Sam Burgess has all the skills to be a hit in rugby union, now it's about focusing on the key areas to really prosper
By Will Greenwood ~ 04 Dec 2014
Will Greenwood, one of England's greatest ever centres, writes an open letter to rugby league convert Sam Burgess on how he can succeed in the position and his new sport
Dear Sam,
You probably don't know who I am, but I used to play in the position you are trying to learn at Bath.
I once tried to play rugby league but I nearly ended up in a hospital after Dennis Betts bent my legs over backwards and tried to take my head home as a tea cosy.
It was not pretty, so I stuck with union, which is a funny old game at times. Even though a rugby league pitch is the same size, and the idea of the game is the same (get a ball down the other end of the pitch, and if the opposition have it, then smash them) union has a lot of extra finicky rules.
You have all the skills to be a hit, quite literally, in all senses. But there a few areas you could focus on if you really want to get our game quickly:
1. Gain line
Remember to use your physique, great leg drive, and pace off mark, and get over the gain line. That is your goal. Your main reason for being on the pitch. Watch Ben Morgan's first try for
England last week. It was all about Brad Barritt's great angle off George Ford that put him in behind Matt Toomua. Then it was quick ball, forwards round the corner, and a try. Whether or not they know you are coming Sam, it does not matter. You are a proper unit and you need to revive the old Wigan call of "Give it to Kevin". This was the battle call to get Kevin Iro into the game because they knew that if he had the ball, he would make yards. That is you now in the Union game.
If I could also make some observations from your first game against Quins, where you were so keen you almost bowled over your own players. Be patient. Relax. Union scrums are different to League scrums. The ball is very easily disrupted and it may not just be served on a dish. Watch and time your move better.
Also, Union mauls are something you probably have not had to deal with. Again, they can take a very long time, wobbling about and moving even after they stop. Don't set off when you want to set off. Take your timing off the ball in the hands of the scrum-half, not because you can see it at the back of the maul.
From lineouts again, use second gear as you take your first couple of paces, once you see the flight of the ball then back yourself. But remember just how many variables there are once the ball leaves a hooker's hand to throw it in. On the hit-ups in the middle, with your size, you will never be late. Being early is what will cause errors.
One final thought; even if you are big, do not be too upright. Union boys know how to tie people up and the choke tackle is rife. Get on your charge, use a lower body angle. The first time someone gets you in a choke do not get wound up by the whooping and high fiving; you are a big scalp, just get lower next time.
2. Backs Moves
Keep It Simple. Your distribution is not in question. We know you can pass. But resist the temptation to try to create too much magic early on as this will make life tough. Be happy to play the decoy. Learn your role in the move and understand your gravitational pull on defenders. Be warned that blocks get pulled up much more in union than league. Refs will be watching and opponents will be happy to play the fall guy if they find themselves in your train tracks.
So as a decoy you are looking to attract and put a defender in doubt but not to make contact. For the moves that require quick distribution, I would look for League passes - the balls that rotate end over end. When, and if, they ask you to pull off a longer pass then get on a paddock with one of the best in the business, George Ford, and work on your spin pass. Do not be embarrassed to say early doors if you can't nail a 15-yard pass off your weaker hand. Even the greatest have a weaker hand. Forcing plays is the last thing you want to be doing while learning the game.
3. Offloads
This is where self-control is going to be key. We were all watching last week, a midfield hit up, arms beyond the tackle, the offload. But it went to no one. The ball was turned over. There will be a theme developing over the next few weeks – error count. Keep it low while you adapt. Just like league teams want to complete a set of six, Union players must cherish the ball. Offloading has been taken to a new level in union by some of your cross-code predecessors.
But there are times when going to floor and recycling is just as effective. England have conceded numerous tries from turnovers in the last 12 months. A poor Billy Twelvetrees offload in Dunedin cost us the second Test in
New Zealand.
Everyone wants tempo, everyone wants ball in and out of contact. But it is not possible to achieve that every single time you touch the ball. Look for it, have the ball available if you can, but learn the power of self-control. You are bright enough already, without ever playing a full game of union to know the risky pass from the percentage pass.
