On Coaching Freddie Allen and evey thing

I got to thinking,after someone talking about Freddie Allen,his career and other influential NZ coaches,Fred [Graham Henry]has an imposing CV the Blues [3 Super titles,Lions,Wales,All Blacks with a 85% win record over 7 years almost as good as SCW`s and Jack Rowells for England[93%]and [94%]respectively.On to Freddie Allen,a brilliant First or Second 5/8[10or12]
Vice captain Kiwis NZ forces 1945-6 played 28 matches,only J,B Smith,and Sherrat playing more 30.a very successful tour 28 wins 2 draws 2 losses. Captain All Blacks on ill fated 1949
tour to SA.
Injured played only 2 tests,but did a lot of the coaching on tour played only 4 tests in his career,oldest surviving All Black at 91,coached All Blacks 1966-9 [I think] 100% win record.
only 14 tests but a lot for a Coach in the age of reality.
His most notable achievements,were taming Senior Players notably those great pals Colin Meads and Kelvin Tremain he was`nt called Fred the Needle for nothing all players were kept on his toes.All players were given a copy of the laws,they had to know and apply them rigourously whoa betide the player who gave away silly penalties.
He changed the playing style from the 10 man style to text book coaching creating the extra man,14 men creating a half a yards start for the 15 Kiwi`s style,but based on the ploys
also.
Of the Greatest NZ coaches of all time Victor Cavanagh Jr.and Snr,they created the blue print for All Blacks and NZ Rugby for decades,using set pieces to create second phase "THE RUCK"
then use the Text book ploys,Full back in,Blindside wing in,half break,the "Close".Eight forwards working as one no "seagulls",THE only coaches to fix the scrum post 2-3-2 debacle.
Like Carwyn James men without Honour in there own land they really should have been All Black Coaches .It was truly Beautiful watching his ploys executed so precisely in 1967.

emack2, I think your posts can often be quite interesting (especially as I have poor knowledge of early SH teams) but I find them hard to read because of the formatting. Would you be able to check your posts with the preview before putting them up in the future to make them a bit more readable?

Oops.

As preveiously stated I have difficulty a form of dyslexia on a Pc that is
not a problem on paper,sorry i`m doing my best.

No worries, didn't know

Some of the most popular strategies were thought up by one coach and caught on over time. Which coaches and/or strategies in recent times do you think will have the same effect?

Whoever started bringing subs on at 60mins, that seems to have stuck.

Most coaches now,have at least some League coaches involved,and many ex-league players.especially in defensive.
What you have said is very ineteresting Screaming addabs,because of law changes,PC behaviour,and Rugby as a TV PRODUCT now it has to be sexy.
Old style grind them down is not acceptable to a wider audience,what has evolved is a Hybrid Union/League game.
The scrum is now depowered,props are now used as lifters at Lineout,at restarts,the classic ruck where well organized teams could get quick ball is gone.
When in amateur days many players were outdoors workers they were naturally strong,where today it is gym fitness and muscle.
Detractors say the players then would never cope today,is drivel given same sports finess/medecine equipment they would match and often better
the present players.
BUT not maybe in the same positions,for good or ill the die was cast when Jonah Lomu was placed on the wing.
A freak a true gentlemen,brave too with his disability without it he may have been one of the greatest ever.
It is true to say tprobably more tests have been won by negative safety first tactics,than positive ones.That of course is not a hard and fast rule.
As to substitutes it is now a game of 22,and how and when you use the bench turns the game.
However when you see as you often do the bench is cleared just to give players game time.Especially if you lose the game because of what you think is a silly one.
As an example you only have one .recognised goal kicker,and 20 minutes to go he comes off.
You lose the game because the sub. misses a vital touch,or you can`t attempt a penalty at goal because of it.
You as a fan say what the? But maybe the coach sees the player limping and pulls him off because you need him next week and hope for the best.
You have to trust your coach knows best,I do think that ALL teams should have at least two game plans to resort too if one isn`t working.
Trying non stop running,getting no where is as stupid as kicking down the throat of great counter attacking sides.
Rugby is now like a game of mobile chess,where back room analysts and computers are as important as kicking or scrum coaches.
Problem is you create or can of dependent robots who can`t think for themselves and are terrified the coach will drop them if they make mistakes
so they don`t try anything that might turn a game and tHAT is very sad.

I don't think you can compare players across eras, it's simply a different game. I think that one thing that has caused a lot of changes that I am not a fan of is the number of subs allowed.

Because players often only have to last 60 minutes they can bulk up, resulting in far bigger hits and far more injuries, as well as less chance for the little guys to run around a tiring hulk.

Unfortunately the problem here is that if you got rid of/reduced subs then the players would start faking injuries to allow replacements, so I'm not sure that there is a solution.

I do agree that some players seem a little over coached these days, however I think that it is not quite such a problem as some people think. The trouble now is that defences are a lot better than they were even 15 years ago and even individuals tackling is a lot better. Hence there are less gaps for the flair players to exploit.

Fear may well play a part (especially around 2007/8 when we had the kicking ping pong problem) but often I think it's the lack of opportunity against the best defences that rugby has ever seen.