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Proven, easy to use rugby drills, practice plans, training tips and advice for grassroots coaches

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Skills, drills, tips and advice for rugby coaches Issue number: 998 23rd of May, 2017 Make More Impact in the Ruck Hi {sForename}, Many matches are littered with what some top contact coaches call "wasted bullets". That's a player who arrives at a ruck and makes no impact at all. It means they're not available for the next ruck either. Inside this newsletter: Ruck decision making (Ending Soon) Rugby Positions Made Simple Phil Larder's Iron Curtain Defence DVD Fixing defenders to create space (Ending soon) £5 off The Lineout and How to Win It Warm-up with the lawnmower Quote: The Rugby Players' Association Boost your coaching with my rugby coaching manuals We've all seen it happen, and some players seem to become expert wasters. It's not that they can't ruck, or even don't want to. They just don't seem to know how to choose the correct moment - at all. Create dynamic scenarios in training to help players gain a better sense of when to go into the ruck. In small-sided situations it's obvious when these players make the wrong decisions. Whereas in the game, they can rely on weight of numbers to muddle through, these ever-changing rucks (or non-rucks) need a player to either protect the ball carrier or clear the ball away. The simple exercise below should give you an idea how to use this set up, and then you can easily develop this by adding in more elements and players to customize it for your team. Also in this newsletter... I've recently stopped asking players in training "Where's the space?". I've become more interested in getting my players to create space. They do that by attacking one weak spot and then, if that spot is filled with defenders, attacking another. 2 v 1 exercises are the simplest way to work on that. But players need to understand the principle of fixing defenders. Use Colin Ireland's guide to "fixing defenders" to help players develop their ability to create space for their team mates. And in today's fitness section get your players to warm-up with the lawnmower. Yours in rugby, Dan Cottrell's signature Dan Cottrell, Head Coach, Rugby Coach Weekly P.S. For skills, drills and coaching advice you can trust from Rugby Coach Weekly's qualified coaches, subscribe now. Free Rugby Positions Made Simple with Rugby Coach Weekly Rugby Coach Weekly doesn't just do proven, easy to use drills, it also provides tips and advice on how to coach for the benefit of the players. Every week we want to help you push the boundaries with your players, make them think, give them problems and focus their minds on improving as a whole. In this week's issue of Rugby Coach Weekly, we have sessions on passing tricks, breaking through with slower players, reacting late to make tackles, quicker realignment and mauling from rucks. Sign up today, and as well as receiving weekly issues, you'll also get a free copy of my Rugby Positions Made Simple report. And, if you subscribe for 12 months, you can also choose £54 of rugby coaching manuals - free with your subscription. If you decide Rugby Coach Weekly is not for you, email us at customerservices@greenstarmedia.net within 30 days of the start of your subscription and we will refund you for unserved issues, no questions asked. Please be aware a subscription cannot be refunded if it started more than 30 days ago. Get your trial or subscription to Rugby Coach Weekly now. Subscribe now Better ruck decision making From Rugby Coach Weekly Don't waste your ruck bullets. Make sure your players know when to "shoot" at the ruck, and when to leave it alone. Start the process by making them understand when and where the threat to the ruck is going to happen, so they can judge what the best action is. Why use it You want enough players to win quick ball without compromising your chances to launch effective counter attacks. Set up A 10m square, two ruck pads and a ball. Ruck decision making How to do it Put a feeder (F) and receiver (BC) 5m apart, with a tackler (T) 2m in front of BC. Put support players A1 and A2 inside and outside BC and a ruck pad holder either side of T, acting as inside and outside defenders. F passes to BC who takes on T (see picture 1). Indicate whether you want one, two or no ruck pad holders to come in over the ball. A1 and A2 then decide whether they need to come in to take out their respective defender (see picture 2). If no defender comes in, then A1 comes in to clear the ball to A2 (see picture 3). Develop by changing the starting points of defenders and supporters and removing one or both of the ruck pads from the holders. Technique Good placement essential from BC. Ideally he falls and presents away from the inside defender (so his backside is facing that defender). A1 and A2 run "L-shaped" lines to be able to square up to go through the tackle gate to clear out any defender £5 off The Lineout and How to Win It The Lineout and How to Win It There are around 30 lineouts a game. So even a 10% improvement in your lineout will win you more clean ball and provide you with more opportunities to disrupt the opposition and steal possession. So if your lineout game is lacking you are missing out on valuable opportunities, now is the time to fix any issues with The Lineout and How to Win It available with £5 off for a limited time. If you need to boost your players' lineout skills and tactics, then The Lineout and How to Win It is for you. With over 100 pages of skills, practices and tactical plays, covering every aspect of the lineout, it is the most comprehensive lineout coaching book ever published. Get £5 off when you order - but only for a few more days! Buy it now Get your motivational patches Fixing defenders to create space

Fixing defenders to create space

Attack

By Colin Ireland, Physical Education teacher with sixteen years’ experience working for the Scottish Rugby Union Creating space for other players by attracting and fixing defenders is a basic skill – but it’s not easy. Defenders want to chase the ball carrier and their mind is split 50/50 on whether to stay on him or […]

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Set-piece defence: The openside winger's role

Set-piece defence: The openside winger’s role

Defence

By Colin Ireland, Physical Education teacher with sixteen years’ experience working for the Scottish Rugby Union Each player at the set piece will have a role and responsibility to perform defensive duties – this includes the openside winger. From a lineout When the opposition has a lineout in your half, it’s less likely they will […]

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Get ready for match tackling

Get ready for match tackling

Tackling

I think it’s important to make sure your players are on board with using tackles in the warm up, so I’ve tended to set out my warm-up ideas before the season starts so the players can have some input. I’ve found, even with a contact element in the warm-up, some will go off and do some […]

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Pile the pressure on 10 by making him think

Pile the pressure on 10 by making him think

Team Management

Start putting more pressure on your fly half (10) in training so he can perform better on match days. You can also work all the players who might fulfil this role. There are three main ways to create pressure: Reduce the time for the player to make decisions. Reduce the space for the player to […]

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Chip kicks for attacking advantage

Chip kicks for attacking advantage

Kicking & Catching

Chip kicks are the new attacking weapon on the block. Use them to cut through organised defences and score more tries. The more you can practise them in varied situations, the more confident your team will be to employ them under pressure in matches. Why use it Your team needs to be able to score […]

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Chasing and catching a high ball

Chasing and catching a high ball

Kicking & Catching

By Eamonn Hogan, experienced rugby coach working with representative teams in the UK and the US This activity works on catching your own high ball (such as a full back returning a kick). Set up Use three receivers, a ball and a kickchaser in every group and a wide area of the field to practise […]

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U7 & U8: Work together as defenders

U7 & U8: Work together as defenders

Defence

ACTIVITY: TRACK THE ATTACKERS Tell players to:  “Move together towards a target” “Tell other defenders which way to move”   1 Three attackers spread out along one of the long sides of the area and two defenders stand on the opposite side. The attackers pass a ball from side to side between themselves. 2 When […]

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Timing your box kicks

Timing your box kicks

Kicking & Catching

The attacking box kick is a much-used tactic at the top level so grassroots coaches should be looking to use it as a means of exerting pressure and gaining territory. Why use it A box kick can be used as a contestable attacking kick in the opposition half and even if they do gather it, […]

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