Bryn Hall

Now in that kind of position, if it's a 15 metre blind, 17, 18 metres, usually how you would defend it is you'd have a winger and you'd have a 10 that would be on that side, taking away that blind side or the 10 that would be in the boot.

with how the druid did i saw it straight away i was like man there's going to be going down that short side you don't even need the need the ability to be able to use that but for whatever reason they did do that and the reason why they did do it which i loved as a thinking mind around it is that so frank lamani was in the boot so with knowing that there was a plus one numerical advantage he's the most important guy defensively that you need to try and get

So with Cortes going on that left-hand side, his role really in the defensive system, and it must be, is to follow the ball.

Even though there's two guys there, he saw the ball with Cortes, a little fake that way, takes Lamani, flat ball, and that flat ball is going to beat the flank every single time, and Lamani tries to then overchase.

It's too late by then.

So it was just a really good picture of what the defensive systems gave them, and then Cortes with that flat pass beats it for an easy two-on-one.

The best way to defend that is having a 10 in the boot because if you're the two guys, I think it was Damo and their winger, if you see a guy that's stacked there plus a winger, you're thinking okay we're not really going to be able to go that way but what that does do is you've got a 9 that's close to the scrum, you've got a 10 that's behind the boot and then you've got a winger so then actually the space is on the left hand side with the correct way.

With the open way, Quinta Pai is very good around that deep zero.

Damien can come around for a hinge out the back and throw it flat to the 15 because the winger's going to be compromised.

So if you're a draw next time you do it, you probably want to have one more extra.

But what I loved about the two guys in the boot is they just played dumb.

Because as a nine, you get a little bit squeaky or you're like, oh, you start reading it.

If they go too early, even if the nine's gone that way, you just end up going that way because that's where the ball's probably going to go.

So they did it very, very well.

Cortez did his job very well.

And the two guys that were in the boot, they did it very, very well, just holding their feet and not overplaying their hand too early.

Yeah, sorry, sorry, terminology is really bad.

We talk around shots, lads.

I should be having shots after all the explanations I've had today.

So, yeah, so just more so like, you know, with that kind of tightness of having three players, your nine, your 10 and your winger in that space, with that wide pass from Cortes and Atemeta to Quintapai and your 13 coming down with those two guys swinging around,