It was early evening on Tuesday August 3rd at Amity High School, and on one of the sports ovals, the canine playing members of Amity Regional Rugby Football Club, or Amity Regional RFC, were in pre-season training mode.

Head coach Reede had got his 30 players to warm themselves up with a game of touch football for the first 10 minutes before he called them over to speak about the training session:

“Alright, everyone; listen up!” Reede spoke aloud so that the whole team could hear. “Welcome to the first pre-season training session. It is great to see you all here on this first day. Now, in this week’s sessions we will start on the basics. You will all be working on the fundamental elements of rugby, which is basically everything that we covered on the day of the tryouts. Again these will include tackling, running, rucking, lineouts, passing, scrumming, and set-plays. I want you all to become familiar with your basic skills so that you will be able to play properly but to also then function the more advanced techniques of the game. Every team has their own tricks and style of play to get the better of their opponents, but if the basic fundamentals are not right, they will make too many errors and therefore will never be able to perform their tricks. So let’s get all of our skills right this week and then hopefully it will be easier to create our styles for next week. Clear?”

“Yes, coach.” Replied the team.

“Okay, then.” Reede continued. “Now every training session we will begin with our touch rugby warm up; as you all just did; and crossover passing, then perform our joint fitness training with Schalk. After that we continue jointly to work on tackling plus attack and defense drills. Then the backs and forwards will split up and perform their methods: The backs will run set plays and the forwards will perform lineouts and scrums. Plus each kicker has to take time out from set plays to practice place-kicking, drop-kicking and punting. Then we will finish with a full semi-contact scrimmage. Again, you should all be familiar with this as we did it in the tryouts.” He then began to slowly raise his voice as he was about to finish and get his players to start training. “So now get into positions for crossover passing and start. Let’s go team! Break off!”

And the players broke off from their huddle and got into positions for the warm up passing drill to start pre-season training.

For the next two training sessions, the team went through their full training routine that Reede had mentioned; which was performed on the day of the tryouts. All players seemed to almost perfect their basic skills in the game, even though there was always the odd “unforced” error from poor ball handling and occasional ruck infringements such as failing to release the ball or failing to stay on one’s feet while rucking or entering the ruck from the side. But Reede and the assistant coaches knew that these players would slowly develop into unique athletes; otherwise they would not have selected them in the first place.

So at the end of Thursday, August 5’s training session; as the players were packing up ready to leave the training ground; The coaches gathered around in private to review their players’ performances for the week:

“Alright, then.” Reede began. “The sessions this week have not gone too bad and each player is developing very well. We have only had a few absentees this week due to personal reasons, but overall the team appears to be functioning. They are running hard and fast in the crossovers; no one is giving up or showing too many signs of weakness in the fitness session; attack is hard with enough support at every breakdown; defense is looking solid with players staying on their targeted dog and tackling well without many missed tackles; lineout throws are fast and straight and the receivers have solid pairs of hands; forwards are pushing hard in the scrums and doing well to hold them upright; all the backs are slowly understanding each set play and showing impressive speed in executing them; and even the kicking ability is good, too. However, in the scrimmage, even though everyone is working hard and fast in it, I have noticed several handling errors from a few players; plus we have had to penalise them on some occasions for ruck infringements. This calls for further action. Therefore we are going to spend next week working on ball handling and appropriate rucking techniques. These two objectives is what all of our players need to perfect before we move onto advanced play.”

“I get you, Reede.” Alistor responded first. “That said, I think that we should do several running and passing exercises: Crossovers, running and passing in numbers of four, and jogging the length of the field and back with continuous passing. Each error that is made will be punished with push-ups or sit-ups. But I would also encourage each player to come to training early for touch footy to get enough numbers to warm up properly before we start. They can also work on their ball handling and passing there.”

Reede nodded in agreement as did the other 2 coaches before Caleb spoke up to propose his objective:

“And as for our rucking exercises, we should keep going with the players on the tackling bags in lines of three with the attacking team hitting the bags and clearing the defenders out to keep possession. We should keep a sharp eye on how they are rucking while doing this; because if we notice an infringement such as leaving feet in the ruck or entering from the side, we should again enforce push-ups or sit-ups for each one until they get it right. We should do the same with our game-sense scrimmage: Any infringement that is noticed and stopped by the whistle, the team that commits the offense will be punished with the same thing.”