4. Spend time in every position in the backs
This is not about having a jolly time. This is about learning the pressures and strains put on players in every position in the back division. They will all have different requirements and if you are to meet them, you will need to know what they are looking to achieve. Just because you want a winger to be in one position, does not necessarily mean they can either get there, or want to get there.
You will need to play their realistic strengths. Awareness of the capabilities, not just of the actual players you are with, but more importantly the positions they represent is huge. Martin Johnson used to come and learn the backs moves and play in the centre. Why? So he knew what a helpful line of run would be as a forward if he found himself out there against New Zealand.
I feel this is something the whole English backline could do. Moves and plays break down because of the way we expect perfect textbook positions from players who are being smashed and pulled and pushed. Rugby is a constantly moving platform and unless you understand how the players around you have to flow, you will not be able to adjust to them limiting your impact.
5. Back row
They are your enemy. From the back of scrums, from the tail of lineouts, they have their crosshairs pinned on you. You are public enemy number one to any team you play against. You can learn from three of the best at your own club - hard-nosed hitmen such as Francois Louw, Carl Fearns, and Matt Garvey.
They will be looking to shut you down. You will need to tell your fly-half where the gaps are and how you want the ball delivered. Do not be shy. If you are, they will eat you for breakfast.
Get your communication right with your fly-half and you can adjust and tweak, and more importantly begin to advise your fly half where you want him. The 10 isn't the fella charging into the traffic. If he wants to swap, tell him to be your guest. But when it is your turn to be the hit man, you are in charge, not him.
6. The communicator
If, as I hope, you begin to play at 12 then your eyes and your tongue are as important as your quads and biceps. Being the extra set of eyes for a fly-half is crucial for a 12. The day he tells you to shut up is the day you know you are learning. Commentate on the game as it is happening. Who cares if the opposition can hear you? The constant flow of knowledge is a good thing.
You will soon learn your own filter, what are non-negotiables, what are added extras. But keep talking. Where is the space? What are the defence doing? Learn who the visionaries are in your back three. Some are pure athletes; others fly-halves trapped in a wing's body.
I knew if Austin Healey said we could attack from our own line, then we could go. I also knew Iain Balshaw wanted to run it from our own line all the time, no matter what. Communicator, filter, decision maker. Tough to learn quickly but that is where a centre can add value.
7. Kicking
Don't worry about it. I'm genuinely not overly concerned here. Jean de Villiers, Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, Sonny Bill Williams, Jamie Roberts, for a long time Brian O'Driscoll, they didn't kick. They did OK. Practice – sure. Bring your short kicking game from rugby league into the training and see where you can use it.
But do not worry about being part of the exit strategy. Leave that to Nos 9, 10, and 15. Jason Robinson turned himself into one of the best kickers of the ball out of hand in the world. That can be your target. But it was more important for Jason back there to have the option. Where you are playing – it is not really in your pay grade.
8. Defence
Different teams drift or blitz. You have done both at times in League. Loads of numbers in the defence line, then go close the attackers down. If you are short of numbers, then use a touchline as friend or play the big gamble, the Paul Sackey tackle from the World Cup quarter-final in Marseille in 2007 or the Tommy Bowe read against Australia a couple of weeks ago. There is no absolutely perfect system. You already know that. No one is trying to teach you to suck eggs. But there are some pretty good players out there right now.
We know you want the big hit, the big bone rattler. It is how you can make the big impression. But do not chase it, the time will come. The good players might lure you in. Keep coming, keep coming, and then the ball is gone. Union lads aren't what they used to be. They can look after themselves. And they know you are coming. Be patient. And when you make the shot, the arms have to be involved and the hits have to be low. The Johnny Leota tackle on George Ford is no problem at all in rugby league - George Ford's reaction told you he thought it was ok, but refs are on full safety mode now.
Again in league some of your shots are epic, some would be looked at very closely by the TMO in Union. The last thing you want to be doing early on is the long walk for a 10 minute cool off in the sin bin. You have not got long to learn, stay on the field to do it.
Anyway Sam, that is enough to be getting on with for now. We have not even got to the breakdown yet, to the contact area, to the carnage in there. That can come later. But you will not be daunted, you won't be intimidated. You have good people at Bath.
As an old fella who loves this game, let me say welcome to rugby union young man – I know you will love it and can't wait to share your journey from a touchline.
Greens.
