Mark Hammett (Blues) on regional rugby

Cardiff Blues' Kiwi coach outlines why Welsh game "would be closer to where we were 15 years ago, as opposed to where we are today"

Cardiff Blues coach Mark Hammett believes Welsh rugby is 15 years behind New Zealand when it comes to planning and preparing for games.

The 29-times capped Blacks hooker has joined the great Welsh fitness debate by insisting players must be physically ready for the demands of Test match rugby when they turn up for international training under Warren Gatland.

The former New Zealand star argues the preparation methods he found at the Arms Park on arriving from Down Under were light years away from the star-studded Hurricanes Super 15 outfit he left behind to come to Wales.

Steve Hansen’s men defeated Gatland’s Wales 34-16 at the Millennium Stadium, lasting the pace of a gruelling encounter much better by scoring 19 unanswered points in the closing moments.

In doing so, New Zealand categorically wrenched the game away from Wales and dashed dreams of a first triumph over the men in black for 61 years.

Try-scorers Beauden Barrett (two) and Julian Savea were just two of the starters from Saturday who played under Hammett during the Super 15 season just finished for the Hurricanes, with Conrad Smith and Dane Coles among the other aces on his books at the Wellington-based franchise.

And the no-nonsense Hammett expressed his amazement Gatland has had to put a gruelling fitness regime in place with Wales to get players up to speed for taking on the best teams in the world this November.

“The big thing from a rugby perspective here is the way they train and prepare would be closer to where we (New Zealand rugby) were 15 years ago, as opposed to where we are today,” said Hammett.

“That doesn’t mean there aren’t outstanding footballers here in Wales, but in terms of raising the whole level, I don’t think our club is quite where we need to be.

“I have a big concern when I hear ‘Gats’ has to bring players in and work the backsides off them for two weeks.

“The Blacks don’t come in from Super Rugby and you suddenly have to get them fit. Because there’s so much depth there’s always a fight for positions. It needs to change here – I agree with that. I speak for this region and that’s one of the things we need to get right.

“I’m asking do we have players with the desire to perform week-in, week-out? To play in horrible wet weather and give everything? Do we have the right mix? Those are the questions I’m asking.

“If you happen to be a New Zealand player there’s massive pressure. The fear of losing has been the biggest motivator of the team over the years rather than the challenge and excitement of winning. It’s what keeps New Zealand strong and at the top of the game.

“It’s a huge responsibility when you are in the team because you don’t want to be the first to lose to Scotland and Ireland. You don’t even want close games.”

Hammett, known in New Zealand as ‘Hammer’ for his honesty and straight-talking, also believes his Welsh players have had the flair coached out of them.

He maintained they dwell on and highlight their errors, and those of their team-mates, rather than move on and encourage each other.

“His findings mirror those of Gatland’s fitness gurus as the Wales boss attempted to put his finger on the reasons why Wales fell away on Saturday after leading 16-15 with just under 11 minutes left on the clock at the Millennium Stadium.

Wales conceded another four tries during the closing New Zealand onslaught with Gatland saying: “We look at the GPS numbers and they’re probably used to playing at that intensity, right at the very edge.

“These are games you’re playing against the best teams in the world and we’ve grasped every opportunity to try and play New Zealand, Australia and South Africa because that’s the way we play better.

“Playing in that white-hot atmosphere, conditions and intensity of international rugby is the way these players will continue to improve.”

He had warned before the opening autumn clash with Australia: “Sometimes our players are coming to us with not quite the same numbers, so we have to try to replicate that at training.

“The advantage the southern hemisphere teams have is the metres run per minute in Super Rugby is a lot higher, so when they transfer over to international rugby there is not a big jump.

“Sometimes it’s (figures) the same. For us, the jump from regional rugby here is massive.

“In international rugby, you are looking at an average of about 75 metres per minute covered which is about the same as Super Rugby and the average we are looking at in regional rugby is about 55-60 per minute.

“That doesn’t seem a lot, but over 80 minutes it does take a bit of time to get used to it.

