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Rugby: through the gate

through the gate DRILLS
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2 vs 1 Gauntlet

Set up two 1m wide gates of cones (green and red) either side of a feeder, with a line of attackers opposite (5m away). Have a number of defenders (3) lined up behind the feeder. The first player passes the ball to the feeder then moves forward and receives a short return pass from the feeder. On receiving the return pass he uses footwork to go through one of the gates with a support player going through the other gate. Once through the gate the ball carrier puts in a fend on the first defender and passes the ball to his support player. They go on to attack the two other defenders and try execute 2 vs 1 scenarios to get to the end of the drill

Decision making

Long Passing Accuracy

Players line up single fine in two lines. Two coaches stand at the front and just off the side of both lines. One coach begins with the ball. The coach pops the ball to an oncoming player, who takes the ball in their stride and passes across to the coach on the other side. The passing player then runs through the cones at the end of the line and curves back round to join the opposite group. The coach receiving the pass then pops the ball off to the incoming player on the other side, who receives the ball and passes across to the first coach. The passing player runs through the gates and rejoins the opposite group. The game continues and flows until all players have completed a pass on both sides.

Passing

Punt Kicks

• The aim of the drill is to develop kickers through the gate and keeping square onto the kick.

Kicking

Quick Positioning, passing and support

4 players start together on their stomachs next to each other. As the coach calls a colour cone, they move into position quickly. Once in position the first player with ball in hand approached the gates set out with the agility poles. The 4 players proceed to run straight through the gate and pass etc. Once the player has ran through his gate, and passed the ball, he needs to start supporting the ball, and again the 4 players pass to one another, but now their positioning is much wider than the previous positioning.

Agility & Running Skills

Ruck - Coming through the gate 1.

4 blue players must try and defend with shields two gates from the attacking red team. The ball carrying player must meet the defending players and then go to ground and place the ball. Once this has been done the attacking side must form bind together and ruck the shields out of the way - to 'come through the gate'. The final red player to come through collects the ball and runs anti-clockwise to the next gate and the next set of defenders to repeat the drill. The two original defenders must now move to defend the other side of the grid.

Ruck

Ruck Zone

Bags Min 12+ Ball There is a working group of 4 in the middle of 8 differnt bag holders working in 2's. The group of 4 must pick and drive into a difffernt group of bags each rep. The group of 4 work on there contact skills of leg drive and staying on feet, then clear out work. Work for 1 min then swap.

Contact Skills

Spin Pass Practice

This is a simple yet very effective exercise designed for players to focus on spin passing accuracy. Players start in three lines, about 5 metres apart. This is copied on the other side of the playing area. In the middle of the playing area, in front of the three lines are two plastic poles, a metre apart. An end player starts with the ball, runs through the poles and passes to the left, behind the poles of the next player. The middle player collects and runs through their poles, before passing to the final player, who collects the ball before the poles and runs through. That player then pops the ball to a player waiting on the other side. The exercise continues.

Passing

Coming through the gate 1. Ruc...

4 blue players must try and defend with shields two gates from the attacking red team. The ball carrying player must meet the defending players and then go to ground and place the ball. Once this has been done the attacking side must form bind together and ruck the shields out of the way - to 'come through the gate'. The final red player to come through collects the ball and runs anti-clockwise to the next gate and the next set of defenders to repeat the drill. The two original defenders must now move to defend the other side of the grid.

General

Punt Kicks Kicking - Rugby Dri...

• The aim of the drill is to develop kickers through the gate and keeping square onto the kick.

General

Going to ground and rucking Ru...

Two players from the same side run with the ball towards a single defender. When the ball carrier is in front of the defender they should go to the ground and place the ball, rotating themselves 90 degrees so that they have their back to the defender and the ball is on their team's side. The supporting attacking player should ruck with the defender and apply enough just pressure to the defender to keep the ball available for other players on their team.

General

Rucking Ruck - Rugby Drills, R...

Groups of 4 and two groups of defenders with contact pads. 1 ball per group. The ball carrier drives into the contact pads and presents ball backwards. Player 2 binds on, face to face and secures ball, player 3 binds on the other side to form a front row. All attackers bind together and drive defenders back 2-3 metres. Player 4 takes ball out at back and runs back around cone with players 1-3 in support. Repeat going back the other way until all attackers have practised each role.

General

Pushing them back Ruck Clear O...

