Rugby: attack shape

Drill to practice team shapes or backs moves against a defence with less numbers than the attack.Set up a "ruck" with a scrum half/feeder, 3 defenders on the back foot of the "ruck" and 4 attackers opposite them. The attackers attack the defence, then turn round and attack back the way they have just come. Progressions: Change the set up of the attack, for example a blindside winger or full back in behindChange the number of attack/defenceChange the defensive system (e.g. hammer, blitz, ice, up and out, umbrella)

Lets get the ball and the players moving with lateral passing through the hands. Each training area only needs one ball, and that ball should start with the any of the two players at the very ends of the L. Tell players to move forward, passing the ball down the line. When the ball gets to the last receiver, that player will pass it to the first receiver in the next line that is waiting to go. They should advance right away. Allow the players to simply move the ball down the line.

This is an exercise for continuity and support for attacking play Lay out a rectangular playing area, with four attackers and minimum three defenders The attackers begin in a diamond formation, with the ball carrier at the front The defenders are then stacked in rows, one defender per row, spread out diagonally The ball carrier is tackled by the first man, and offloads to one of the two supporting attackers The receiver of the pass runs and is tackled by the next defender and they offload to one of two supporting attackers As one of the four attackers will be on the floor from a tackle, the next phase will include three attackers, who should be in an arrow formation

This is a simple 3 v 2. The three attackers have to get past the two defenders without being touched, that's it. The defenders will start 10 meters back, and can move anywhere inside the box. The attack must remain inside the box and all pass msut be legal. Don't forget to change the defenders.

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.  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!

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.

<div class=&quot;&quot;&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&quot;&quot;>Be brief when telling the players the laws of this game, it's important to get them moving quickly. </div> <li class=&quot;&quot;&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&quot;&quot;>This is not a contact game. <li class=&quot;&quot;&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&quot;&quot;>Break your players into two teams, giving each team their own colour of bibs if necessary. <li class=&quot;&quot;&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&quot;&quot;>One team goes to attack, and one to defence. <li class=&quot;&quot;&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&quot;&quot;>Nominate a Scrum Half for each team. <li class=&quot;&quot;&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&quot;&quot;>There is no kicking in this game. <li class=&quot;&quot;&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&quot;&quot;>Normal laws of rugby apply e.g. a forward pass will result in the ball being turned over to the opposition. <li class=&quot;&quot;&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&quot;&quot;>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. <li class=&quot;&quot;&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&quot;&quot;>When you start playing this game make sure that the defence is employing your defensive pattern around the ruck. As the game develops consider telling the defenders that they must have one or more players at the back of the ruck, if they are not fast enough to do this - push them back 10 meters. <li class=&quot;&quot;&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&quot;&quot;>It’s important that defenders are employing their defensive pattern behind the primary defensive line. <li class=&quot;&quot;&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&quot;&quot;>Have attacking players do what they normally would at the ruck. <li class=&quot;&quot;&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&quot;&quot;>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! <li class=&quot;&quot;&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&quot;&quot;>When you feel the time is appropriate, usually during a ruck, blow you whistle and should FLIP IT – kicking in or throwing in a second ball to the back 3/2 defenders on the team currently in defence OR just kick it behind the defenders. The defensive team goes, without hesitation, into attack. The team that was attacking goes into defence and you or an assistant coach remove the other ball from play when you can. Ideally you might have two balls with different markings. <li class=&quot;&quot;&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&quot;&quot;>Don't hesitate to shape the game to focus on your session goals, and let us and other coaches know what worked for you!

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.

The following are the laws for this game: Normal laws of rugby apply; a knock on etc. results in a turn over. The attacking team gets 8 touches before the ball has to be turned over. Change this to suit your training goals. It would be ok to have unlimited touches, changing the defence and attack after a set period of time. A player is touched only when the defender has made a two handed touch, you can change this to one hand if you wish. Defenders cannot hold the attacker, nor can the attacker use significant force to push through defenders. Defenders who make a touch run to the furthest in goal area and back before being back to re-join the defensive line. You will find that several defenders will be making their way forward and back at any given time. If an attacking player is touched while in posession of the ball: they stop, set the ball down, stand over it, and the scrum half is allowed to move the ball again to restart the attack. The defence must remain onside following a touch. Only when the support player passes the ball out can the defence press up on the attack. If the defence goes offside or operates illegally, the attack gains 10 meters. Don't forget to switch the teams around. Tries only, no conversions - keep the game tempo high. There is no kicking.