“Just remember to keep it to five every time they do it.” Schalk added. “We don’t want to fatigue them faster in the middle of drills if it will affect their ability to train properly. We want to keep their endurance rate as good as possible.”

“Yes, we can manage that.” Caleb responded.

“Alright then, boys.” Reede said, taking in his assistant’s objectives from his goal. “So this is how next week will pan out: We will have the same warm up as per usual: Touch footy for 5 to 10 minutes, then crossovers and four line passing, then fitness exercises, then field-length jogging with continuous passing, then offensive driving and clearing out, then the full scrimmage.”

“Alright, let’s do it.” Alistor replied.

Caleb and Schalk nodded a reply before Reede concluded:

“Okay, then. See you next week. Keep well.”

And with that they headed back to the sheds and got ready to pack up their gear to leave the training session while the players did likewise.

*

The following week starting from Tuesday 10, Reede and the assistants explained the whole weekly schedule that had been spoken about last week to the team after they had finished their warm up touch football game. As they went on, Reede added a few more things:

“It might be that using these extra drills in one session could take away time to practice set plays, kicking, lineouts, scrums and defense drills; but don’t worry because we will resume our normal training schedule next week and for every single training session thereafter. But for this week I want us to fix our mistakes in handling, passing and rucking to perfect all of our fundamentals before we introduce more complex parts of the game. Every drop ball, bad pass or ruck infringement that we see will result in push-ups and/or sit-ups until we get it right.”

Some players looked at each other a little concerned at the thought of punishment on their bodies for inconsistent play and how it would affect their ability to train, but Scamp was optimistic and seemed to see reason to it.

“Just remember, boys,…” He therefore remarked to his father and fellow Ex-JD’s quietly. “…that this is an example of consequences for inconsistency. If we do end up working our bodies so hard to the point of extreme fatigue, that will be our “sentence” for what we have failed to do; and therefore it will give us a reason to work harder to perfect our skills.”

The Ex-JD’s took that thought into consideration for a moment, and then nodded in agreement. They always appreciated Scamp’s ability to look beyond the bigger picture.

“Now then;…” Reede finished. “…let’s start. Jump to it! Get right into the passing drills, now!”

The team then parted to join groups to begin their “fundamental errors repair” work that had been set for them this week.

Throughout the two days of the week they performed the exact drills that the coaches had set for them. Sometimes a coach would take certain players aside and show them handy passing and handling techniques to avoid further error on the field; and they would do the same through rucking drills. This helped every player that they came across and the team was slowly showing signs of improvement despite the odd push-ups or sit-ups that was received from errors or infringements, but they were very limited.

At the end of the week, Reede praised them for perfecting all fundamentals and he felt that they had earned the right get deeper into the chemistry of the game. This would start the following week.

*

When the next week came; starting from August 17; Reede was encouraging the team to perform several special skills. The first skill would be not to leave the ball carrier running alone at any time; so therefore he/she would always need to be supported by fellow teammates to retain possession of the ball at the breakdown.

“At every breakdown,” Reede was saying to his players. “The opposition will be looking to counter ruck by driving us backwards and getting the ball onto their side. This often happens when there is not enough strength from multiple players or they are too limited at the breakdown to push the opposition back. That is why you need to ensure that you support your fellow player at all times for two reasons: So there are sufficient numbers and therefore strength to hold them and keep the ball in our hands for possession and in turn produce more phases of play; and be ready to receive the ball from an offload pass as the carrier is about to hit the ground, or he/she does hit the ground but immediately pops it up to a fellow teammate before the referee says that the ruck is formed. Quick and unexpected offload passes can often catch the opposition off guard and can give us a chance to break the advantage line and score a potential try.”

The second skill would see the forwards carrying the ball and running a few extra metres for 2 to 3 phases before passing to the backs and performing set plays:

“It is not a great idea to rush our backs too much with constant running and setting into position again for set plays.” Reede was saying again. “If our backs fatigue too quickly, they will not be able to perform plays properly and could therefore make errors; including missing tackles on defense. We have more forward reserves than backs, so I would like to leave the ‘hard yards’ for the forwards and keep our backs fairly fresh to give them every opportunity to run, kick, and defend where possible. Our aim for offense is to play a ‘fast running’ game to get a chance to gain metres up the field and push for that try, but by allowing forwards to carry the ball for several phases, that will give the backs sufficient time to build their stamina back up and set into their positions to be ready for the forthcoming set plays.”

