I only played a handful of times on the wing for my first team as I was mainly a fly half/centre. So, I’ve put this basic guide to wing play together using my own experience but also from watching the top wingers closely over the last few years.
We are going to go through the wing position with a fine tooth comb and give you the lowdown and hopefully give you some valuable insights in an FAQ format, here goes…
What is a winger in rugby?
A winger is the player who is the last person in the back line, i.e. they generally stand on or near the sideline. The open side winger plays on the side of the pitch furthest away from the last breakdown (scrum, ruck, or maul) whereas the blindside winger has the other side with less space in front of them.
There are four wingers on a pitch, two per team who normally play as left and right wingers. The right winger wears the 14 jersey and the left winger wears the number 11 jersey.
Some of the most famous wingers in rugby that you may have heard of over the years are: Jonah Lomu, Rory Underwood, David Campese, Shane Williams, Jason Robinson, and Bryan Habana amongst others.
The position of wing in rugby is a position that many people end up playing at some point in their career as it is usually far enough away from the main action it is often seen as a great way for new players to start, or for injured players to hide and I have to admit I have done both.
What is the role of a winger?
The primary role of the winger is to score tries by finishing off team moves using their pace to be in the right position and touch down. Their secondary role is that of a defender mainly fielding high kicks, clearing their own territory with kicks and making covering tackles.
Furthermore, teams may look to a winger to come in off their wing and provide themselves as an extra ball carrying option straight off a breakdown, this is especially true for wingers that are bigger than average.
These days the ability to catch opposition high balls under pressure from opponents chargining down on them is crucial. If they spot that one winger struggles under the high ball the they will pepper them with kicks all day long.
What makes a good winger in rugby?
The number one attribute a winger needs in rugby is pace. Pace combined with evasiveness, and creativity is a lethal combination. Add in the ability to tackle well and catch high balls and you have all the attributes for a first class winger.
There is a saying in rugby that there is an answer to everything in rugby apart from pace. You won’t see any professional rugby wing who is not one of the quickest players on the pitch.
The second attribute a good winger needs is the ability to be evasive. This is usually through a combination of employing body swerves, sidesteps, hitch kicks, change of pace and incisive running lines. Check out my guide to side stepping like a pro here.
In recent years, since the advent of Jonah Lomu at the 1995 world cup in particular wingers have gotten bigger and bigger. There is no debate that being bigger and more powerful is a great attribute to have as a winger but at the same time there is definitely a place in the game for the smaller sized players to play on the wing too.
In fact one of the best wingers in the world right now is Cheslin Kolbe who is just 5ft 8in in height and 75kg in weight, this is almost ridiculously small when you compare it to the average weight of the professional rugby players in different positions as shown here.
The final quality that I believe can make all the difference in the success of a rugby winger is their creativity. The ability to do something different, try something different and to back their own ability to produce something magical and then make it happen is a quality the best wingers possess.
I am thinking here about the greats like David Campese, Shane WIlliams, and Jason Robinson, they all backed themself and even if they made a mistake they would bounce back immediately with another play.
How do you play winger in rugby?
Be in the right position – This means that on attack you need to be deep and wide outside the number 13. This allows you to run onto the ball at pace, it stretched the opposition defence across the park meaning their are more gaps for others and it means there is usually a nice big space between the opposition outside centre and wing for you to cut back in to or for your full back to take advantage of.
On opposition all this means being wary of when they are going to kick and making sure you drop back in time to field those kicks whilst at the same time not leaving them with any easy yards to make down the blindside where you might have been standing.
Work as a back three unit – In open play on defence you need to also work as a back three unit and cover for each other. So, for example, if the full back make a break and is way upfield if you are not going to be a supporting option then you need to drop back and play the role of the full back to field any clearing kicks that may come your way.
Get involved – It can be all too easy as a winger to stand out on the wing and wait for the ball to come to you, but that would be a big mistake. Yes, sometimes you are expected to be outside scoring tries but if the ball is not coming your way you need to go and get it.
Easy ways to get involved are to look to take an isde ball off the fly half or a pop from the scrum half during phase play. You can also look for opportunities to support any ball carriers in the forwards. Often a big forward will get a chance to offload and if you can make yourself an option coming from depth and at speed it is a great feeling to burston to a pop pass and sail through under the posts.
Catch high balls – Expect your catching ability under the high ball to be tested early on in a game. Make sure you watch the ball carefully into your hands, call loudly for the ball, turn the body sideways on so that if you drop the ball it goes backwards and try to position yourself so you are always running onto the ball to catch it and not so you are running backwards to take it.
Counter attack – When receiving the ball in the deep, a winger should be constantly scanning the defensive line in front of them looking for either ‘dog legs’ where players are not standing in a straight line, which means there are larger spaces for players to burst through, or for mismatches where they could run up against a front row forward with much slower footwork giving them the opportunity to run around them.
Clear your lines – If counter attacking is not possible or too risky then the next best option is putting in a long spiral kick or a regular punt kick to gain metres. Whilst this is not the most glamorous option it is one of the fundamentals of the job and one that needs to be done well. Check out my epic guide to how to kick here.
Communicate – From the position on the wing you can see really clearly where the space for the attacking team is much better then the half backs, For this reason you must communicate really loudly and clearly when there is ‘something on’ outside. This could be just calling for the ball to be shipped wide with regular passing or miss passes, or even for a cross kick if the opposition have been sucked into the breakdown enough.