The following are the laws for this game: Equal number of defenders and attackers. Use bibs to identify both teams. Normal laws of rugby apply; a knock on etc. results in a turn over. The attacking team gets 8 touches before the ball has to be turned over. Change this to suit your training goals. It would be ok to have unlimited touches, changing the defence and attack after a set period of time. A player is touched only when two defenders have all four hands on them, if this is not the case - the attacker can play on. Defenders cannot hold the attacker, nor can the attacker use significant force to push through defenders. If a player is touched: they stop, set the ball down, stand over it, and the scrum half is allowed to move the ball again to restart the attack. The defence must remain onside following a touch. Only when the support player passes the ball out can the defence press up on the attack. If the defence goes offside or operates illegally, the attack gains 10 meters. Don't forget to switch the teams around. There is no kicking.

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. When you start playing this game make sure that the defense is employing your defensive pattern around the ruck. As the game develops consider telling the defenders that they must have one or more players at the back of the ruck, if they are not fast enough to do this - push them back 10 meters. 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! Don't hesitate to shape the game to focus on your session goals, and let us and other coaches know what worked for you!

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, but there will be some light contact. Break your players into two teams, giving each team their own colour of bibs if necessary. One team goes to attack, and one to defence. Nominate a Scrum Half for each team, it will be their job to move the ball from the back of the maul and out to an attacking line. 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 stop and turn, a maul is then built based on how you have trained your players to Maul. Only four players should be in the maul - but every player should be able to maul - including the backs! When you start playing this game make sure that the defence is employing your defensive pattern around the maul. They will commit 4 players, but will not do anything more than provide light resistance. Once formed the maul can take four steps before moving the ball. If there is a delay in creating the maul, or the quality of the maul is poor - the ball can be turned over. 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! If a team has been in possession for a long time, don't forget to turn the ball over to give the opposition a run. Don't hesitate to shape the game to focus on your session goals, and let us and other coaches know what worked for you.

The players stood behind the line work the ball up through the channel in groups of 5. As they progress up the area they work the ball left and right. Defenders are placed on cones which have been given a number. As the group work their way up the channel the coach could call <em>1</em>. At this point one player from cone <em>1</em> runs out to defend. If a call of <em>1</em>, <em>2</em> is made then one player from cone <em>1</em> and <em>2</em> come out to defend. A call of <em>2</em>,<em>2</em> means two players from cone 2 come out to defend and so on... The diagram shows a call of <em>4, 1.</em>

Ball Groups of 3+ 2 attackers line up opposite a defender.The defender makes a low leg tackle on the atttacker. The attacker being tackled tries to get arms free and perfom an offload to the supporting runner.

Within each group of 10, there should be 4 attackers and 6 defenders. The defenders should be in the outer grid and the attackers will be in the inner grid. The defenders cannot enter the inner grid. The players can pass the ball in any direction inside the inner grid, and can move around as much as they like. When they attack outside the inner grid, they can only use non forward passes. The aim of the game is for the attackers to touch the ball down outside the outer grid, without getting touched. If the attacker gets touch, they swap places with the defender that touched them - they become a defended and the defender now becomes an attacker. Decide on two handed or one handed touch, it's your call. You might also decide to give your four attackers a period of time and unlimited touches before switching defensive and attacking players. Don't forget to give everyone a chance in attack and defence.

Groups 10+ Balls Cones Sausages.1. Chanel Fix Groups of 5. Attack sausages lined up one behind eachother. They must use footwork to step to a side of the sausage and then give a pass before running into/past it.2. Passing Grid - Static Defenders Normal 3 man passing grid, however with sausages placed in the middle.Players run forward use footwork to beat the bag and give the pass back inside. (pass before the sausage).3. Passing Grid - Moving defenders. Same as above but instead of sausages, use moving defenders with bags.4. Passing Grid - Starting on corners.Groups of 4 start on each corner with 2 defenders in the middle. The attacking line must get around the corner and square up to beat the 2 defenders. At other end give to next group and start again. Continuous. 5. Final Game Groups of 3 on all sides of the grid, with 2 defenders in the middle.Continuous drill to score as many tries as possibel in 1 min. Focus on all skills above.

Drill to practice fast, accurate passing.Set up a T shape with 3 cones roughly 5m away from the central cone (see diagram)One player stands on each cone, the player in the middle of the T is the player who works (yellow).The players on the outside (blue) take it in turns to pass to the working player (yellow), who must catch the ball and pass it to the free player on the edge (see video.PROGRESSIONS:Start slowly and increase the pace at which the players pass to the working player, giving them less time to catch and pass the ballIncrease the distance that the working player must pass the ball.