The third skill would be to pass the ball simple without risking ‘flick’ passes, or quick passes behind the back, to a fellow player; or throwing a long pass:

“In every game there is always going to be handling errors, forward passes or cheap turnovers from both teams because of poor execution of fundamental handling skills. I know in some situations there will be times where you might want to try all the fancy tricks possible to try and get past the advantage line and score; such as when there is valuable time ticking over and you really need to get points quickly before possible defeat. Believe me; this will come very often for most teams. But you need to understand that attempting those high-risk passes can be the difference between victory and defeat. They may come off and you will get to the line; but otherwise the ball will be intercepted from a misguided long pass and therefore we turn the ball over cheaply to the opposition. The ball may also be misguided from the flick pass and the player may not be in the right position to take the ball and therefore it will be fumbled and knocked on or the ball will miss the player altogether, hit the ground and be ready for the opposition player or players to pick it up and steal. So I want us to make sure that we pass the ball to our teammate and teammates next to or close to us to ensure that we keep the ball in our possession and eliminate any potential for an opposition interception. Plus the offload is the only other pass that I want you to worry about because as long as there is a player to support his fellow dog and prepare to take the ball, there is usually a lesser chance of a cheap error. And in times that we might need to break the advantage line fast to score, get those passes going fast and wide from player to player for a chance to open up space out on the wing and score in the corner. Alternatively, when desperate times call for desperate measures, you can attempt a high kick or grubber kick in order to charge at the ball and then grab it to score. These, I find, are the less riskiest attempts to charge the line without silly mistakes; so stick with them and our error count will certainly remain low.”

The next skill would involve moving up early in defense to hold the opposition back from breaking the advantage line and advancing up the field:

“To play any form of competitive rugby and to be one of the best teams starts with defence. To have a strong offense in gaining territory and distance up the field along with a strong breakdown force is essential to have any chance at scoring points, but being able to hold back the opposition from advancing on your try line takes the pressure off you to get near or over your opponents score and puts it on them. In a situation where you may be down by a lot on the scoreboard and you need to catch up by scoring fast, it is a very hard task when the opposition is dominating and your desperate offensive charge at the line can only last for so long before either a single forced or unforced error can result in defeat. That is where pressure comes from. It is always tough to play well under pressure and you will find that it will come in every single game you play in just about any situation in the game itself. This is where solid defence comes in: By holding them back from breaking the advantage line, they will often find it harder and harder to reach the ‘end zone’ and therefore be put under immense pressure and start making mistakes; and that is where we find the opportunity to capitalise on those mistakes and then score. So all in all our defence has to be excellent if we are to get high on the table and in turn have a chance at making the finals later in the season. Therefore the defensive line will be moving forwards once the ball is recycled from the ruck, maul or scrum to push them back and stop them from gaining big metres up the field. And remember to assist in the tackle to, firstly, doubly ensure that you get the player to the ground, and secondly, to stop the offload. You need to attempt to hit both the waist or legs and chest to get the ball runner to the ground and keep him or her holding the ball in their possession without letting a short pass go to his/her support players. If you just let one teammate tackle the carrier low, that carrier will have space up high to get the ball out of their grasp and into supporting hands. But then in that possible circumstance, you need to watch for every possible fresh ball carrier who might receive the ball from an unexpected pass; because if they succeed and break the line, they will gain those metres and usually our full back will take the responsibility of the last line of defense to stop that player or players from scoring. There is always a chance of outsmarting the full back and getting past him to score, so that is where the pressure falls back on him or her and, in turn, us. Therefore you need to restrict the opposition from catching you off guard and keep building that pressure with solid defense.”