Set Up: 3 players one in tackle suit one with ball one tackle bag The player in the tackle suit crouches or kneels next to tackle bag which is representing an attacking player. The suited player tackles the bag and the player with the ball places it next to tackle bag to simulate the tackled player placing the ball. The suited player then returns to their feet and gets ready to compete for ball with the third player who clears out suited player the win the ball.

General

Pod-Ruck Ruck - Rugby Drills, ...

On the shout of &quot;GO&quot; the scrum half passes to the player on the first cone, who attacks the 1st bag. Once the bag is attacked and cleared out, the scrum half then passes to the player at the 2nd cone.<br /><br />Once the player at the 2nd cone has attacked their back, the scrum half then passes the ball to the person on the 3rd cone who repeats the exercise.<br /><br />Once the last bag is attacked the exercise is repeated.

General

Reload Rucking Ruck - Rugby Dr...

Set up two defenders holding hit shields opposite two even lines of players.The ball starts with the first man in one of the lines, he runs towards the defender, hits the hit shield and goes down to present the ball. The player behind him in the line clears the defender off the ball and the third player in the line passes the ball off the floor to the first player in the other line who is running onto the pass and runs at the defender.The players from the first line join the back of their line. The player who has received the pass hits the hit shield, goes to ground and presents the ball towards his team.The second player clears out the defender, and the third player passes the ball off the floor to the first player in the other line. Players switch roles after each repetition, and should switch lines to practice passing in both directions of the floor.

General

Technical work at the breakdow...

Players start face down, on the coach's whistle players get to their feet to contest the contact area. Red player 1 and the blue player should be closer to the ball so that they reach it quicker and present a target to be cleared away by the supporting red defender. As the second red player reaches the ruck they should bind with their team mate to contest the ball, with the aim of disrupting the ball.

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

Piggy in the middle and defend...

4 players stand on the corners of a 5x5m grid, and one player in the middle (the piggy). They play piggy in the middle until the whistle goes.On hearing the whistle: The player with ball in hand is pillar aka 1. The rest of the players FOLD in and become 2,3,4 and 5 in the defenesive line. Once they are set, they call hold hold and press off the line.

General

Ruck Clear Out - Rugby Drills,...

1 player stands crouched down 1 foot either side of a tackle bag holding a ball at the end of the bag 2 players run around the wide cones to then come in towards the player with the ball and clear out the ball . Repeat the practice going the other way.

General

Ruck, Setup, Steal Ruck - Rugb...

Player 1 runs out with ball but player 2 has stepped up to meet them halfway. Player 1 drives into player 2 - goes two steps before then going to ground. Player 2 steps over the player on the ground, picks up the ball and runs on to be met by player 3 who takes the next contact. Repeat.

General

Rugby: Leg drive in the tackle...

Players work 45 seconds at a time before rotating. Play made tackle and drives the pad back. The player then goes on the floor, pops up and turns to counter ruck the other part (who has moved right behind him). Groups of 4. 2 pad holders. One worker. One resting 45 seconds before rotating positions This can be done without pads with body acting as resistance. Keep back straight. Hits square Driver legs (short fast steps)

General

Rugby: Quick Positioning, pass...

4 players start together on their stomachs next to each other. As the coach calls a colour cone, they move into position quickly. Once in position the first player with ball in hand approached the gates set out with the agility poles. The 4 players proceed to run straight through the gate and pass etc. Once the player has ran through his gate, and passed the ball, he needs to start supporting the ball, and again the 4 players pass to one another, but now their positioning is much wider than the previous positioning.

General

Rugby: Ruck clear-out work - S...

tackle sausage Place 2 sausages perpendicular from eachother in a T shape. Have one player line up a couple meters away from the bag. Conditioning drill, the player does reps of clearing the bag, running back to the line, doing a down up and going again.

General

Counter Ruck Ruck - Rugby Dril...

Condition the drill in favour of 1 team, in this case the blue team. All players lay on their fronts behind the tackle bags. On the coaches whistle, the 2 teams move to contest possession. The blue players can move straight over the bag to contest, but only the 1st red player can do the same. The other 2 red players have to run round the cones before moving in to counter ruck.

General

Mastering the Breakdown: Ruck ...

General

2 vs 1 Gauntlet Decision makin...

