Coach Tantrum to lay down the law

Wairarapa-Bush rugby coach Kelvin Tantrum will be laying down the law to his team at training this week.
His frustration is borne out of their failure to keep to some aspects of the game plan during their 11-8 loss to Buller in the Heartland championship match played at Memorial Park, Masterton on Saturday.
Particularly annoying to Tantrum was the amount of aimless kicking which all too often allowed Buller to turn defence into attack, especially those of the chip variety.
"Chip kicks have never been part of our game plan, and never will be," he said. "They are a low percentage option and something which has never even be talked about from a tactical viewpoint. We don't like them and we don't want them, it's as simple as that."
Tantrum was also critical of the number of times where Wairarapa-Bush players were guilty of transferring ball to teammates in a worse position than themselves.
"We got into the habit of passing when the best option would have been for the ball carrier to take the tackle and start again," he said. " It's all about thinking on your feet, we have to be smarter in that respect."
Tantrum wants Wairarapa-Bush to be more patient in their attacking play as well. He noted many occasions on Saturday where they looked to move the ball from first phase when they would have better off going one or two more phases before doing so, thereby "drawing in" more defenders.
"Again it's about playing smart, of assessing where the best point of attack is," he said. "If you keep moving the ball from first phase the opposition doesn't have to plan their defence, you are basically doing it for them."
Also disappointing for Tantrum was the lack of fluidity in Wairarapa-Bush's lineout play, especially since that had been one of their strengths in the win over South Canterbury in Timaru the previous weekend.
"We were pretty confident we had the lineout sussed and then this happens & we have to be more consistent there," he said.
Saturday's display wasn't all doom and gloom for Tantrum though. He was happier with the scrummaging than he was in Timaru and pleased with the tightness of the defence, particularly around the fringes of the rucks and mauls. "Defensively it was one of our better efforts, the organisation there was pretty much what we need it to be," he said.
The loss to Buller cost Wairarapa-Bush what might have been a clear lead in pool B of the Heartland championship but they did pick up a bonus point which gives them a total of eight, just two less than joint leaders West Coast, Buller and North Otago, all of whom have 10. Bringing up the rear are South Canterbury on five and Horowhenua-Kapiti on three. With just two series of pool matches to be played and only the first three placegetters in each pool qualifying for the premier section, the Meads Cup, in the playoffs which follow it is interesting to look at the draw over the next fortnight.
SEPTEMBER 13: Buller v North Otago at Westport, South Canterbury v West Coast at Timaru, Wairarapa-Bush v Horowhenua-Kapiti at Masterton.
SEPTEMBER 20: North Otago v Wairarapa-Bush at Oamaru, Horowhenua-Kapiti v South Canterbury at Levin, West Coast v Buller at Greymouth
What this suggests is that if Wairarapa-Bush can take the maximum five points four for the win and one for scoring four tries or more from the Horowhenua-Kapiti game this coming weekend they will very probably move into the top three but to stay there will also probably need at least some points from the North Otago match.
For coach Tantrum, however, thinking that far ahead will have no part to play in the build-up to their next game, rather the focus will be fairly and squarely on playing to their true potential "Do that and the results will take care of themselves," he said. "It really is as simple as that."