Role of the 6, 7 and 8 players

The following information will assist all 6, 7 and 8 players or those wanting to play in the back row.

As a general bit of advice, I should say to you if you are a number 6, wherever the No.8 is, you should try to be.  Of course, if you have a poor No.8 then my advice is useless. Your running lines must be as direct as possible- go to the ball, don't cover.

Many coaches will tell you if your are a blindside flanker, from a scrum to cover behind your backs on the opponents' ball. However, I play my flanker to the ball always.

In defense you have certain duties; From a line-out your first task in defense is to look after the man coming around the back of the line-out on a break. Once the ball is out to the opposite fly-half, defend the hole between the line-out and the fly-half so that he plays back inside, you are there to take that man, be he a blindside wing, fullback, loose forward, whatever.

From scrums, generally (depending upon coach), on the right-hand side, scrum-half takes first man round, No.8 second and flank is there to assist both; on the left hand side of a scrum when the ball is put in by opponents, you must take the first man coming round, No.8 second.

The area between the scrum and the backs is yours. If the fly-half opposing, running open side, decides to play back inside to a blindside wing, that is your tackle. There is a hole there always once the fly-half has begun his run; the hole is between line-out and fly-half and scrum and fly-half. With so many sides nowadays playing back inside, this is a potentially vulnerable spot. As I have said, it is yours to defend. So do not from scrum move across the field too early. Wait until the ball moves wide without a chance of its coming back then move across. Try to be as much as you can one meter behind and inside the ball in general play. If you are quick you will sometimes manage to get outside it in attack.

Set yourself targets. How many times do you touch the ball in a handling movement in the game? Push it up. A flanker must judge himself on how many tackles he makes and how many times he is directly involved in play. (A good loose forward will make 15 tackles or more in a game and handle the ball at fewest 10 times).

Get behind your backs when you can and take a ball from, let's say, your centre, coming through straight and close, really close to his shoulder - a short ball. Loose forwards are potent here. Few backs enjoy tackling loose forwards particularly when they are running straight. Be prepared to stand off the edge, when the game permits, to take a fairly flat ball off ruck or maul from your scrum-half.

Get into the game. Learn about your own players - recognize the backs who tend to come inside on the break and be inside to take their passes. When you are on the blindside of a scrum on their ball, run behind your scrum in defense, do not round their scrum. I repeat because it is most important, your running lines are directly to the ball (unless you have a coach who wants you to cover from blindside scrum flank). Give the ball-carrier options by offering him change of direction even if he uses you as a dummy, you are invaluable. Do not be happy merely to run obviously. Run angles when there is something on.

Most modern coaches do differentiate between open and blindside flankers but I must admit I do not. I will pick my best ball players and runners to play left and right flank throughout the game - it means they share the running. In much the same way I like to play my centers as inside on the one side and outside on the other side, so that they share the same role rather than specialize in outside or inside centre.

The modern thinking is: Your open side flanker is the quicker of the two; he is the runner, rather like a No.8, and is a ball-player, ball-in-hand type, good support runner. Your blindside is first and foremost a strong defender round the edge of the scrum, ruck, maul but especially the scrum. He is usually the stronger, bigger, slower of the two. He is the groveller, the first into rucks type, the one who closes the defensive hole between the end of the line-out and the fly-half (should the fly-half play back inside form the line-out, there should be your blindside flanker to defend that hole). He is the supporter of the deep jumper in the line-out (if you choose to use a flanker in that role). If you are going to play from the base of your scrum, it is the openside flanker whom you should involve in the play rather than your slower tighthead.

So, in brief, the tighthead flanker plays a little more like a tight-forward, a little closer to the rucks, mauls, set-pieces. He is more a fetcher of the ball for his No.8 and his other flank (openside flanker) - he does the dirty work, openside and No.8 are more creative runners.