Contact Help center
Rugby Rugby
HOME Rugby Coaching Trends SEARCH

Rugby: 5 v 3

5 v 3 DRILLS
View All

5 Attacks 3

Using cones mark out the four corners and the midways points of each side of a 20 x 20 meter training area. Divide your players into groups of 8, and allocate one group of 8 to each training area. Have one coach at each training area, and one ball. Each player should have their own cone to stand on, as shown in the diagram. Have more than one training area in order to keep your players as busy as possible. Tell your players the following...... This will be a 5 v 3 attacking opportunity for the 5 players given the ball. There are 4 players on the midpoint positions, one on each side of the training area. The coach will give the ball to one of those players. The 4 closest players will join the ball carrier in attack, the opposite 3 players will become defenders. The try line is just across the defenders starting line. The defenders operate within the laws of the game and should try to stop the attack by turning the ball, forcing a mistake, or pushing the attack out of the playing area. The attack should aim to score a try, but should play within the laws of the game. When the attack is over the coach will take the ball and players should return to their starting positions for the next attack. Don't forget to give every player the opportunity to play in attack and defence by changing the starting position of the ball.

Sevens

Non-Stop Rugby

Play 5 v 3. The aim of the game is for teams with unequal number of players to defend and attack. Possesion is changed if one of the following :- A try is scored, there is an interception or three people are tagged. Players must ensure that they replace tags when they are removed. If at any stage the ball goes loose any team can pick up the ball.

Tag Rugby

Running Lines with Defence

Running straight and changing your running line will make players better attackers and underpins an effective 2 v 1 Start with a 5 v 3 situation, all five attackers start in a slightly angled line with the end player with ball in hand On Go, the play starts and the first pass is made. The receiving player runs a straight line toward the opposing player and 'fixes them up', meaning the defender is square on and must make the decision to either tackle or anticipate the pass

Passing

Team of 5 v 1 v 3 v 1 Tag Rugb...

Change the shape of the defenders. Instead of a single line, one behind the other, try 1 then 3 then 1 or 1 2 2.

General

Non-Stop Rugby Tag Rugby - Spo...

Play 5 v 3.The aim of the game is for teams with unequal number of players to defend and attack. Possesion is changed if one of the following :- A try is scored, there is an interception or three people are tagged.Players must ensure that they replace tags when they are removed. If at any stage the ball goes loose any team can pick up the ball.

General

Team of 5 v 1 v 1 v 1 v 1 v 1 ...

2 x 20m x 10m Channels 5 Defenders in each channel, spaced 5m apar The attacking team of 5 players must beat each defender in turn by running or passing and score a try once all 5 defenders have been beaten. Defenders are only allowed to move sideways.

General

Lesson 4 Layout Tag Rugby - Sp...

General

Kick and join the attack 5 v 4...

One player kicks the ball to the 1 player left at the end of the grid as soon as the kick goes in the air the rest of the kicking team run to support the catcher to play a 5 v 4 against the defence. The defence can not start until the ball is caught.

General

4v3 Passing Channel Passing - ...

This is a 4 v 3 overload drill in favour of the attackersThe area is set out, with four attackers spread out across the back line, three defenders 5 yards in front them, and another row of three defenders 5 yards behind themOn GO, the coach passes to the first attacking player, and the ball travels along the line to eventually reach the end playerThat player is then first to reach the next line of defenders, and the ball is passed back along the line and the original attacker should receive the ball in space to 'score a try'.

General

Game - 6 vs 4 Tag Rugby - Spor...

Pitch is 20m x 20m. All players wearing Tag BeltsStart the game with a free pass, defenders must start behind the half way lineAttacking players must try to run past defenders to score a try. If tagged, the attacker must pass the ball to a team mate. After a tackle, the defenders must give the tag back, stay on their own side of the ball and NOT intercept or obstruct the pass.

General

Running Lines with Defence Pas...

