Rugby: ball passing

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Using just one hand they should pass the ball to each other, spinning the ball. They should make 10 passes on one hand, and then 10 passes on the opposite hand. Players can change their passing hand by turning round to face the opposite direction. That's it, get working. Refer to the coaching points in order to help your players improve. This drill is about helping players understand and develop their spin pass, while improving the quality of their pass. It should be using in conjunction with other training exercises to develop the spin pass.

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DRILLS (33)ANSWERS (17)

ball passing DRILLS

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Developing The Spin

Passing

Jog - Lock and Load

Tell your players the following: Using just one hand they should pass the ball to each other, spinning the ball. They will continue down the grid until reaching the end before turning back and doing the same with the opposite passing hand. They can use two hands to catch. They should be jogging. That's it, get working. Refer to the coaching points in order to help your players improve. This drill is about helping players understand and develop their spin pass, while improving the quality of their pass. It should be using in conjunction with other training exercises to develop the spin pass.

Passing

Passing Race

Using just one hand they should pass the ball to each other. The pass should come from on, or behind the hip. They should make 10 passes on one hand, and then 10 passes on the opposite hand. That's it, lets get going - it's a race. Any dropped balls - and your group has to start again. That's it, get working.

Handling

Understanding The Spin

Tell them the following...... Using just one hand they should pass the ball to each other, spinning the ball. They should make 10 passes on one hand, and then 10 passes on the opposite hand. That's it, get working. Refer to the coaching points in order to help your players improve. This drill is about helping players understand how the spin pass works, while improving the quality of their pass. It should be using in conjunction with other training exercises to develop the spin pass.

Passing

Up and Down

Tell them the following...... Each attack will be up and down, up the left and down the right side of the cones. Eack attack will see the ball move down the line once. Run out to far cone and back - 1/2 pace - no forward passes. Run out to third cone and back - jog - 3/4 pace back. Run out to second cone and back - fast out - fast back. Off-load the ball to the next attacking line - they do the same. That's it, get working. Refer to the coaching points in order to help your players improve.

Passing

Passing Along The Line Passing...

Simple hand drill that can be progressed onto many simple backline movements. 1 ball, 4 players, area of 20-30m by 20m 1st player starts with the ball who commences the sequence by running, 2nd player run from depth and receive the ball then pass to 3rd player who will do the same to the 4th. From this point the order will reverse to get another repetition through everyone's hands so you can score at the end of the grid.

General

Fast Hands Passing - Rugby Dri...

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.

General

Passing circle Passing - Rugby...

Tell your players the following..... There will be 4 players on the outside of the circle, starting at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock positions. There will be one player in the middle. The players on the outside of the circle jog around the circle. The player in the middle will have a ball, and will pass the ball to one of the runners - for them to run onto it. The new ball carrier will pass the ball back to the static player in the middle of the circle. And the same happens again, but the passer cannot bass to the same player twice. Players will have to respond to the calls: SLOW JOG, FAST JOG, FASTER, CHANGE DIRECTION, TOUCH THE GROUD WITH YOUR RIGHT HAND, TOUCH THE GROUND WITH YOUR LEFT HAND, etc. Don't forget to change the static player.

General

Short Passing Passing - Rugby ...

Give each training area one ball to start with and tell the players the following...... Lets just get the ball moving down the line. Give the player at the start of one of the lines a ball, tell the line to advance using lateral passing - with the last player in each line passing the ball to the first player in the opposite line. Players should change positions in the line following each attack. Focus on the coaching points - the drill is only a means to an end. No spin passing. When you feel that the players are executing the short pass to your satisfaction - add in more pressure by have two opposite lines run at once.

General

Clapping Game Passing - Rugby ...

Tell your players the following. Lets just get the ball moving clockwise for a while, just to get the ball moving through the hands. After a minute or two, lets switch the direction of the ball. After another minute, tell them the ball can go in any direction, but...... The receiver must clap once before catching the ball - and the passing player must move the ball within 5 seconds. The passer can dummy, and if a receiver claps they must do one or more press-ups. If the receiver doesn't clap and receives a ball - they must do one or more press-ups following their pass. You can also play this game using a word like RUGBY. Each time a play makes a mistake they get a letter. The loser is the first player to get all the letters that spell RUGBY. Some teams and coaches have more interesting and colorful words to spell - I'll leave this to you. Have fun with this!

General

Zig Zag Relay Passing - Rugby ...