Set up two 1m wide gates of cones (green and red) either side of a feeder, with a line of attackers opposite (5m away). Have a number of defenders (3) lined up behind the feeder.The first player passes the ball to the feeder then moves forward and receives a short return pass from the feeder. On receiving the return pass he uses footwork to go through one of the gates with a support player going through the other gate.Once through the gate the ball carrier puts in a fend on the first defender and passes the ball to his support player.They go on to attack the two other defenders and try execute 2 vs 1 scenarios to get to the end of the drill

General

Rugby: Ruck Organisation and p...

5-7 players run around in a rectangle shaped grid. They must move very fast within it awaiting the whistle, but they are not allowed to touch the other players. Once the whistle goes they must occupy the closest cone to them, facing the coach. Then they must shift, heavies to the inside and speedsters to the outside. On the next whistle they then press in one line.

General

Rugby: Ruck Clear Out Between ...

2 people are on the tackle shields or 2 on each side about 5 metres apart facing each other, there is a ball carrier standing in the middle of the two defenders with one or two attackers. Ball carrier runs into defender/s and places the ball, the supporting player/s must clear away the defenders. Each attacker must have a go at hitting the defender and placing the ball.

General

Rugby: Right Angled Passing Dr...

Drill to practice passing.Set up a right angle (L-shape) with lines of 4 players on each side (see diagram)The ball starts at one of the outer ends and the players pass it down the line, when it reaches the end of the line the fourth player passes the ball off to the first player in the next line (see diagram).They then pass the ball down the line and pass it off to the first player in the next line, and the drill repeats.After completing their pass players should run through and join the back of the next line.

General

Rugby: Attack hit floor and ro...

On the coach's call players with the ball run into contact with the pad, next go to ground and finally roll over protecting the ball.

General

Rugby: Running into space from...

2 groups of 2 players start on set cones about 15m apart. The 2 players are situated one in behind the other, the same goes for the second set of 2 players. Once the player with the ball starts to run, the supporter goes wide and straightens onto a gate of cones. As soon as he passes the ball the second supporter can start to move out to his designated gate. Ensure that the players hide behind one another!

General

Contesting The Ruck Ruck - Rug...

This is a two person exercise, designed to improve ability at the ruckStand up a tackle tubeOne player tackles the tube to the floor, before turning to face the opposite direction and ruck against a second playerThe two players contest the ruck, with the tackle tube between their legs

General

Quick hand and quick positioni...

4 players work together in a 6x6m grid. Players attack each line of the square, from the inside. Once they get to the 4th man they move onto the next closest line to the ball carrier. All the players in support must get into a good position to receive the ball deep and work onto the ball straight towards the line. Players keep going until they finish the last line of the grid.

General

Spin Pass Practice Passing - R...

This is a simple yet very effective exercise designed for players to focus on spin passing accuracy.Players start in three lines, about 5 metres apart. This is copied on the other side of the playing area.In the middle of the playing area, in front of the three lines are two plastic poles, a metre apart.An end player starts with the ball, runs through the poles and passes to the left, behind the poles of the next player. The middle player collects and runs through their poles, before passing to the final player, who collects the ball before the poles and runs through.That player then pops the ball to a player waiting on the other side. The exercise continues.

General

Rugby: Defense vs attack drill...

The aim is to the defensive situation to keep changing the defence gets used to drifting or pressing. The aim of the attack is to realign using the full width, get the ball out of the breakdown quickly (no matter what position you play), seeing space, communicating options and reading the defence. Can be done with any number of players but best suited to around 7. You will need 7 cones, 1 ball, a 40 m area, attack of line and try line. Players passed the ball quickly down the line. When the ball gets halfway, the coach shouts out a number. Number reflects the number of defenders. The end player puts down the ball by pad, then the 2 defenders get onside (beyond defensive line) and defend against the other attackers. The defenders need to work together. Stay tight and use the sideline extra defender. Drifting from the inside and pushing up and out. Attack looks to use, player pace and beat the drift. Important defence talks and understand what they are doing in the changing circumstances. With 4 attackers and 3 defenders, defenders might look for a blitz defence or up then drift. Scrum-half can break so defence must defend at guard. Attack should be looking up and reading the situation. If we have an overlap then as a unit we must understand how to fix defenders. You must start to add a kicking option to advance the drill. 8 players, you can have a forward runner offering a shadow line of 10. He is involved in the passing down the line but is on a separate cone in the front of the 7. This fits in with the patterns and philosophy of attack. You might get the forward to press ups or other exercise to replicate fatigue.