Running straight and changing your running line will make players better attackers and underpins an effective 2 v 1Start with a 5 v 3 situation, all five attackers start in a slightly angled line with the end player with ball in handOn Go, the play starts and the first pass is made. The receiving player runs a straight line toward the opposing player and 'fixes them up', meaning the defender is square on and must make the decision to either tackle or anticipate the pass

General

5 Attacks 3 Sevens - Rugby Dri...

Using cones mark out the four corners and the midways points of each side of a 20 x 20 meter training area. Divide your players into groups of 8, and allocate one group of 8 to each training area. Have one coach at each training area, and one ball. Each player should have their own cone to stand on, as shown in the diagram. Have more than one training area in order to keep your players as busy as possible. Tell your players the following...... This will be a 5 v 3 attacking opportunity for the 5 players given the ball. There are 4 players on the midpoint positions, one on each side of the training area. The coach will give the ball to one of those players. The 4 closest players will join the ball carrier in attack, the opposite 3 players will become defenders. The try line is just across the defenders starting line. The defenders operate within the laws of the game and should try to stop the attack by turning the ball, forcing a mistake, or pushing the attack out of the playing area. The attack should aim to score a try, but should play within the laws of the game. When the attack is over the coach will take the ball and players should return to their starting positions for the next attack. Don't forget to give every player the opportunity to play in attack and defence by changing the starting position of the ball.

General

Tabata Touch Tag Rugby - Rugby...

You can play any version of touch you like, I'm going to suggest One Touch Off-Load - but you can change this to suit your training goals for the session ahead. Mark out your training area for the game, but include one or more Tabata training zones for your players (these zones don't have to be very big). If you only have one other person helping you - you might have only one zone, but if you have more assistant coaches or helpers standing around, create more zones - you'll find they will be used. Split your players into two teams, giving them bibs if needed. Keep your law briefing, brief - telling the players the laws of the version of touch you have decided to play. Tell them that as an addition to the normal laws, we now have a sin binning for mistakes e.g. you may decide that all mistakes are sent to the sin bin (The Tabata Zone), you might just focus on forward passes, or penalties. My point is that you can tailor this to suit your coaching goals. Players sent to the sin bin will be there unit sent back by the supervising coach. Don't forget to swap the defense and the attack. Also you can focus the sin binning on the defence for not meeting your defensive goals. Using the Tabata Zones Small areas with one coach/helper. The Tatbata protocol is often 8 periods of intense 20 second activity - with 10 seconds of rest in between (sound simple - try it!). Tell the sin binned player they have 20 seconds to complete as many press-ups as they can, then give them 10 seconds to rest. Repeat 8 times, or reduce to a number of repetitions that work for you and your players. When the player has completed their reps - return them to the game. What you could do in the zones: Press ups, Lunges, Burpees, Sit ups, Etc.

General

5 v 5 tag rugby Practices for ...

2 teams. 5 players on each team in a large coned area. Area size depends on age, ability, and number of players in each team. Team with the ball attempts to score a try by running forwards and passing the ball behind them to their team mates, whilst trying to avoid being tackled. If the player with the ball is tagged, play stops and restarts by the player passing the ball to a team mate. Play continues. If the team carrying the ball is tagged 5 times, or drops the ball it is turned over to the opposition. Playing time can vary dependent on age range of players. Award 1 point for each try scored.

General

3 v 2 into 2 v 1 Passing - Rug...

Drill to practice overlap situations.Set up a grid roughly 10m x 10m, with another grid roughly 5m x 5m adjacent to it (see diagram - red cones and green cones).In the bigger grid have two defenders (red) and in the smaller grid have one defender (red).Three attackers (blue) attack the 2 defenders in the first grid. Once they have completed the 3 v 2 situation the player with the ball and one other support player run around the cone and attack the one defender in the smaller grid.Swap the attack and defence after 3-5 repetitions. PROGRESSION:The ball starts on the opposite side to practice passing in both directions.A coach/other player feeds the ball to the three attackers so the drill can start in any position. The coach/other player can kick or roll the ball to the attack to start the drill.

General

Realignment & Depth - 5 v 4 Ha...