The final skill would focus on (in the same category as the last skill) playing a defensive style of scrummaging, rucking and mauling:

“When you have possession of the ball, you will always be looking to drive and push hard when rucking to ensure that you keep that possession. Plus when you have the ball in the maul, you will be looking to push to gain several metres and build offensive momentum; and in turn forcing the opposition to push their defensive limits and attempt every cheap trick in the book to stop that momentum, which will only end up getting them penalised and giving you more leverage. The same could be said when scrummaging; in that your driving power is essential to keep the ball on your side and safely hook it to the back to get the plays going without the opposition attempting to win the scrum against the feed. In that situation they may also try to commit any form of unseen foul play to win you over; so hopefully that will not fool the referee. So offensive momentum is important. But it is also vital to keep that in mind when you are defending in all three forms of the ‘huddle’. You will be working hard to gain defensive momentum by counter-rucking and driving the opponents backwards in the scrum in hopes of regaining possession of the ball, but there will be times when you might go too hard and the referee will penalise you for collapsing, letting go of the bind, being offside at the breakdown or illegal wheeling of the scrum; and the more penalties we give away from exaggerated defensive efforts, the higher the chance it will be of leading to defeat. Therefore you will be learning to ruck, maul and scrummage in a defensive style."

He then began this method with rucking:

"At the ruck, only attempt to counter-ruck if the support players for the ball carrier arrive too late. If you can jointly drive over the tacklee that has gone to ground before his or her support arrives in time, there will be that chance to force a turnover and reclaim possession. But if support get there quickly, they will have sufficient numbers to stop you from any such counter ruck attempt; and if you try, it will be called illegal by the referee. So focus more on getting the carrier to the ground and setting your defensive line up for the next phase of play before it begins and the opposition catches you off-guard. That way you can focus on solid defense and force them to make errors; which you can then capitalize and gain possession or a scrum feed. That, I find, is the safest and most effective way to force turnovers instead of tiring yourselves out from excess counter-rucking efforts and risking too much 'penalty killing time', if you will."

He then talked about mauling and scrumming:

"In the maul, the team with the ball will always be looking to gain momentum and driving advantage every time one is formed. They will often do this when they are close to the line because they will be looking to drive over the line and score a try. This can also happen in five metre scrums when the ball is at the back of the scrum and they push those few extra metres before they can just pick the ball up and touch it down for the five-pointer; and if you attempt to drive them back and stop the  momentum, you can only push yourselves so far before you get penalized for pulling the maul down or entering from the side. Plus if you continue to infringe, a penalty try may be awarded to them. Therefore you need to stay composed and hold them back from advancing on you by providing as much strength in numbers and power to the maul and scrum as possible and digging those boots into the ground to further assist in the restriction of movement; and if you are lucky enough, the maul may unintentionally lose its stability and collapse to the ground to change into a ruck, therefore halting the oppositions chances of driving any further forwards. But very important: You need to conserve your energy, because stamina can only last for so long and there is nothing worse than attempting to counter-attack over and over again until you have used all your energy and fatigue to the point where the opposition will take advantage and break through you to score."

So the next training day; Thursday, August 19; the team set out to practise these advanced skills that they had been taught about. The early moving defense and simple passing skills were able to be practised during touch football and provided double the practice of these two most important elements of rugby in one session so that the players could be properly warmed up for the scrimmage and perform them without error. The remaining skills; ball carrier and breakdown support, short ball carries by forwards for 2 to 4 phases before execution of set plays by the backs, and defensive scrumming, rucking and mauling; were performed in the game-sense scrimmage. The team managed to execute well, but on the odd occasion the coaches would notice that something wasn't happening that should, and they would blow the whistle to stop the game and take the team in a huddle and explain to them the positives and negatives of their gameplay and what they needed to do to fix and perfect it. And every time they would go out again they would play harder and more consistently.

Reede was completely determined to get his team in the best possible physical and psychological state to make them competitive. Tramp, Scamp and the Ex-JD's had also noticed this.

"He really means business, doesn't he?" Scratchy queried about their coach to his fellow gang at the conclusion of another training session.

"Yes, he is pretty serious about getting us to play at our best." Sparky put in. "He knows that this level of rugby is a step up from club level and therefore belonging here means we have to lead by example. If we cannot show everyone why we were picked to play, then it makes no sense being here."

"That's the true example of professionalism." Tramp added. "Yes, we are playing at ametuer level, but unless we work hard towards playing to professinal standards, we will never become competative."

"True enough, 'Kay?" Mooch also said. "If only all rugby clubs could realize that."

