ODT Online rugby writer Jeff Cheshire identifies some key points from Otago's 34-17 loss to Tasman in their ITM Cup match on Friday night.
Missed tackles
Missed tackles killed Otago again. It has been one of the stories of the season, as many of the tries they have conceded have been created from straight one-off missed tackles. Tasman's first try came as a result of missed tackle. It was not a positional problem, or a problem with any patterns or structures, it was simply a tackle that was not made that should have been.
Handling errors
Otago's handling was very poor too. Too often they spilt the ball at times when they could not afford it, whether it be running on to it on attack, receiving a kick or from an accurate lineout throw. When you are struggling to get your attack going and are lacking continuity, holding on to the ball becomes of utmost importance, hence the need to cut out the mistakes.
Too lateral, too predictable on attack
While Otago's backline are not group of gamebreakers, they are not helped by the predictability of their play. When they are not implementing the kick and chase, they generally look to attack with width from the get go. It is not working for them. They are seldom working with front foot ball, as so often they are going wide off the first phase, meaning the defence is organised and queueing up to knock the ball runners over.
You can get away with that if you have a few players who can spark something from nothing. Otago do not have those. They are a team of steady players who can take a gap when it is there, but are not going create that gap indvidually. You need to play to your strengths and passing the ball across the field and asking the backs to try to make something happen is not what Otago should be doing.
Keep it tighter
In contrast with the issues out wide, the forwards have looked OK when they have kept the ball tight and looked to attack in close. Like the backs, they are a group of tidy players who will work hard, but are not dynamic gamebreakers.
That can work in the tight though. It was where they threatened the most last week against Taranaki, and while the conditions no doubt suited that type of game, there is no reason why Otago cannot play this way on dry track too. The two first half tries they scored in this game came from a rolling maul and a sequence in which they used a few forward runners to generate some momentum, before running at a gap in a disorganised defence.
By using forward runners and the pick and go, you can create some go-forward, draw the defence in and build some phases through playing low-risk rugby where the support is close by. After you have done that, then you can give it to your backline with a platform to work off and hopefully some space out wider.
Cut out the mistakes
Much of Otago's play this year has been average at best and Friday night was no different. They struggled for continuity, made too many mistakes and other than a handful of breaks, hardly offered anything on attack. Yet they still scored three tries. If they were able to generate more momentum, string some phases together and build some pressure, then they would no doubt find themselves with more scoring opportunities. They would have to play more to their strengths with the tighter game though.
Club players v Super Rugby players
The ITM Cup nowadays is essentially a mixture of the non-All Black Super Rugby players and the best club players from around the country. There is a big difference between those two levels, the result being one group taking a large step down and another taking a large step up. The Super Rugby players generally do stand out, as the intensity, physicality and pace they play the game at is so much higher than the rest. Therefore the teams that have more Super Rugby players tend to play at a higher level.
With Joe Latta and James Lentjes both injured, only Tom Franklin and Liam Coltman have real Super Rugby experience for Otago and it shows. The team is largely made up of the best club players from around the region and young club players at that. In reality, they are always going to battle against the top teams who are laden with Super Rugby players.
