Game sense rugby coaching is an increasingly popular style of coaching in many sports, and in particular, both codes of rugby. Originally popularised in Australia, it is also known as Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) or the Empowerment or Questioning Approach.

The coaching style seeks to prepare players fully for the match experience, rather than focussing on the sterile teaching of skills, independently from their match setting. Game sense coaching is used by, among others, Penrith Panthers rugby league coach Matthew Elliot  and former Australian rugby union coach Rod McQueen. Here are some thoughts on why you might want to introduce game sense coaching into your routine.

The aim of game sense coaching is to produce players who are able to think quickly and respond to the enormous pressures of the in-game situation. The truly great rugby players are those who can adapt to any situation and change their playing style in an instant.

The constantly changing environment of a rugby match is incomparable to the pre-match training experience. Game sense tries to replicate, to some degree, the stresses and timing of a match, by having players play games, or modified versions of the game.

These may include changing the way points are scored (or the scoring area), the playing area, the number of passes allowed, the level of kicking allowed, or generally changing or deleting certain rules; depending on which skills or tactics a coach particularly wants to develop in his team.

Throughout the game, the coach takes a back seat and observes, after which, there is time for discussion and questioning.

After the coach gives any specific skills feedback to the players (use your judgment, sometimes a player knows he has slipped up, and will work to fix it himself without it being pointed out), he asks them questions about the game, and the choices the players made. This is to encourage self-reflection and thought about how the game was played.

Questions in a group discussion can also help to encourage a team problem-solving atmosphere. It is important that you, as a coach, accept a whole range of answers and look to encourage your players to give their thoughts rather than what they might think is the “right answer”.

Do not discount your players' ideas, and try not to provide too much of your own input. Instead, probe deeper into their answers, and encourage them to get to the root of the issue. The most important thing is to ask the right questions and foster good and broad discussion.

This means ensuring everyone has an equal say and is treated fairly. Discovering an answer for yourself is much more rewarding, and it is much likelier to stick than if it was just rammed down your throat by a coach.

Not only does game sense coaching make players better able to respond tactically on match day, it also makes training a much more enjoyable experience. Rugby players, naturally, want to spend their time playing rugby, rather than monotonously running through skills.

Game sense coaching can give you happier, better skilled players who are better able to adapt to the ever-changing situation on the pitch. After all, skills are useless on their own, without the tactical know-how on the pitch. You can't be there on the pitch on match day, so why not teach players how to think tactically themselves?