Tell the players to do the following...... The player with the ball passes to the next player and follows the direction of the ball. The chasing or support player must touch the cone of the player they passed to. The player who receives the ball does the same and so on to the last player who receives the ball and runs around the group to the first cone and restarts the drill. The player returning to their cone, must backstep their way to their starting location.

General

Crossover Relay Passing - Rugb...

Keep your player briefing short. You may consider having a demonstration group. Give two players opposite each other, one ball each. On your call they will come forward, towards each other, sidestepping to avoid contact before passing the ball either left or right. There should be no forward passes and the players need to communicate to avoid both balls going in the same direction. When the receivers collect their pass - they do the same as the first set of ball carriers. Players that have completed their run and pass within the grid should join the end of the opposite line. Players should seek opportunity to pass off both their left and right hands.

General

Union Jack Passing - Rugby Dri...

Tell your players the following... On GO Player A passes to B who in turn passes to Player C. At the same time Player E passes F. Once the players have passed the ball they then swap with the opposite player. Player A swaps with Player E, player B swaps with Player F, Player C with Player G, Player D with H. It's important that players only swap once they have passed the ball and only pass it when a player is in position to receive it. So - players swap following a pass - with their opposite number, the pass is always left.

General

Serious Fun Passing - Rugby Dr...

Tell your players the following, keeping your player briefing, brief! It's vital to get the players moving as quickly as possible. Each of the three cones should have one player. The player in the middle will have a ball, and one of the two other players will have a ball. The player in the middle has to throw their ball up in the air (vertical), catch the ball being passed from the other ball carrier, and then forward the passed ball onto the other player in the group, before catching the ball that they just threw up into the air. Once that is done, they do the same again - this time the lateral pass will come from the opposite direction. This is repeated, the tempo increasing as the players get more comfortable handling the two balls they must keep in play. Change the position of each player in the group; there can be a competition between the players to find out who can do the most without dropping any of the balls, or giving a poor quality pass. Have fun with this, but don't forget that there are great lessons to be learned here, many of which are noted in the coaching points.

General

Quick Passing To Space Passing...

Give each training area one ball and tell the players the following...... One of the attacking lines takes the ball. They simply attack, moving the ball through the hands - lateral passing only. The defenders (there will be three), mark the first three attacks, they leave the forth free. Defenders can move up and down, left and right, but must leave channel 4 open. Defender start 10 meters back. The ball must go through all four attacking hands. Don't forget to switch the attackers and defenders.

General

Chasing The Pass Passing - Rug...

Keep your player briefing short, and get the ball moving around the circle as quickly as possible. First have the players move the ball - clockwise around the circle, passing off their right hand. Then switch it, and have the ball move anti-clockwise around the circle, with the players passing off their left hand. Once the players have gotten into a rhythm of passing the ball, tell the players the following. The player holding the ball will become a runner, their job is to pass the ball and then to set-off in the direction the ball will be traveling, trying to get to their starting position before the ball does. They win if they make it back before the ball. The players win if they can get the ball back before the runner. The passers cannot miss-pass, the ball must travel through every set of hands. Each player in the group should have the chance to become a runner. Change the direction of the runner and the ball half way through. You might decide that the runner has to do a press-up or two, if they don't make it back ahead of the ball. And you may also decide that all the other players need to do the same if they do not get the ball back before the runner. You can further develop this game by making the circle bigger. This will push the runner and will increase the length of the pass required between each player. Just ask all of the players to take one or two steps back.

General

Drop Off Passing - Rugby Drill...

4 cones with 2 balls.Players start running at the same time and when the meet in the middle, the blue players give a drop off pass to the red player before both continuing their run to the opposite end to which they started.

General

Pass and run Passing - Rugby D...

Tell the players the following.... Player 1 starts with the ball. Player 1 passes the ball to player 2 and then quickly moves off their cone and runs to the cone where player 2 is and back to their cone. Player 2 then passes to player 3, follows the pass to the position of player 3 and back to their starting position. Change your passing hand each time The aim is to for the players to be back in their starting position before the ball returns back, but main thing is that they provide a good pass to the receiving player.

General

Tri-Attack Passing - Rugby Dri...

Tell your players the following...... The first line of attackers move forward, passing the ball down the line. The entire group switches position to the right side of the grid, and attacks as a line. They then attack down the grid through the top of the grid, facing the next line of attack.

General

Passing Race Passing - Rugby D...

General

Passing Central Passing - Rugb...