General

Rapid Rucking Ruck - Rugby Dri...

In this exercise position 3 pad holding units, or 1 or 2 players, five meters in front of 3 rucking units, 1 unit facing each pad. Two players on each pad will provide a little more support for the pad holder - this is useful when a smaller player on the pad may be facing a larger/heavier ball carrier, or an aggressive rucking unit. There should be one scrum half and only the first rucking group should have a ball. Get started as soon as you can (but don't forget to make sure that the pad holder is holding the pad correctly and that everyone is working hard, but staying safe) - just let the players do what they will, you can refine their rucking roles and the level of execution as the exercise continues. The first rucking unit should hit the first pad, the scrum half will pass the ball to the second unit which hits the second pad, the scrum half passes the ball to the third unit, which hits the third pad. The other pads and the rucking units realign and get ready to go again. Once the third unit has finished their ruck, the scrum half passes the ball back to the second unit and so on. The exercise should stay live for as long as you need, and be action packed. Please don't have players standing around for too long, everyone should have something to do - and they should be involved! Enjoy.

General

Support play down channel Pass...

5 players start in a 5x5m grid and can pass the ball to one another in any direction. Once the coach blows the whistle they explode with speed down the channel. The aim is to firstly not run into an agility pole, and secondly to pass to a player in support while attacking down the channel. Once a player has made a pass, he must get in behind the ball and support once again.

General

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through the gate DRILL CATEGORIES
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Ball Presentation Drills
Kicking Drills
Passing Drills
Ruck Drills
Ball Presentation Drills
Kicking Drills
Passing Drills
Ruck Drills
through the gate SESSIONS
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Ruck through the Gate

Teach your team to ruck safely, effectively and quickly. By going 'through the gate' you'll avoid giving away penalties and encourage better binding

Keep moving at the ruck - Driving Defence Session

Put your best foot forwards and drive, drive, drive the opposition back in this quick ball at the ruck technique session!
through the gate ANSWERS
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how do you counter ruck effectively

is there any drills

kev appleton Coach, England

What is an umberella defensive system? also I would?

What is an umberella defensive system? also I would like some tips on offloading and poaching the ball after making a tackle?

Archived User Coach

looking for a counter rucking drill please under 13`s

looking for a counter rucking drill please under 13`s

Archived User Coach

Im starting coaching Under 6s what drills and games?

Im starting coaching Under 6s what drills and games work best?

Nick Begy Coach, England

Picking up the ball?

Player A tackles the opposing ball carrier (B). His teammate (C) is there to step over the tackled player from an onside position and when Player B attempts to present the ball he reaches down to pickup the placed ball while remaining on his feet. Player B trys to retain the ball because none of his teammates are there to ruck over or pick up the ball. Player C gets called for hands in a ruck. Why? I thought if on my feet and coming through the gate the ball is fair game. I can see only 2 proper/legal ways to get the ball if what I did was a penalty. Option 1 is to step over and kick the ball clear, risking a call for dangerous play, and hoping for the lucky bounce. Option 2 is to step over the carrier AND the ball and hope a teammate is there to pick up or ruck over behind me. Basically, ignoring the ball in plain site and not pick it up. I get it if there are other opposing players (other than the carrier) so a ruck is formed but not the way it happened. What is the right play?

Kevin Raymond Coach, United States of America

Off side in general play. Can anyone explain this better?

Off side in general play. Can anyone explain this better as it seems to be a bit ambiguous. When are you off side in general play? Rugby Unoin.

Karen Thornton Coach, England

Warm up to improve agility, balance and coordination?

Can anyone recommend a warm up drill for improving agility, balance and coordination?Currently attending level 1 introducing children to rugby; I have some ideas already in mind. I'm interested to hear other ideas.Thanks

Matthew Langtree Coach, United Kingdom

U10's rugby and picking a ball up after the tackle

When a person is tackled and goes to ground is it correct that the tackler can stand up quickly and take the ball ? If so is this along as they are on their feet and behind the offside line(so they reach down to take the ball) or are they allowed to step over the tackled player to take the ball ? This is in the rare occasion where no support is available. Also once picked up do they have to pass it out or can they just go ? Sorry for all the questions.

Archived User Coach

What is an umberella defensive...

What is an umberella defensive system? also I would like some tips on offloading and poaching the ball after making a tackle?

Archived User Coach

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