"I don't think any coach at this level with let their players forget it." Scamp finished. "As Scratchy said; they mean business."

The skill sessions continued to be rehearsed every Tuesday and Thursday for the remainder of August; in which time after the season was to begin on Saturday, September 4. 

Voluntary outdoor fitness sessions were also available at the oval every Saturday, which was headed by Schalk. Most, but not every team member attended each of the 4 sessions in the month. The Ex-JD's and the schnauzers did, being very commited as Scamp had encouraged them to be at the beginning, as well as the more experienced or older dogs of the team; including, but not limited to, centre Vivian Prestona, fullback Moody Thompson, fly half and centre Dreamer Forsburg, and loose forward Spanner Blignaut. And these sessions included sprints, beep tests, resistance bands, push ups, sit ups, burpees, barbell swings, boxing, and core muscle exercises. Schalk was really pushing his commited participants to the limit and a lot of them felt so fatigued that they could barely stand without constant water breaks, but they still continued on with each exercise as best as they could without stopping to show their will and endurance; otherwise it would have been ironic to choose to participate in the first place.

*

At the conclusion of the final pre-season training session on Thursday, September 2nd, Reede gathered his team into a huddle to speak his final words:

"Alright, team; I have a few things to say before we head out. Firstly, the annointment of our team captain: This dog has shown exeptional skill and determination in player support and ball running as well as offensive and cross-field kicking and solid covering defense. He also specialises well in the psycology of the game. More importantly, he has provided additional help and support to every player who has needed it in the entire pre-season and he has reported team progress to, plus consulted with, the coaching staff every training session. Because of this, we are proud to pick him to lead us to glory. Amity Regional Rugby Football Club, please welcome your captain; Dreamer Forsburg!"

The entire team plus higher staff members present applauded loudly and cheered as their new leader came forward and shook his head coaches paw as well as the additional coaching staff, manager, and Amity Regional RFC President Vince. He then stood beside them as Reede continued on:

"Yes, congatulations, Dreamer, and we wish you the best of luck. And as for our vice captain; he has shown solid offensive drive and power at virtually every breakdown, averages about 5 metres per ball carry, and is a solid 'defensedog' with no one being able to edge past him as far as we have seen. He has also provided solid help and support for our team at every need and has consulted with Caleb on the forwards' work whenever available. But he also has a bit of a philosophical side about him and he has not been afraid to share that with every single one of us. So for his skill, vital philospsohies and plentiful advice, we are pleased to present the vice captaincy to Spanner Blignaut!"

The team and coaches applauded and cheered at a reasonable volume again as Spanner came up to recieve his honour with the paw shake from the higher staff. He then also joined them and Dreamer as Reede spoke again:

"Congratulations to you as well, Spanner. Now, secondly; as of now, pre-season has officially ended. It has been a long month of tough, hard work and I am sure all of you have been looking forward to the beginning of the main season. As far as I and the coaching staff are concerned, you have been working the special skills well and I have not seen many fundamental errors; so at state and college level, this is exactly what we expected to see from a very dedicated team. You are now more than ready to take on the best in the business; so go out there and show the critics what you are capable of. Go beyond your level of expectation and reach those limits. Do whatever it takes to be true competitors. That is what we expect from you: Not to focus on winning, nor the pressure from the surrounding crowd, nor the scoreboard, nor the predictions of the games' turnout, and nor the opponents; but on your own competitive edge. Focus on playing hard throughout the whole 80 minutes of gameplay and do not get psycologically put off by whatever is outside your own buffer zone, otherwise it could eventually lead to defeat. Even if you do not come away with victory at the end, if you have played tough and made it hard for the opposition to get on top, you will always earn your position as a true respectable and competitive rugby club and your opponents and critics will therefore bow down to what you have achieved. Remember this before every single game that you will go out to play and your spot on the ladder will always remain between 1 and 4. Alright, then, paws in."

Every team member huddled close and placed their paws in the middle of it together.

"Our opening season game is against Cheshire RFC this Saturday. Make sure you get here no later than 11:30 a.m.. The game begins at 1:00 sharp. We need to ensure that we get properly warmed up before the game starts, so allow yourselves time before the game to do so. The earliest dogs to turn up will be ensured a run. Those who turn up late will lessen their chances at sufficient minutes on the turf inside the white lines. So keep that commitment that you have had all this month going. Best of luck to you all in the build up to the game. Now, on the count of three, shout; 'Amity RFC!'. We make this our ritual before every single game. Let's go: One, two, three..."