Lets get the ball and the players moving with lateral passing through the hands. Each training area only needs one ball, and that ball should start with the any of the two players at the very ends of the L. Tell players to move forward, passing the ball down the line. When the ball gets to the last receiver, that player will pass it to the first receiver in the next line that is waiting to go. They should advance right away. Allow the players to simply move the ball down the line.

Split the players into two teams, giving each team their own set of bibs. Two different colours that clearly define the teams. Keep your player briefing, brief. It's important that you get your players moving as quickly as possible. Tell the players that we will be playing One Touch Ruck, see the laws surrounding this game in the Warm-Ups section of the SportPlan site. Briefly - when an attacking player is touched while carrying the ball: they go to ground and either pop or present the ball for a minimum of two supporting players to ruck over. The defence should behave as they normally would at the ruck, committing two players who will not compete for the ball or go into contact. The defence should employ their normal patterns around the ruck. The attacking team can have three touches in a row between the 15 meter lines, if they move the ball to the either of the 15 meter channels they can have another four touches in that channel before having to move the ball back out. If the attacking team moves quickly from one 15 meter channel to the other (exploiting space), they get a bonus of 4 touches in that zone. If any attacking team exceeds the number of touches they can sustain inside a channel, the ball is turned over. Play with these laws a bit - keeping an eye on what you want to achieve in this session. The normal laws of rugby apply, any law infringements result in a turn over. There is no kicking in this game. Don't forget to give the defence a turn in attack, if for any reason the attacking team is particularly good at retaining the ball. If they are, well done you as a coach!

The aim of the drill is to develop players understanding of support lines Players work in groups of 4 in attackSet up 5 defenders with pads, in a 2-2-1 formationAttackers focus on beating the defence by drawing the opposition or breaking through the pad and offloading to supporting players

This drill coaches players the lines they should run when receiving the ball in order to maximise the chance of them breaking the gain line.<li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>Use a tackle bag to simulate where the ruck and offside line would be.<li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>The players line up as if they were going to come &quot;around the corner&quot; to receive the ball.<li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>Players should run an L shaped running line to get across the first defender and then footwork to get through the second defender.Progression (0.49) - Add an extra pass to the drill<li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>For the first receiver the drill is exactly the same in terms of the running line.<li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>Then there is a second player on his outside shoulder who uses the same running line to beat the second defender.<li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>The first receiver has a choice (1.19) - whether to go through the gain line and pass or pass before he gets to the gainline.What is the gain line?The gain line is an imaginary line in rugby parallel to the halfway line that is the back foot of the breakdown or the defences offsideline.

Keep your player briefing; brief, and get them working as soon as possible.I can't stress this enough, it's not a debating society - players want to play. Split your players into two teams, giving each team their own set of bibs - if necessary. One team will be in attack, the other in defence. Tell the players we are going to play one touch off-load, the normal laws of rugby apply. Any forward passes etc. will result in the ball being turned over. When a player is touched, they must pass right away without delay. A delay will result in the ball being turned over. Use your own judgement here, taking into account the age and skill level of the players. Alternative: You might decide that one team will play 5 minutes in attack no matter what - and 5 minutes in defence. They have unlimited touches, you can change this depending on your training goals. Let them play - don't tell them what it's all about. Let them discover, remember this is the warm-up! Don't hesitate to change any of the above to suit your training goals/targets.

Attackers (red players) work down the channel in 4s, working the runners left and right to create space. Defenders are only allowed to defend along their line, marked out with 2 cones. Attackers run in a diamond shape, onto the ball at pace. It's key the support do not get too flat and shoud all be involved. Focus on pass target.

Now split your players into two teams, giving one group of players a set of colored bibs to set them apart, and quickly tell your players the following laws: <div> No forward passes. All passes need to be flicks or back passes with one hand.<br /> When touched, stop and set the ball down. The pass off the ground must also be a flick or one handed back pass.<br /> Another player from your team will act as scrum half - passing the ball to his teammates, who will continue the attack. Each team will be allowed five touches before they must turn the ball over (you can make this more or less depending on the skill level of your players and what you're hoping to achieve during the session.) Some coaches decide on unlimited touches, only turning the ball over when a mistake is made by the attack e.g. a knock on. Knock on's and other law infringements will result in a turn over to the opposition. Don't be afraid to play these laws a little, e.g. for younger players you might even go as far as to allow some knock on's or turn a blind eye to the odd forward pass - let them play a little and have fun! </div>