The realignment and depth hands drill is a quick drill to focus the players in sharpening their alignment and depth before a session. You can spend as long or as short on this drill as you need. The aim of the drill is to develop the speed at which players realign themselves, to support their early hand-catch, quick and accurate transfer of the ball to a support player.Set a 5 cones 1.5 meter apart in straight line. This will mark where the players will start the drill fromSet 4 cones at a diagonal in line with the starting cones from one edge. This will be the cones that the defending players need to retreat to before coming up to pressure the attacking players.The first attacking player needs to step back 1 meter and will receive the ball from the first defending player who has also stepped back 1 meter to his designated coneDivide the group into 4 attacking player and 5 defending players, there should be a free attacking playerThe ball starts with the defending playerOn the coaches call, all defending players need to work back to their designated cone and then come forward in a straight line to their opposite attacking playerThe attacking players set their own depth to ensure they have time to catch and pass effectivelyOn the coaches call, the first defending player will move back to their cone, once they get to the cone they pass the ball to the first attacking player, and then the first defending player tries to put pressure on the first attacking playerThe attacking players try to get the ball to the 5th player without being ‘touched’ by a defending player

General

3 vs 2 - Support Running Match...

3 vs 2 in a grid. Defenders must stay in position to start. Once skills progress defenders can move to try and stop attackers either by intercepting the ball or touch tackling the ball carrier.

General

Join the attack: 2v1 - 3v2 - 5...

With a group of nine, tell two of them they are attackers - for now. The rest will be in defence. Allocate your defenders within the grid, one defender at defenders cone 1, two defenders at defenders cone 2, and three defenders at defenders cone 3. Tell the defenders that they can move side to side, but not forward and back. Also - tell the players on defenders cones 1 and 2, that they will join the attack when they have finished their defensive duties. So after the first 2 v 1, the 1 defender joins the attack to make the next attack 3 v 2, when this attack is over - the two defenders join the attack to make the last attack 5 v 4. Have your demonstration group quickly complete a walk through, then a run through. Now get the other groups working. Don't forget to give the last four defenders a chance in attack.

General

Rugby: 3 v Tackle Bag and body...

3 attackers start at the beginning of the grid who will go up against the tackle bag first and then the person in the body suit second; these two should not stand next to each other unless you move on to the progression. At the coaches command the attackers will go into the tackle shield first with the ball carrier going to ground and the two supporters either both clearing out or one person clearing and the next picking up the ball and going into the next defender 5 metres behind who will be in a bodysuit. The ball carrier here will try to stay strong on his feet and offload to the two support runners or one of them will come in and rip the ball and offload to the support runner who will finish by crossing over the line.

General

3 v 2 Reverse Drill Passing - ...

Drill to practice 3 v 2 attacking scenarios.Set up a channel 20m long and 15m wide with cones every 10m along the length (red, yellow, green).Set up 5 lines of players between the first two cones, the two players on each end are the defenders (red), and the three in the middle are attackers (blue).The ball starts with one of the defenders on one side and that player runs forward and throws a long pass to the defender at the other end of line. He then continues his run around the far (green) cone to defend.The defender who has caught the ball puts it down on the middle (yellow) cone and continues his run around the far (green) cone to defend.Once the second defender has put the ball down on the yellow cone the attackers may begin their attack. The player nearest the cone runs to pick up the ball and then they attack the two defenders, trying to score over the line marked by the green cones. PROGRESSION:Start from the opposite side to practice passing in both directions.Reduce the width of the channel to make it harder for the attackers to scoreAdd a defender to come round late and create a 2 v 1 after the 3 v 2

General

Touch Ruck Game Ruck - Rugby D...

Groups of 105 v 5 match, after each touch the touch player must simulate a ruck by hitting the floor.Allow 1 player to clear defenders awayOffside line for defenders 5m back from ball

General

3 Times A Charm Sevens - Rugby...

Tell your players the following...... On the 4 players side, they will go 2 at a time in attack - the balls should be with these players. They will advance around the lower part of the training area. On the 6 players side, they will go 3 at a time in order to provide 3 defenders, one will advance to the 7 meter marker, the second will go to the 14 meter marker, and the last will stay at the back of the grid. They will advance around the top part of the training area. The attacking players will now face three 2 v 1 situations. Once the attack finishes the two attacking players return to their starting position, the next two attackers go. At the same time the next three defenders go, while the last three defenders return to their starting position. Don't forget to give every player a chance in attack and defence.

General

5 vs 5 Touch Rugby Match Relat...

Touch Rugby in teams of 53 Touches and change possession.When a player with the ball is touched, tackler stays in passive contact. Ball carrier slides to the ground and presents the ball, with the nearest supporting player comes in and acts as a scrum half.

