It sure took long enough, but it looks like All Blacks co-coach Wayne Smith (that's him under the padding) has finally realised that if he wants his rugby players to take a contested ball over their head successfully, they need to adopt the style used by AFL players [hat tip AB].Mils Muliana (left) and Gary Ablett (right) show how it's done. Let's hope it works for the ABs tomorrow night.
2 comments:
Compare and Contrast?
Mils has his eyes open and on the ball. God's eyes may be open but do not appear to be on the ball.
Mils uses two legs to jump off the back of a willing mount (for lack of a better word). This sacrifices height for stability and only works if you can get your legs over the leap of your opponent. God has used one leg to spring off his opponent (gooorrrrn!) and has out jumped his marker (who is still pretty high, courtesy of a clever jersey tug) and now has the comfort of being able to stretch his hands ahead of his marker's hands.
Mils appears to be about to take an overhead mark - a good skill to learn but still a consequence of giving away height in the jump. Having leapt and boosted higher, God can take the mark at chest height - which is perhaps why his head appears to be looking slightly past the ball.
So THAT'S what the 63 coaches, maangers, holistic healers, and bottle boys do. They hold padding players are too weak to lift.
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