Ben Gillett

A2 Physical Education
Section B and C
Rugby Analysis
2015/2016
Candidate Number: 9412

Introduction

Name: Ben Gillett

Age: 27th may 1998 (aged 17)
Height: 5ft 11in 180cm
Weight:
School: Nicholas Chamberlaine School
Current Club: Mid-Warwickshire and Coventry District
Position: Hooker
Sporting history: I started playing rugby at the age of 7 for Kersley RFC.I then
moved to Barkers Butts RFC, then to Broadstreet RFC and then Old coventrians
RFC. From there I have played in many games of rugby including the final of the
Bob Howard memorial cup at the Butts Park Arena. I have also played in the
quarter-finals of the national colts cup. While playing for my last team we
finished 3rd in the Warwickshire Colts league in the 2014/2015 season.

Elite Athlete
Name: Ross Batty
Age: 20th September 1986 (aged 28)
Height: 6ft 0in
Weight: 102kg
Current Club: Bath Rugby
Position: Hooker
Sporting history: Ross Batty joined Bath Rugby from
Rotherham Titans in 2010. A product of the Newcastle Falcons
academy, former Barnard Castle School pupil he was part of the
New Zealand International Rugby Academy and then went on
loan to the National Provincial Championship team WairarapaBush, before returning to Newcastle Falcons to become a fulltime professional rugby player. Batty has had four caps for
Newcastle, eighteen caps for Rotherham and 100 caps for Bath scoring thirty
points.

Weaknesses
Weakness 1: Hooking the ball in an opposition scrum
Hooking the oppositions ball is an important part of the hookers role on the
pitch. As it allows their team to regain possession after a knock-on or a stoppage
in play. Allowing that team to build an attacking footing to go on a score. Or to
relieve pressure of the defence, if the scrum is in the teams twenty-two. In........
Ross Batty hooked the oppositions ball on their scrum allowing Bath to win back
possession of the ball. Batty is able to hook the ball back because he uses his
legs to get the heel of his foot the other side of the ball so he could bring his leg
back dragging the ball onto his side. Hooking the ball on the oppositions scrum is
one of my weaknesses because I struggle to get my foot behind the ball and
bring it back onto my side. This is due to a number of causes one of which is that
my leg is not always long enough to reach the far side of the ball, so I am not
able to hook the oppositions ball. This can also be caused the opposition feeding
the ball onto their side, making it difficult to hook the ball. Another reason
hooking the oppositions ball is a weakness of mine is that I struggle to get in the
correct position, so I cannot balance correctly on one leg while hooking with the
other leg, making the front five of the scrum unstable which causes our scrum to
become ineffective in preventing the opposition from pushing our scrum
backwards giving them the momentum. This can be prevented by practicing the
correct position on a scrum machine and slowly introducing more of the forwards
so I can get familiar with the locations of the second rows and props legs and
where I should put my legs. After that introduce a ball down the middle and on
the oppositions side while applying pressure onto the scrum machine, and
pressure applied by coach and players on the scrum machine. Leg power,
flexibility and the time it takes to bring move the leg to the ball and bring it back
(reaction and movement time) to give me more chance of reaching the
oppositions ball can be improved by training.
Preparation phaseWhen hooking the oppositions ball, the scrum is set with the front rows engaged
and crouched. My left leg is behind the props and my right leg dangling in the
tunnel where the ball is to be rolled. My leg is dangling because it is being lifted
by pressure from the props being squeezed together. This allows me to get my
hooking foot in position ready to try and win the oppositions ball. Ross Battys
preparation phase is very similar, except his left leg is more centred because he
has a better body position so his leg is not as far out because he can keep his
balance better when the front rows are engaged and in position.
Execution phaseWhen the ball is feed in by the scrum half the pressure applied by the opposition
pushing and my team resisting/pushing back lifts me up a little bit more giving
me the chance to lift my leg over the ball and not kick it into the oppositions
second rows. Lifting my leg over the ball allows me to get my heel behind the

ball and strike my leg back so it brings the ball between my left leg and the
second rows right leg. Ross Battys execution phase involves a similar build up
phase, he uses an almost identical strike to bring back the ball but he has to
bring the ball in closer, to avoid hitting the ball into his own left leg. Ross batty
does not get lifted up as high so he has to lift his leg up higher to get his foot the
other side of the ball and bring the ball back onto his side.
Weakness 2: Incorrect body position when tackling a player
Tackling is an important part of rugby as stops the opposition from advancing to
the try line and prevent the opposition from scoring points. Tackling can also
build momentum for the defending team. As taking an attacking player back can
disrupt the attacking teams momentum and put the defending team on the front
foot forcing the opposition to make a mistake and lose the ball.

Weakness 3: Long passes are not always accurate and that up to much time to
reach the recipient player

Weakness 4: High catching when the ball is going over head

Weakness 5: kicking during play

Weakness 6: Dont always enter the ruck for the correct position off the back foot