Communicating is also vital in defence to ensure that you and your teammates who, is tackling who. Typically the winger will stay on the last attacker out wide and rely on the inside defenders to cover across and tackle them this is why you will often see wingers ‘take a dummy’ as they are really concerned about staying on the outside/last man who if does get the ball they cn often shepherd into touch with a well timed side on tackle.
Be a second scrum half – scrum halves have a habit of trying to make breaks form the base of scrums rucks and mauls which is fine so long as when they do get caught up in the bottom of a ruck there is someone else who can pass well off the floor to step in and perform that role. The trouble is that isn’t always the case and rather than letting a forward take on the role the blind side winger can step in and take on the passing duties.
Score tries – this is absolutely priority number one. Stay wide, call for the ball, run on to the ball, carry the ball in the outside arm leaving the inside arm free to hand players off and go for the corner. Of course if you need to step back inside, offload in the tackle and so on but if at all possible use your pace and get in at the corner afterall, that’s your main job in the team!
Tackle – One of the main sI play rugby is for the physical challenge and contact. Whilst wingers typically make only a handful of tackles per game they will often be crucial tackles, chasing back opposition players, tracking across the pitch to make cover tackles and so on. A winger who can catch people up from behind or make a big hit and and stop opposition runners is a prized asset indeed.
Check out this video below showing exactly how to defend on the wing and use the touch line as an extra defender.
How fast should a rugby winger be?
A rugby winger should be one of the fastest players on the pitch. England winger Jonny May has been recorded running at 37.71 km/h which is rapid to say the least. However, the average maximum speed of a rugby union winger/fullback is approximately 9.15 metres per second suggesting that top rugby wingers are seriously rapid.
But remember, it is all relative to the level of rugby you are playing. Those sorts of speeds are not for the mere weekend warrior where it is more appropriate to measure your speed against other people in your squad and league.
But just to be clear, a winger should be one of the fastest players on the pitch both over the first 10 metres and over longer distances too. Check out Welshmen Louis Rees Zammit show what real pace looks like in rugby, enjoy!
How big should a winger be?
There is no fixed size requirement for a winger in rugby you could be tall and stringy or short and round,size does not really matter. That said, the size of the average professional winger in Europe is 1.84m and 92.5 kilos.
Personally, I believe a winger should be whatever size naturally fits their frame. The primary concern of a wing should be pace and elusiveness. There is not much point being a great big hulk of a winger if you can’t finish off the moves that your team creates for you with your pace. Remember, any player will fall to the ground if their legs are tackled from underneath them but if the player is too fast or elusive to catch that greater size is of zero benefit.
Some of the best wingers of recent years have been smaller than the average size for their position. Look on Youtube for names such as: Shane Williams, Jason Robinson, David Campese, Cheslin Kolb to see just how good a ‘small’ winger can be. You might also want to check out my guide to the best rugby positions for small players here.
In essence, at time it is advantageous to be big and bulky, for example, if hitting the ball up in the midfield but this is not the most important role of a winger.
Some wingers who have also been successful, and have been oversized include Jonah Lomu, the most famous of all,
What running lines should a winger choose?
Traditionally a wingers first thoughts should be to beat their opposite man on the outside. This means standing, or drifting wider than their opponent and then using their pace and an outside arc to get around them.
However, when there is not enough space to run around their opposite number, when they don’t think they have enough pace to beat them or just for variety they can cut in from their wing.
Cutting in from the wing works well if it is not obvious and you can make it less obvious by first feigning to take the outside and then take a sharp step in towards the ball carrier. This should wrong foot your opposite number and if the person passing the ball to you has committed their man you may well be able to escape through the gap between them.
Another tip for this is to leave the change of direction late with just enough time to make the step and take a flat pop pass through the gap.
Some of my first games in senior rugby were on the wing, and in all honesty I wasn’t that fast, quick off the mark perhaps, but nowhere near quick enough to go around my opposite number. So, I mastered this change of direction from out to in and even with my lack of pace, the fact that I waited and waited to make the step inside and ran for the gap meant I often made breaks and scored tries off the back of it.
Another option for a blindside winger is to stand directly behind your fly half. You are then a threat as the opposition have no idea where you are going to join the line, if at all, but the very fact you are standing there causes confusion in some defenses.
From this position though, a great option is to take a wide loop and receive the ball behind the centres who are running on a crash ball line. If the centres can fix their defenders you have an opportunity to get around the back and outside of them. It is then a straight foot race to see if you can get around them.
In this scenario, if the winger comes in to tackle you then you should have your openside winger and fullback in support who should be able to take the ball on further depending on how well the other winger covers across and communicates with the full back.
Wingers can also act as straight up ball carriers from set pieces or any break down, especially if they are very powerful, bulky, or both. This can take the pressure off the forward ball carriers giving them a break and give you the chance to pick a line usually inwards between the opposition fly half and the break down.
Of course, there are lots of other ways a winger can be used coming off different lines but in general I would say mix up the lines so they don’t become predictable, play to your strengths, i.e. don’t hit up crash balls if you are particularly lightweight, make late changes of direction to your runs and run in to gaps and not people!
Finally, you can run the best line in the world but if you don’t communicate with the guys you are playing with telling them when and where you want the ball then you might as well not bother at all, so call loudly, clearly and often, otherwise, you have only got yourself to blame.
Photo Credits:
Featured image: New Zealand winger. 1 November 2019 江戸村のとくぞう, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
