the play or left behind!
As I lay in bed this morning I was struck by how this was the exact opposite for me when I started playing rugby. I was GREAT on offense; I have great field vision and love making the gaps. I had to work extra hard on defense and still do…I have to concentrate extra hard to make sure I am tackling and not watching. I tend to watch as I want to see what they will do with the situation instead of smacking them into the ground!
Are some players just blessed with the ability to be amazing on offense and defense or do we all have one strength? As we all know, offense is horribly important, but so is your defense! When you are backed up on your try line,
NOTHING is more important than smart, swift and tactical defense. Coming up together, communicating your man…all of that is highly critical. And if you can get under the ball if they do manage to cross the line, you are a superstar in my eyes!
Just something I was thinking about this morning…have a great day!
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