Ben Gillett

A2 Physical Education

Section B and C

Rugby Analysis

2015/2016

Candidate Number: 9412

Introduction

Name: Ben Gillett

Age: 27th may 1998 (aged 17)

Height: 5ft 11in 180cm

Weight:

School: Nicholas Chamberlaine School

Current Club: Mid-Warwickshire and Coventry District

Position: Hooker

Sporting history: I started playing rugby at the age of 7 for Kersley RFC.I then moved to Barkers Butts RFC, then to Broadstreet RFC and then Old coventrians RFC. From there I have played in many games of rugby including the final of the Bob Howard memorial cup at the Butts Park Arena. I have also played in the quarter-finals of the national colt’s cup. While playing for my last team we finished 3rd in the Warwickshire Colts league in the 2014/2015 season.

Elite Athlete

Name: Ross Batty

Age: 20th September 1986 (aged 28)

Height: 6ft 0in

Weight: 102kg

Current Club: Bath Rugby

Position: Hooker

Sporting history: Ross Batty joined Bath Rugby from Rotherham Titans in 2010. A product of the Newcastle Falcons academy, former Barnard Castle School pupil he was part of the New Zealand International Rugby Academy and then went on loan to the National Provincial Championship team Wairarapa-Bush, before returning to Newcastle Falcons to become a full-time professional rugby player. Batty has had four caps for Newcastle, eighteen caps for Rotherham and 100 caps for Bath scoring thirty points.

WeaknessesWeakness 1: Hooking the ball in an opposition scrum

Hooking the opposition’s ball is an important part of the hooker’s role on the pitch. As it allows their team to regain possession after a knock-on or a stoppage in play. Allowing that team to build an attacking footing to go on a score. Or to relieve pressure of the defence, if the scrum is in the teams twenty-two. In........ Ross Batty hooked the opposition’s ball on their scrum allowing Bath to win back possession of the ball. Batty is able to hook the ball back because he uses his legs to get the heel of his foot the other side of the ball so he could bring his leg back dragging the ball onto his side. Hooking the ball on the oppositions scrum is one of my weaknesses because I struggle to get my foot behind the ball and bring it back onto my side. This is due to a number of causes one of which is that my leg is not always long enough to reach the far side of the ball, so I am not able to hook the opposition’s ball. This can also be caused the opposition feeding the ball onto their side, making it difficult to hook the ball. Another reason hooking the opposition’s ball is a weakness of mine is that I struggle to get in the correct position, so I cannot balance correctly on one leg while hooking with the other leg, making the front five of the scrum unstable which causes our scrum to become ineffective in preventing the opposition from pushing our scrum backwards giving them the momentum. This can be prevented by practicing the correct position on a scrum machine and slowly introducing more of the forwards so I can get familiar with the locations of the second rows and props legs and where I should put my legs. After that introduce a ball down the middle and on the opposition’s side while applying pressure onto the scrum machine, and pressure applied by coach and players on the scrum machine. Leg power, flexibility and the time it takes to bring move the leg to the ball and bring it back (reaction and movement time) to give me more chance of reaching the opposition’s ball can be improved by training.

Preparation phase-

When hooking the opposition’s ball, the scrum is set with the front rows engaged and crouched. My left leg is behind the props and my right leg dangling in the tunnel where the ball is to be rolled. My leg is dangling because it is being lifted by pressure from the props being squeezed together. This allows me to get my hooking foot in position ready to try and win the opposition’s ball. Ross Battys preparation phase is very similar, except his left leg is more centred because he has a better body position so his leg is not as far out because he can keep his balance better when the front rows are engaged and in position.

Execution phase-

When the ball is feed in by the scrum half the pressure applied by the opposition pushing and my team resisting/pushing back lifts me up a little bit more giving me the chance to lift my leg over the ball and not kick it into the opposition’s second rows. Lifting my leg over the ball allows me to get my heel behind the ball and strike my leg back so it brings the ball between my left leg and the second rows right leg. Ross Battys execution phase involves a similar build up phase, he uses an almost identical strike to bring back the ball but he has to bring the ball in closer, to avoid hitting the ball into his own left leg. Ross batty does not get lifted up as high so he has to lift his leg up higher to get his foot the other side of the ball and bring the ball back onto his side.

Weakness 2: Incorrect body position when tackling a player

Tackling is an important part of rugby as stops the opposition from advancing to the try line and prevent the opposition from scoring points. Tackling can also build momentum for the defending team. As taking an attacking player back can disrupt the attacking team’s momentum and put the defending team on the front foot forcing the opposition to make a mistake and lose the ball.

Weakness 3: Long passes are not always accurate and that up to much time to reach the recipient player

Weakness 4: High catching when the ball is going over head

Weakness 5: kicking during play

Weakness 6: Don’t always enter the ruck for the correct position off the back foot