"AMITY RFC!" The whole team yelled enthusiastically as they raised their paws into the air.

"Good work, team." Reede finished. "That will do it from here. See you on Saturday."

And with that, the team broke off, went to grab their bags from the team sheds and filed out from the playing fields. 

But Scamp approached Reede as everyone was leaving and had the urge to ask him something that had been on his mind for a while.

"Hey, Coach." Scamp began.

"Hi, Scamp." Reede replied, who then immediately expressed his observations to his second rower with impression. "You are looking pretty sharp out there, bud. You have recieved so many takes in the lineout, you are defending well and tackling hard, your support for the ball carrier is  incredibly consistent, and you have gotten so many runs with the ball. I will not lie when I say that I am very impressed with you. You are certainly one of our most commited forwards, so you are going to be one of our first choice second rowers."

"Well, thanks, Coach." Scamp replied, very flattered by the complements from his 'boss'. 

"Yeah, you certainly seem to know a lot about how to really play the game." Reede further added.

"Well, I am only fresh; and so is my father, Tramp; Mooch; Scratchy; and Sparky. We are all together and we train and study together. We used to be fellow strays, but now we all live in separate homes with our human owners; apart from dad, of course, as I live with him in our mansion. The inspiration to play all came from watching a famous rugby match on TV, and I guess the speed, intensity and physicality of the game caught our attention on the spot."

"I see." Reede, seemingly intrigued, replied. "Which match was it that you saw, may I ask?"

"The 2007 Rugby World Cup Final."

"Ah, yes!" Reede responded in a slightly pleased surprise. "Very hard fought game that one was. A real blessing for South Africa to win that one with how hard they played all tournament."

"Yeah, that is what I wanted to ask you because from your accent, you must be from another country." Scamp remarked again. "Is that where you are from? South Africa?"

"Very good, my boy." Reede replied, even more impressed. "Yes, I was born and grew up in Durban. I played there for 3 years with the local canine rugby club as a loose forward. During that time, our team never won any titles but we did get runner up one year and made the quarter finals the other two, so I have to say that we had a good run. Anyway, after retiring I took up coaching the junior team for one year before moving on to head coach the senior team after their coach stepped  down. We went well and got as far as the semi-final before making the final the following year and claiming the title. It was a great moment in my life and one that I will never forget. Anyway, after that, my owners decided to move from there and come to the USA for a generous offer for a top job in this very state. So now we reside in New Haven, and have been here for almost a year, now. Shortly afterwards, I found this club and discovered that they had a vacant spot for the head coach position. Caleb was originally in charge, but after last season he wanted to 'step down a rank', if you will, after 4 years because of how busy it was getting for him when he had family to take care of, and the position opened up; so I took it. And the rest is history."

"Wow!" Scamp responded in slight awe. "One amazing journey it must have been for you."

"Too right. Having the rugby and traveling experience seemed to be one amazing way to make a living, so who could complain? I do enjoy being here because it is a beautiful state and a nice friendly town. Durban was nice, too; but then again it is good to get a change of scenery in another country. I do hope that my owners can extend their stay."

"Well, best of luck. I am sure they will. Enjoy this country while you can."

"Thank you, Scamp. I will."

Tramp, for a distance, then made a call to his son to get him to come over to their car: "Come on, Scamp! We have to get going before the others wonder where we are!"

Scamp got the message and turned back to his head coach one last time.

"Alright, I have to go now." He said. "Good talking to you, coach, and I'll see you on Saturday."

"Nice to talk to you as well. See you then, Scamp."

And with that, both the elder canine and the younger canine walked their separate ways to soon exit the rugby grounds. 

But they and the rest of the team would only have to wait two more days to come back here for the opening rugby match of the season...

To be continued...

Reede, Caleb, Alistor, Schalk, Vince, Dreamer Forsburg, and Spanner Blignaut (c) BlackJack16

All remaining characters (c) Walt Disney

I fully respect the regulations against copyright violations.

(c) May 2013; BlackJack16.