“That’s why our training is geared to that high-speed tempo so we don’t get the shock we have experienced in the past.

“We know it’s coming and we have tried to address it in the past but there’s no substitute for playing. You can try and replicate it, which we try and do, but the easiest thing is to play at that intensity and that level.

“That’s why we have shown an improvement in the past against the southern hemisphere sides as the weeks have gone on.”

stevetynant wrote:He's right why at elite level are professional athletes being beasted because their fitness levels are not up to scratch it's an absolute waste of time when they have so little prep time to begin with.what I don't understand is why gatland is not in closer touch with the regions to ensure that fitness levels are where they should be before they get into camp not once thy are there there's no excuses for that in my opinion for full time professional sportsmen.

Risca Rev wrote:The WRU and the regions haven't, but that's no excuse for Gatland etc not keeping track of things.

bedfordwelsh wrote:I don't think its fitness I think its a lack of basic skills and a rugby thinking brain.  Reading some of the reports from Englands games as well it seemed they had loads possesion/territory but didn't know what to do with it.

Is there too much of an emphasis in Wales on "being physical' and picking the bigger players throughout the age grades?

IronMike wrote:Watching the Ryan Crotty try vs Ireland last year, how many Welsh hookers could have set that try up like Coles did? I can name, maybe, 1 - Kristian Dacey. The rest would have tried to drive for the line and squander the opportunity.

That right there is the difference, if our forwards were more skilful we wouldn't waste as many opportunities

IronMike wrote:Watching the Ryan Crotty try vs Ireland last year, how many Welsh hookers could have set that try up like Coles did? I can name, maybe, 1 - Kristian Dacey. The rest would have tried to drive for the line and squander the opportunity.

That right there is the difference, if our forwards were more skilful we wouldn't waste as many opportunities

ScarletSpiderman wrote:

IronMike wrote:Watching the Ryan Crotty try vs Ireland last year, how many Welsh hookers could have set that try up like Coles did? I can name, maybe, 1 - Kristian Dacey. The rest would have tried to drive for the line and squander the opportunity.

That right there is the difference, if our forwards were more skilful we wouldn't waste as many opportunities

Don't forget Ken too.

To be honest one of our biggest problems internationally is literally a BIG problem.  We have forgotten all about skills, passing etc, and now just go for bulk and brute force.

I said to the misses when the All Blacks scored from the cross field kick "the ball is fast than the man, why the fupp can't we remember that".  We have plenty of talented natural runners of the ball.  We have the likes of Matthew Morgan, Hook, Jordan Williams etc, but we are frightened to use them.

IronMike wrote:

bedfordwelsh wrote:I don't think its fitness I think its a lack of basic skills and a rugby thinking brain.  Reading some of the reports from Englands games as well it seemed they had loads possesion/territory but didn't know what to do with it.

The top guys have been playing since they were kids, why haven't the majority developed a Rugby brain? Why is it that the NZ forwards can slot into the backline and know how to draw the man and pass but our guys can't?

There is a video with Dave Tate, a powerlifting coach who talks about how in American schools, coaches tended to favour the bigger and more mature kids to play for the team and run drills, where as the smaller kids would have to go and practice skills, what happened was, that when those kids who had spent the majority of their time practicing skills grew up and matured, they had a huge advantage over the big kids who did nothing.

Is there too much of an emphasis in Wales on "being physical' and picking the bigger players throughout the age grades?

Pyleboy65 wrote:The whole system needs to be overhauled at schoolboy level. Moving to weight grade would be a start but also there needs to be more of an emphasis on improving skill levels rather than just winning. Don't get me wrong nobody likes to lose but winning at all costs is even worse.

I recently went to watch Rhondda Schools under 15's beat Cardiff Schools and the Rhondda Coaches should be ashamed of themselves. They have developed a very effective 10 man game which gets them to the Dewar Shield Finals most years but it is at the detriment of the skills of the players. The ball never went past 10 and they were driving line outs from half way. Is this the way we want rugby played ?? Surely the WRU should have more say in Schools rugby!!