Rugby Coach Weekly

EXPERT SESSIONS AND ADVICE FROM QUALIFIED AND EXPERIENCED GRASSROOTS RUGBY COACHES

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10/23/2018 | Defence

Scrum defence training: Closing down their options

If each player knows their role, you should be able to mark all the attacking options from a scrum. Use these exercises to connect your defensive backline and forwards with your scrum-half. MORE

07/22/2018 |

VIDEO: Turning the contact area into a positive

Ensure your players have the right detail in the contact area to make sure, if they are tackled, they can win the contest and present the ball back cleanly and quickly. MORE

07/18/2018 | Attack

Cone collectors: Heads up attack and defence

Create chaotic starts for the attack and defence so they have to play heads-up rugby, make decisions, connect and win the situation. MORE

Mini tag

08/28/2018 | Mini tag

Guide to coaching U7s and tag rugby

Participation and fun are the core outcomes for under 7s. However, concentrate on: Evasive running to score tries - that is running forward but able to step to the side of a defender. Catching and passing - probably when the players are static. Don’t worry about defence. MORE

07/20/2018 | Mini tag

How to make greedy ball hoggers pass

Use simple “house” rules in training and games to help reduce the chance of selfish players dominating your team’s possession and preventing you scoring more tries. MORE

06/29/2018 |

Turtle tag

Use this quick attack-defence-evasion game to improve your players' awareness and speed. It can easily be developed to include other elements like self-organisation and decision making. MORE

Small-Sided Games

10/18/2018 |

Hardcore piggy in the middle

Pull the core skills of contact together with an age-old game with a twist. MORE

08/24/2018 | Scrums & Lineouts

Build a scrum and win it!

A simple game that integrates the scrum within a competitive context and teaches the huge part scrums play in retaining or regaining possession. MORE

08/23/2018 | Small-sided games

Drop-off touch

Games that require all the players to participate develop all abilities. In drop-off touch, defenders have to fill in and attackers have to support, involving the whole group. MORE

Rugby Skills

10/19/2018 | Rugby drills

CORE SKILLS: Keep the ball after contact

10/17/2018 |

The “Y” drill

10/13/2018 | Passing & Handling

VIDEO: Easy 3 v 2s training

10/11/2018 |

CORE SKILLS: Power through contact

10/10/2018 |

Take, step, fend, offload

10/9/2018 |

Ball carrying through contact

Practice Plans

How to improve judgement and know where to attack 2

10/22/2018 |

Play what’s in front of you

Playing what is in front of you is a tough skill to master, even for the most experienced players. But that does not mean it should not be practised at all levels of the game. These simple activities will challenge the players to pass, support and communicate quickly. MORE

How to support around the tackle contest 2

10/22/2018 |

Second man in pulls the strings

The second player in support of the ball carrier needs to work out how to support the tackle contest. This session explores a range of situations, all based on the principle of going forward whenever possible. MORE

10/15/2018 |

Weak shoulders? Close those gaps

This session looks at the ball carrier attacking the weak shoulder but is more about defenders avoiding this problem. A weak shoulder is where the defender is attacked on the side he is not set up to tackle on so normally the attacker can step inside. The two activities will help players gain better balance before making a tackle. MORE

Warm-Ups

10/6/2018 | Warm Ups

VIDEO: Fun, competitive passing warm up

Use this kneeling down passing exercise to work on good upper body style for passing, where the players use their shoulders and hip rotation to generate power in the pass, and elbows and wrist to create acceleration and accuracy. It's also good for working on catch and pass techniques in isolation. MORE

09/5/2018 | Warm Ups

VIDEO: Warm up with a wrestle

Get ready for a contact or tackling session by using wrestling drills. They’re great for conditioning and bring a competitive edge to training – watch our video and then try it with your team. MORE

08/15/2017 |

The Triangle

In this warm-up game, passing and catching are important, but vision and awareness are paramount. When the player is lining up to run, he needs to know who is going, when he needs to go, who he’ll receive from, who he’ll pass to and where he’ll line up next. MORE

Coaching Advice

10/22/2018 | Rugby drills

Basics for “experts”

You know you have to cover the core skills. That can be difficult if some of the players take a long time to get the basics right. You need to keep all your players interested and that is tough. MORE

10/21/2018 | Team Management

Concentration: Turn on the switch

When normally competent players make basic errors, it’s probably because they’ve been distracted from the task in hand. Here’s how to get winning concentration from your team. MORE

10/15/2018 | Team Management

How the head coach has to give bad news,...

The best and worst time in the week for a coach is telling a player who is in or out of the team. It is a people business and we have only a certain amount of slots on the field at any one time. MORE

10/12/2018 | Tips

Trigger words

Using triggers in your coaching may seem new and novel but you have probably been using trigger words or phrases without realising it. Here’s why they help… What are triggers? Triggers are words or phrases that might change the player’s behaviour from performing a technique poorly to focusing on the technique and what he has... MORE

Email newsletters

10/18/2018

Tackle practices to challenge your players

Keep tackling practices fresh with new ways to improve the players' basic techniques. Put them into unusual situations in training which tend to reflect the game-like scenarios they may face. MORE

10/16/2018

Target 90%+: Coach better lineouts, with great techniques, sessions...

There can be 20 plus lineouts in a match. They are the most competitive set-piece in a game, and tactically crucial if you want to take advantage of penalties you can’t kick at goal. The top teams target a 90% plus completion rate. That means, not just winning the ball, but winning it cleanly. MORE

07/5/2018

Develop a player-centred defence

The basic principles of defence are: Go forward Provide support Apply pressure Regain possession As you can see, they don't explicitly say tackling. So, if we really want to improve our defence, we have to look at the whole, not just one of the parts. MORE

“The boys have really enjoyed the drills from Rugby Coach Weekly. It's been great having them at my fingertips and every training session this season we tried new things, which I believe helped keep the boys interested and enthusiastic.”

Phil Hopkins, Perigueux, France

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