Keep your player briefing, brief - and get the players moving as quickly as you can. You may consider having a demo group. On your go: The player acting as the Scrum Half passes a ball to the grid on his right and then another ball to the grid on his left, both passes will be from the ground. Upon receiving the pass - each grid begins their 2 v 1 attack and the player with the tackle pad presses up in defence. When the player acting as the scrum half has completed their two passes, they join the attackers on either the left or right grid. The first receiver of each attack becomes a Scrum Half - or simply returns to the start of the grid to join a new attack as the first receiver. Players rotate positions e.g. Scrum Half, First Receiver, Second Receiver. Defenders can move forward and back, and side to side. Change the defenders often to give them a chance in attack.

General

Passing Lines of 5 Passing - R...

Set up an area of about 15 x 15m. Have 2 teams of 5+ players, with 1 one ball.The players can run anywhere in the area but can't run with the ball. The first team that get 10 passes wins a point. If the ball in intercepted or dropped then turnover. The 1st pass is after the turnover is free.Stop the game every 1 minute to stretch for 30 seconds.PROGRESSIONPlayers can run with the ballPlayers can run with the ball for 2 seconds onlyOverhead passes onlyTouch the ball on the ground before passingCan't pass back to the person you've received it from

General

Continuous Passing Square 2 Pa...

General

Individual ball carrying 1. Pa...

Carry the ball in a high position and try to engage the defender. Make sure there is lots of foot work and active ball movement all the time up until when the ball is passed from either the left or right hip.

General

Four Player Continuous Passing...

A quick drill to focus the players before going into a session or at the start of a match day warm up. The aim of the drill is to develop early hand-catch, quick and accurate transfer of the ball to a support player.Set 4 cones 3-5 meters apart on the 5 meter line. This will mark the starting point for your players. Set up cones opposite on the try lineAsk your players to line up behind each cone.The ball carrier runs out to the cone opposite and passes to the next playerOnce the player on the end receives the ball, the drill changes direction and the ball goes back in the direction it came from

General

Passing Grid Passing - Rugby D...

Set up a grid of about 10 x 10Aim to have 12 attackers and 2 defenders3 attackers spread out on each side of the square. One player starts with the ball and runs towards the first defender, before passing off to a supporting attacker, who runs towards the next defender and passes off to the other attacker in the threeThe ball is popped off to the end attacking player on the opposite side of the squareThe same play happens with three new attackers and same two defendersThe ball is then popped off to the side, and play continues until all four groups of attackers have run through twice.Then switch defenders.

General

Pressure Cooker Passing - Rugb...

4 players stand on the middle cones in the grid, avoiding the corner cones. The 2 players at the top and the bottom of the grid will have a ball. The players on the sides of the grid will have one ball between them. The 5th player will be the ball carrier. The ball carrier starts at the top of the grid facing the bottom. Moving forward they will take a pass off one of the middle players and pass the ball onto the other middle player. They will then collect a pass off the player in front of them, before popping the ball back to them. They will then turn and once again collect a pass off one of the middle players before moving it on to the other middle player. They then take a pass off the top player before popping it back and starting the exercise again. They keep going until told to switch with another player. The player in the middle can turn and flick the ball to the static players at the top and bottom of the grid, as well as popping the ball.

General

Channel & Lane Running Passing...

Set up a 8 channels of cones 5 metres apartA group of 4 players start on the side line, and all players need to work around the nearest/corner cone.The first player with the ball will run into the nearest channel of cones (lane 1) and all the other players will work around the corner cone and filter into the proceeding channelsThe 1st player passes the ball as soon as the 2nd player gets into the 2nd channel. The ball is passed down the line of 4 players until the 4th players receives the ball.Once the 4th player receives the ball, the ball is placed down and all the players work around to get into their respective channel to repeat the process.

General

Side on Pendulum pass Passing ...

Here the player needs to have slightly bent knees, and ensure that he is leaning slightly forward with a straight back, giving him space to swing and pass the ball. The player with the ball swings the ball back and forward with a straight arm with force, releasing the ball into the opposite players' hands. The ball is now being passed from left to right. The player receiving should be waiting for the ball, both hands out, fingers soft and pointing 45 degrees up from the horizontal.

General

Miss Pass (M1) Passing - Rugby...

Keep your player briefing, brief! It's important to get your players working as quickly as possible. 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 lines, don't mention the Miss Pass. After you feel the players are comfortable, tell them that on their call they can miss pass (M1) a player in the line. So the first ball carrier might decide to Miss Pass (M1) the first receiver in the line, and move the ball directly to the second receiver. Any player, if they have the option open to them, can call a miss pass. Allow the players to discover, though questioning, the best possible way of executing and calling the (M1) move. Players should change position in the line after each run.

