front of their home crowds must really cut you deep. But what is done is done I suppose. Nothing can change it now.”

 

“True enough.”

 

Tramp then continued to analyse the playing styles of the teams from different nations.

 

“So England prefer to play defensively and rely on kicking. That doesn’t seem like very exciting rugby to watch.” He was frowning in slight disapproval as he said this.

 

“Yes, it may be ‘boring rugby’, but it is a very effective way of avoiding points being scored against you.” Scamp butted in. “Great teams are not always the ones that can score effectively in most of their matches. The team that plays defensively is playing hard solid rugby and it will eventually leave an impression on the coaches, selectors, and scouts as a top-class team.”

 

“Good point, son.” Tramp responded, impressed at his son’s logic. “I never thought of it that way.”

 

“Just a bit of close observation before judgment never hurts.” Scamp replied.

 

“Very true. Anyway, onto the Pacific Islanders right now: They have a lot of big players and they use their size advantage to make those big defensive tackles. But they also hit hard when breaking tackles on offense.”

 

“Yeah, imagine being hit by one of those giant men.” Scamp responded in amazement at the Pacific Islanders ‘tackling brutality’. “That would be an unbelievably expensive hospital bill.”

 

“Yeah; if they don’t knock you out, they could break your rib cage with one perfect tackle.” Tramp responded.

 

“Let’s hope not to run into any dogs of that caliber.”

 

“Oh, we’ll see, son. So now onto the Tri-Nations squads: South Africa likes to run the ball a lot and only kick when deep in defense. When they have the ball, their backs can really put pressure on opposition defense by running hard and constantly driving their forwards through the wall. That’s how they gain the metres.”

 

“But they also had some of the best defense in the 1995 World Cup because they were also the fittest team in the tournament; two game elements that they lacked the previous year, which was one of the reasons why they played so badly.” Scamp added.

“That’s what called learning from your mistakes.” Tramp said. “You certainly learn a lot more from losing that winning, because you pick out your game errors and use them as motivation to drive just that much harder.”

 

“I could not agree more, dad. Anyway, please go on.”

 

“Well,” Tramp continued, “Australia have some of the fastest backs in the world and really know how to play the ball out wide to break that defensive line. Their forwards can really drive effectively with some handy hitting from their flankers. But their defense is also very effective in the way that they move up early and attempt to stop the opposition from advancing over the advantage line.”

 

“That’s a good way to play, because if the stats for the opposition are weak in the line breaks, then the other team will walk away feeling like true competitive opponents. Defense appears to be the most important element of the game at international level.”

 

“But there is no doubt that no other team in the world has more classy defense that the New Zealand All Blacks.” Tramp further added; really up-to-date, as his son was, on his level of research. “New Zealand have made a religion of the sport for a whole centenary and have been taking it more seriously than any other team in the world; way before the era of professionalism even started. That’s why they are so good.”

 

“It’s a fact that religious passion rules the game.” Scamp philosophically added. “So what is their style of play?”

 

“They have pretty much every rugby skill known to the world. They often break through the advantage line with offensive maneuvers such as palm-offs and side steps. They are also, like Australia, strong on defense when they move up fast when the ball is out to cut off line breaks. Like the Islanders, they have some big muscular guys who can hit hard and try to weaken your ability to continue playing out the whole 80 minutes. But the strongest part of their offense is that the moment they know they still have the ball in possession at the breakdown, the scrum-half makes the quick calls for the set plays and gets it out as soon as his players are in position to execute; and if he decides to get it out to the forwards, he just goes for it fast without thinking too much.”

 

“It’s a good way to go; because if you keep working fast on offense, the opposition starts to fatigue from the constant running and tackling and will eventually lose concentration to the point when you break that line and score.” Scamp further added. “But playing like that will also cause the opposition to slow up their players’ speed to get into their correct defensive positions, which you could then capitalize on the further break the line out wide.”

 

“The opposition players would have to be extremely fit to hold them back for 80 long minutes.” Tramp responded.

 

“No kidding.”

 

“But the All Blacks have not just made the majority of the world’s rugby points from touching the ball into the ‘end-zone’,” Tramp continued. “They have also had some of the strongest kickers for many generations. Two players in particular include Andrew Mehrtens and Daniel Carter. A lot of people would make it tough deciding between them and Jonny Wilkinson as the most consistent kicker.”

 

“That will depend on who has the highest kicking percentage.” Scamp put in. “I haven’t looked that up yet. But I don’t think it matters, because they are all legendary kickers and players.”

 

“Too right; but anyway,” Tramp continued. “The extra leverage of kicking can really make the difference between victory and defeat. The All Blacks’ consistent boot seems to always give them victory.”

 

“If more teams could do that, there would be greater competition for the All Blacks.” Scamp said.

 

“And the entire world of rugby.” Tramp added.

 

Scamp nodded at that comment, but then realized that they had finished their analysis of world team playing styles, and spoke up to confirm.

 

“Now that we have analysed all the teams’ styles,” Scamp said. “Let’s take a quick look at a couple more elements and then call it a day. It is time to rest our minds and bodies for a while. Cool?”

 

“Yeah, sure thing.” Tramp replied, understanding how hard the day had been with the physical exercises and heavy study. He was very committed, but even living as a stray he never liked over-committing to his work, because he understood about balancing the hard work with rest to benefit both the physical and mental health, otherwise the side-effects from in-balance could cause negative change for oneself. “Fire away.” He then said after that thought.

 

“I believe that these two elements of the game are some of the most important to take onto every game on the field: Discipline and casualties.” Scamp said.

 

Tramp continued to listen hard as he knew this was important.

 

“Now, it is tough playing consistently in the game with the avoidance of ball-handling errors,” Scamp continued. “but nothing comes at a greater cost to the game of a team than constant penalty killing. All players will try their best to follow the rules when playing on the field, but some players would do just about anything in desperate circumstances to give leverage for their team and score points. That also includes pressure from the offense on the defense to push them to the limit and force them to make errors.”

 

“So the difference between victory and defeat will usually be determined on how the teams can attempt to stay disciplined under pressure.” Tramp therefore figured out.

 

“Exactly.” Scamp replied. “So penalties will leave the teams to decide to kick for touch and gain further metres; take scrums; take a penalty kick at goal for three points; or tap the ball and run. The times when teams decide to kick at goal are crucial because they can, again, mean the difference between victory and defeat. The more points they score from kicking, the more advantage they have over opponents than when trying to go for the line all the time.”

 

“So even if one team ends up scoring more tries but the other team scores the majority of their points on penalty kicks or drop goals, they are more likely to equal or beat their opponents.” Tramp concluded.

 

“Yes.”

 

“It seems to take a lot to cope under pressure and limit penalty killing.”

 

“It is very tough, for sure. But the least that can be done is for a team to stay inside their own half to keep territory advantage; so that when the opponents do get penalty advantage, they are not as close enough to be able to kick for three points.”

 

“But they will still be able to get into their opponents’ half when kicking for touch, and when they win their

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