The tackle corridor. The gauntlet. Tackle alley. The ‘V’.
There are different names for it but it is basically two players – representing different teams in training – going for one ball and seeing who comes out on top. The one that gets to the ball first takes the tackle and tries to present cleanly.
There is a more brutal variant – carrying the ball into two or three defenders holding tackle shields and trying your best to keep your wits.
Munster and Ireland back-row Jack O’Donoghue will never forget his first shot at the tackle corridor with his province’s senior squad. It certainly left an impression on the Waterford native.
He was fresh in, but highly rated, at the Munster Academy when he was invited to train with the senior squad. Two instances of feeling like a boy against men stand out. He tells us:
“The first was before I came into the academy and was playing with the [Munster] underage team. We were doing a tackle corridor and James Cronin was running down the channel at me.
“He absolutely sprawled me on my back. Absolutely panned me out. That was probably the first instance I had of someone properly bouncing me.”
The second instance arrived a few years later, with O’Donoghue now established at the academy but still learning the ropes. Luckily, or unluckily, Donnacha Ryan was on hand to dole out some lessons.
O’Donoghue recalls:
“After training, Donnacha Ryan pulled me aside to do some one-on-one tackling with him. I remember he just came in and stuck the hip into me and it was literally like hitting a table – there was no budge in it.
“It was like hitting this big block. Those are the two moments that stand out.”
“Donnacha is a great man to pulled you aside,” he continues, “and give you tips on the lineouts and stuff like that. He’s great with the younger lads and he really does help them along; gives them littles tools and tips.”
Just another reason why Ryan will be missed at Munster and another reason why tackle corridors are not for the feint hearted.
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