General

Rugby: Tackle Technique 3/5 -l...

Groups of 2 Tackle Bag An attacker holds a bag 2m away from a defender.Defender hold hands behind his back, while bagholder stands in split stance. The Defender then does continuous steps and shoulder impacts off each shoulder one after the other.

General

Follow the Leader Practices fo...

6 players and 1 ball in a coned area. Player A leads with the ball, and the other 5 players follow. Player A runs and changes direction within the coned area. Coach shouts change and player A passes the ball to player B to become the leader. The drill continues and player A joins the back of the line. The drill is continuous until all players have lead the line.

General

3 v 2 Fixing Defenders Passing...

This is a backs moves passing exercise, aimed at drawing and fixing up a defender, to give a supporting teammate more space and take the defender out of the play3 attackers line up along one side of the area, 2 defenders stand next to each other on the short side next to the coachOn GO, the defenders run into position and the coach passes to the first attackerThe attacker runs with the ball towards the first defender before passing sideways to their teammateThat player then runs at the second defender and before contact passes across to the spare attacker to run to the other end of the area.

General

8 vs 3 Game Match Related - Ru...

8 players are lined up just outside the 22 metre line, with 3 defenders starting under the posts with the ball. One of the defenders kicks the ball towards the 22 metre line. Once they the attackers have caught the ball they have to try and score a try without being tagged/ tackled by the defence. Allow the attacking team 5 minutes to score as many tries as they can, before changing attack and defence around.

General

3 v 1 Grid Passing - Rugby Dri...

6x6m Grid Ball Players line up in 3s opposite sides of the grid. Simply pass the ball along the line. 1 defender is in the middle of the grid putting pressure on all ball carriers.Once hand completed the next line starts immediately. Defender swaps out when there is a mistake or when he touches someone with the ball. Progression: add another defender, make the passes wider.

General

Race to cone - 3 v 2 Decision ...

One ball and 6 cones. 15m x 15m. Setup the practice as shown. The first two players run up to the half way line of the grid and place the ball down before continuing their run to the end of the grid before turning around to defend. The remaining 3 players (attackers) can go as soon as the ball is placed down and then they play a 3 v 2.

General

Unfortunately there were no results for your search! Please try again
5 v 3 ANSWERS
View All

what active coaching games can i use to coach the miss pass?

what active coaching games can i use to coach the ,iss pass to under 10's at a local rugby club

Mitchell Renton Coach, England

We have a new team forming, all of the fowards are novices except for two of us (Prop and Hooker) from a different team helping out. Any drilling advice woud be very appreciated

Ask a question and have it answered by Coaches from around the world and IRB Educators.

Tony Meza Coach, Costa Rica

I am looking for Loop pass coaching games to improve?

I am looking for Loop pass coaching games to improve my player game.

Archived User Coach

How can my forwards counter a wheeling scrum?

My props (and I ) lack front row experience

Archived User Coach

problem- slow start at 7s games

I coach a womans 7s team. Every two weeks we have a two game tournament. The problem is that for the whole first game the girls play like they haven't woken up yet, and only in the second game their real rugby comes out. How do I help them play strong from the start?

eli Coach, Israel

Looking for day 0 skills to teach children?

I am looking for a Day 0 type of session for American children who may have never held a rugby ball. If I move forward with a rugby exhibition/team creation in the neighborhood, I want to make sure I know how/what to teach Day 0. I'm hoping that interest is growing for touch and flag rugby due to the recent in Philadelphia between the USA Eagles and the Maori All Blacks. I was there. It was fantastic. Tickets sold out so fast, I think there will be more of these in the area. Thanks.

Doug Jones Coach, United States of America

Interpretation of the maul - f...

I will be coaching under 10 next season and need some guidance on how to interpret the rules for the maul?

Ezra rushen Coach, England
5 v 3 COMMUNITY DRILLS
View All

5 V 3 Touch

5 v 3 Counter attack

Creative Attack

5 v 3 v 3 Kick return

JOIN SPORTPLAN FOR FREE

  • search our library of 1100+ rugby drills
  • create your own professional coaching plans
  • or access our tried and tested plans
STAY CONNECTED

in more ways than one

sportplan_rugby
LATEST COACHING TRENDS
Six Nations 2026: Tactical Trends Every Coach Can Steal

Six Nations 2026: Tactical Trends Every Coach Can Steal

From France's collision dominance to England's folding defence - what grassroots coaches can learn from the 2026 Six Nations.

