Improving your Oztag with Tim #1 #sportvariations #Oztag #TagRugby

Basically my background in sport is that I played rugby league in multiple positions (mostly in the forwards) from when I was 9 years old (I am currently 20 now) I stopped playing when i was 18 and then began to play Oztag when I was 19 and absolutely fell in love with it. I know I'm not a great player that can give you all these awesome tips but I play very regularly now and would like to share with you some tips that might help you get better at Oztag/Tag rugby. 

I play for the Korea National team (based in Sydney) that will be competing in the 2015 Oztag/Tag Rugby world cup that will be held in Australia, Sunshine coast on the 4th-6th of December. As a team we play in a local competition in Meadowbank to improve our game and also train on Sundays to refine certain team skills. From these games there are a lot of things that I have learnt and incorporated into my game that has improved it dramatically.

Improve attacking

Hip twisting

From what I have learnt and been taught about attacking in Oztag is that, hip twisting, when used correctly, has a major impact on the game. Essentially the aim of hip twisting is to avoid a defender without jumping, stepping or fending the player. As I am a relatively big bloke my agility is no where near close to those faster smaller players, therefore hip twisting for me is important to get past defenders. The timing of the hip twist is very important and good defenders will wait for you to twist your hips first then go for your tags, so waiting for the defenders to actually go for your tags first then twisting your hips is important. To use this evading maneuver properly you need to be running in between defenders then just as you are about to pass the defensive line, or a defender is about to tag you, you twist/rotate your hips quickly to move your tags away from the defenders grasps, after your successful hip twist you take off and put the ball down over the try line. Hip flexibility certainly helps so stretching before and after your game is very important as you don't want to hurt yourself.

Here we see an example of Hip twisting to avoid a defender

Playing with the ball in hand

When your attacking with the ball, hip twisting is only one of the various things that will make you a dangerous weapon the is difficult for the opposition to stop. When you are holding the ball, it helps to hold the ball in both your hands instead of tucking it under your arm. This is because if the ball is tucked under your arm there is a very little possibility that you will be able to pass the ball therefore the defenders will know that you are running and be able to just focus on you and not worry about any of your team mates that might be supporting you. If you are holding the ball in both hands, you are presented to the defending team as a larger threat as you may look like you might pass the ball instead of just running it yourself. From this position you have 3 options, you can either pass the ball to the player next to you, or throw a dummy pass to trick the defenders or you can just run past the defensive line. 

Holding the ball in two hands to pose a larger threat to defense

Also when you have the ball, it is beneficial for you to run in a relatively straight line towards the oppositions try line because that way you can make more meters for your team. Running sideways should only be used very rarely in certain circumstances however passing the ball to your teammate is much faster than you trying to cover the same distance on foot.

Playing without the ball in hand

When playing without the ball in hand is just as important as playing with the ball in hand. If you see your teammate running, it is very helpful for them if you run along side them and supporting them. When you are running with your teammate the defenders also need to worry about you because if the defender goes for your teammate, who has the ball, but he/she passes the ball to you, you are able to gain more meters or even score a try because you are given the opportunity to run past the defensive line. 

Standing deep is a term used that means when you are attacking, it helps to stand some meters behind the ball because that way you can run onto the ball when it is passed to you. By running onto the ball you get to start with a run up so when you have the ball in hand you are at a higher speed than if you were to try and run from a standstill. So it helps to stand deep and run onto the ball for more speed with the ball.

Plays

Plays is a term used with an attacking team maneuvers themselves by crossing behind or in front of each other in an attempt to confuse the defending team. Knowing how to do plays is important in Oztag in higher levels of the sport. Many great teams are able to perform and execute plays that can create overlaps (more attacking players on one side of the field than defenders) or space for their teammates to run the ball. However sometimes running the ball straight and simply passing along from teammate to teammate can be the most beneficial. 

Other

Even though the aim of the game is to not get tagged, there are instances were getting tagged may be the best option. In higher levels of the sport something called settling is very important. This is when an attacker will purposely get tagged by the defender (whilst still moving) to get a quick play the ball. This is enable his/her team to try and catch the defenders offside (when defenders are not 7 meters in front of the play the ball). By settling the ball, this puts the defenders on the back foot allowing the attacking team to get a penalty or simply run past the defensive line.

Example of settling the ball so that his team can get a quick play the ball to put the defenders on the back foot

 

Simply practice and more experience in the game will help you improve your offensive skills. These are just some things that I have learnt from playing the game and also playing with some very talented Oztag players over the past year. 

- Tim