General

Speed pass challenge Passing -...

Groups of 8Ball Cones2 sets of 4 players line up back to back.Cones are places 3m apart and 3 in fornt of both set of players.When the coach says go the players must complete 4 passes before reaching the far cones. Then they must turn and do the same off coming back. (1 rep) Its a race agaisnt the opposing attackers to compelete the the reps given.

General

Up and Down Passing - Rugby Dr...

General

Simple Passing Warm Up Passing...

Passing and receiving exercise to warm the players up and get the handling skills ready for training.Minimum 9 players.Groups of three run out together in a lineAn end player starts with the ball and passes to the player next to them, who passes to the other end player of the three.That player then pops the ball off to the player in the next group of three opposite them.The passage continues.

General

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ball passing ANSWERS

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Getting 9-10 year olds to spre...

Getting quite frustrated that my u10's are not using the space on the pitch and tend to bunch up. Despite various drills and game scenarios to force them to spread out and pass to someone in space they revert in any game to bunching up around the ball and taking it back into the thick of the opposition rather than looking left or right! Any ideas how to change their ways?

Ian G Coach, England

7 answers

switch pass in rugby union

maria Coach, England

16 answers

Every scrum coach in the Uk will have kids passing?

Every scrum coach in the Uk will have kids passing the ball straight off the floor with no pull back, then when you watch the Lions play - the two scrum halves of Phillips and Ellis both lift the ball up and take a step before passing, as do most scrum halves in top flight rugby...(in Phillips case a double step shuffle!......why is this, there must be a reason? should we all be coaching kids to do the same ?

3 answers

How can i teach 8 year old boys to spin pass

How can I teach 8 year old boys to spin pass

Mark Harris Coach, England

any suggestions on getting u 13s to communicate

Hi would anyone have drills for a scrum half position.?

Hi would anyone have drills for a scrum half position. Passing of the ball both ways, quick ball, box kicking ect.

Tyrone Elliott Coach, Ireland

2 answers

Teaching a player cues for a halfback pass,(passing?

What could you teach a player cues for the halfback pass,(passing from the ground)?

I play women's tens. I am new to the position of five?

I play women's tens. I am new to the position of five eight. I am told I need to stop running the ball, as I am not a forward. Can you give me some tips to help focus on my role in the team?

i am just starting to play scrumhalf could you give?

i am just starting to play scrumhalf could you give me some tips on how to be a quality scrumhalf

Law 12 - the forward pass or throw forward

The law says that a forward pass is one "thrown forward" "in the direction of the opponents' goal line" Does that mean that, if the ball is passed and the receiver catches it NEARER to the opponents goal line than from where the ball was passed that the pass was forward? (Leaving to one side any other touches of the ball that might have taken place.) Maybe an example is better. Player 1 passes the ball sideways - releasing it on the 22 metre line. Player 2 (with no other player having touched the ball), running from well behind the 22 metre line, catches the ball when it has travelled sideways but the ball is now 20 metres from the opponents goal line (2 metres further forward from the place that the ball was passed). Is that a forward pass or throw forward? And if not, why not?

29 answers

What drill can I use to get U8s to retreat to an onside?

What drill can I use to get U8s to retreat to an onside position after the tag and line up defensively

Rupert Armitage Coach, England

2 answers

Can I and should I coach basic tackle skills to U8s?

Does anyone have a definitive answer to this question%3A can I coach basic tackling skills to U8s now, in preparation for next season, without falling foul of any RFU rules or regulations? Hugo

Hugo Norton-Taylor Coach, England

19 answers

Over confident players not offloading

hi I help coach a under nines team where the bulk of the team are constantly trying to run through tackle after tackle.when we talk to them they all understand about off loading the ball to avoid the seven tackle turnover, but as soon as on the pitch try line fever sets in.any ideas to encourage passing of the ball

paul stuart giltrow Coach, England

Spin pass for a 14-year old boy?

I need coaching points on how to spin passin a casual game how to quickly get it away

sarah milford Coach, England

How can I train U10s to tackle and pass?

Tackling and Passing to help them out

Jack Murray Coach, Australia

Capture and Escape

Can you pass the ball?

Rodney Lake Coach, New Zealand

passing

drills for passing with u8s

Poppy R Coach, United Kingdom

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