February 2026
|
Sportplan Coaching
The 2026 Lineout Law Change: New Opportunities for Your Attack

The 2026 Lineout Law Change: New Opportunities for Your Attack

The removal of "not-straight" on uncontested lineouts transforms your set-piece options. Here's how to exploit the new rule.

February 2026
|
Sportplan Coaching
6 Things Changing Rugby in 2026

6 Things Changing Rugby in 2026

2026 brings revolutionary changes to international rugby: a brand new global tournament, historic tours, and law changes that will reshape the game. Here's everything coaches need to know.

January 2026
|
Sportplan Coaching
VIEW ALL COACHING TRENDS
Rugby POPULAR SEARCH TERMS
warm uptagmaulfitnessdefencepassingtackling7lines of runningtouchsevenslineoutruckingtag rugbyruckscrumunder 8junior backline drillstackletouch rugby

What our users have been saying...

Coaches from around the world look to Sportplan for coaching confidence.

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

Heather Weston Rugby Coach, United States

I am so pleased with all of the drills and advice on rugby. I am a player for my local club and we don't have a coach at the moment so I, as a senior player, am filling that gap. With your help, the team has been able to improve our skills.

Mokie Tau Rugby Coach, Papua New Guinea

Your tips and session ideas have really brought some interest back to our rugby training. The players and I now really enjoy our training sessions.

Eifion Highes Rugby Coach, United Kingdom

Wow what a great website, I have found sportplan an important tool for me when planning my netball sessions with my netball team. There are alot of very helpful tips/ideas/skills that I can learn and teach to my team. Thank you sportplan I hope to continue to use your helpful tips and to learn more about improving my teams netball skills. Thanks again....keep it up....

Monique New Zealand

I have been using Sportplan now for 3 years and can honestly say that I have never repeated the same session twice. My girls are always focused and are improving every year. Thanks Sportplan.

Debbie Cross Australia

What a fantastic tool. The Chalkboard and session tools make an unbelievable difference in making training plans in both time and organization. I will be instructing all of my assistant coaches that this tool must be used for all sessions during the season, so that we may build a club coaching resource library.

Wes Campbell Rugby Coach Canada

I can't get enough of the Sportplan, It has given me back the enthusiasm i was starting to lose. My girls are so keen and are ready at 14 to take the next up in their game. Sportplan will help no end.

Cornel Basketball Coach, South Africa

SIGN UP NOW FOR FREE

  • search our library of 1100+ rugby drills
  • create professional rugby coaching plans
  • or access our tried and tested rugby plans

Sportplan App

Give it a try - it's better in the app

SPORTPLAN USES COOKIES

Sportspeople like cookies too! By continuing to browse, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. More info

Privacy Policy
We are committed to privacy and support current industry initiatives to preserve individual privacy rights on the Internet. Protecting your privacy on-line is an evolving area and this website will constantly evolve to meet these demands.


Cookies
Some of our web pages utilise "cookies". A "cookie" is a small text file that may be used, forexample, to collect information about web site activity. Some cookies and other technologies may serve to recallPersonal Information previously indicated by a web user. Most browsers allow you to control cookies, includingwhether or not to accept them and how to remove them.

Some cookies are necessary for the operation of our website, if you choose to block them some aspects of the site may not work for you. Non necessary cookies are only set when you have given your explicit consent to their use. Such cookies included those set by our statistics package Google Analytics.

We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you've provided to them or that they've collected from your use of their services.

More info
Rugby POPULAR SEARCH TERMS
3 v 2 7 counter rucking defence defense fitness football forward drills junior  backline drills lesson plans line out lineout lineout drills lines of running maul passing ruck rucking rugby scrum scrum machine search sevens tackle tackling tag tag rugby touch under 8 warm up
YOUR SESSION IS STARTING SOON... Join the growing community of rugby coaches plus 1100+ drills and pro tools to make coaching easy.
LET'S DO IT