So I helped coach the Musashi University team on Saturday.
No one spoke any English (in a squad of over 30 players, in a university setting no less) which was rather disappointing to say the least. It made things difficult, but we soldiered on.
They are (supposedly) in the same league as some other serious opposition, the likes of which professionals are picked from at a later date (they follow the american system where schools and universities are the primary source for new talent, not academies.). As such, I expected an extremely competent display from the team.
I probably set my expectations somewhat too high, but overall I was disappointed with numerous factors in their play. I fear I wasn't able to get across my feelings of encouragement, nor the simple ways they can improve.
In an added twist, the team we beat by sixty or seventy points while playing for the Tokyo Gaijin team, were the opposition for Musashi. It was a training session, but one in which both teams competed.
Simple thing like turning their bodies towards attacking players when initiating switches, (leaving them chronically exposed to bone breaking tackles) or sending four players into the same defensive channel while in attack (meaning they slow each other down, and make it incredibly easy for the defence) were compounded by their lack of simple defensive patterns. They knew only one form of defence, which was easily broken by a team three times their aggregate age, and one quarter their pace.
Perhaps I'm being somewhat harsh, but I honestly expected them to thrash their opponents ninety percent of the time. Proceedings were decidedly equal among the backs, and only the pace of the youngsters gave them an edge.
I have since sent them a couple of extra defensive practices, along with a simple trick for offensive teams, that's become prevalent in the past couple of years (inside balls away from first and second receiver.) This simple ploy has netted me a number of tries this year, and works (in Japan) from first phase ball (although the rest of the world uses it later, when defences are stretched.)
On the plus side, they had an exceptional scrum half who was able to feed the forwards balls that put them through gaps in the opposing line. It's just a shame he can't replicate that in the backs.
I have no idea how strong the forwards are, as I was primarily concerned with the fast guys who spent as much time looking at themselves on shiny surfaces.
Too much hair-gel for my liking.
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