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Rugby: Snap, Crackle, and POP - Touch Variation

Sportplan rugby has played a large role in my team's love for the...

Heather, Rugby Coach

DESCRIPTION

Split your players into two teams, giving one group of players a set of coloured bibs to set them apart, and quickly tell your players the following laws:

Keep the law briefing, brief!
Normal laws of rugby apply - in the case of a knock on etc. the ball will be turned over to the opposition.
When the ball carrier is touched, they must go to ground. The defender steps back and does not compete for the ball.
The defender that made the touch - cannot make the next touch!
The ball carrier on the groud must pop the ball to a supporting player, the pop pass should be quick - any delay can result in a turn over. Judge the speed at which the player has went to ground, how quickly the support has gotten there and how quickly the pass was made. Depending on the age and skill level of your player - make a decision on weather you allow the attack to continue or if the ball is lost and turned over.
The player receiving the pop has two options - they can take the pop at speed driving past the defender who made the original touch (remember they cannot make a second touch right away). Or - they can stop and pass the ball away from contact. If the supporting player stops to take the pop - the defence must allow that support player to make a pass away from the point of contact. The support player cannot run on.
The ball cannot be kicked.

COACHING POINTS

You might decide to focus on a number of the following?

Player communication, it should be meaningful, encouraging, and effective.
There should be examples of good communication in both defense and attack.
Players should fall correctly, knee, hips, and shoulders.
Players on the ground should fall facing away from the defense, creating a narrow gate (do as you would in the real game).
The defense should use this as a chance to rehearse their defensive formation around a ruck; the downed player can be consider a ruck in this case.
The ball carrier should have support. There may be space following the touch, and the defender that touched the current ball carrier cannot make a second touch. In the game the tackler will possibly be on the groud - we can attack that space.
The support player should ideally be hitting the ball at speed, getting beyond the touch.
The attacking team should react to opportunities that have taken them beyond the defensive line, forcing the defense to turn around.
The ball carrier should be taking the ball to ground in two hands.
The quality of the pop should be weighted in terms of speed, direction, and timing.
Is the support runner communicating with the ball carrier e.g. support behind, down now, pop now.

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OFTEN USED WITH...

Shoulder Flex with Ball:

Involve a ball in your warm-up.

Get players to pass the ball around their head to flex the neck and shoulders.

Warm Up

Space Invaders:

Keep your playing briefing, brief and tell the players the following laws.

Both teams are in attack and both teams are in defence, at the same time!
It is up to you how many players you allocate to your attack and how many you allocate to your defence.
If you are touched while carrying the ball (decide if the touch is one handed or two handed), you and your entire team must return to your red zone before being able to restart your attack. While your team is returning to your own zone - you cannot defend the neutral zone and any touches in there will not count.
If your team makes a mistake e.g. a dropped ball or forward pass. Your entire team must return to your own red zone, not defending the neutral zone as you retreat.
The winning team is the team that invades the oppositions space and scores a try, just outside the grid, first.
There is no offside in defence.
There is no kicking.

Warm Up

Scoring Zones:

Be brief when telling the players the laws of this game, it's important to get them moving quickly.
This is not a contact game.
Break your players into two teams, giving each team their own colour of bibs if necessary.
One team goes to attack, and one to defense.
Nominate a Scrum Half for each team.
There is no kicking in this game.
Normal laws of rugby apply e.g. a forward pass will result in the ball being turned over to the opposition.
If an attacking player is touched: they must go to ground, present the ball, two of their teammates ruck over (staying over the ball), and the Scrum Half moves the ball for the next phase of attack.The defence must commit three players to every ruck, or risk an infringement which will see tem pushed back ten meters. The ball must be moved from the ruck within 5 seconds.
Make sure that the defense is employing your defensive pattern around the ruck.Â
Throughout the game the coach call the point of attack e,g, attack RED ZONE or Zone 2.
The coach can also call the scoring zone, Score At Zone Yellow or Zone 3.
As the game progresses have the players call the point of attack, and the scoring zones - but they must do this early and they must committ to that attack for a period of time.
Have attacking players do what they normally would at the ruck.
Depending on your goals decide on the number of touches you wish to allow e.g. unlimited is not a bad option as mistakes will be made!
On a mistake or after a period of time, turn the ball over so that both teams get time in attack and defence.
Don't hesitate to shape the game to focus on your session goals, and let us and other coaches know what worked for you!

Warm Up

Slalom Running:

Set up a running slalom for your players to run through at the end of their training. It should be approximately 10 by 5m in size.

Slalom through the blue cones
From the final blue cone players run backwards to the 1st red cone
Then run forward out to the next red cone, then backwards again (repeat pattern until final red cone)
Quick turn around the final red cone and then sprint to the end of the course

Jog back to the start line and repeat.

Warm Up

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