EXPERT SESSIONS AND ADVICE FROM QUALIFIED AND EXPERIENCED GRASSROOTS RUGBY COACHES
Use three main themes for the ball carrier so they can engage defenders, pass well and be able to support after they have made the pass.
Keep your ball carrier dangerous by following these three principles. Use them as reference points so they can review their own performance.
Players should have their “core to the try line” as they run with the ball. This engages the defenders because the ball carrier is running forwards. It also means the ball carrier can pass, run or kick at any given time.
Players should aim to keep their hands above their tummy button. The key is to finish off the pass with high hands. When I was at the Ospreys, we called it: “Throw the magic”. The fingers are pointing at the target as if a spell has been thrown to the receiver. I have found players respond well to this type of imagery.
Work hard on the players being balanced with the ball in hand. They are on their toes before receiving the ball and when they pass, they use the correct weight transference between the inside leg to the outside leg. This is linked to the support principles.
The ball carrier takes on the ball, with his core facing up the pitch. As he passes the ball, the core faces towards the corner flag as he releases the ball.
Crucially, he should not turn his body and move across the pitch until after he has passed the ball. As soon as the ball carrier moves across the pitch, the defence sees him as a reduced threat.
He cannot perform the run or kick functions so well either. We want the defender to think he will have to make the tackle at all times.
Handling the ball does not finish once the pass is made. Players need to work after the pass. There is a clear sequence for the ball carrier: catch, pass, follow. We tell the player to “get your second touch”.
In the words of the great Australian fly-half Mark Ella: “If I touch the ball once there’s a chance someone will score, if I touch it twice the chances are the person I pass it to will score, if I touch it a third time, then I will score”.
Therefore, in practices, players have to work once they have passed the ball. However, they cannot make that transition to follow the ball until they have made the pass itself. The ball carrier must engage the defender first.
Here are some activities to work on these skills:
in Contact, Passing & Handling, Rugby drills
Use great footwork and leg drive to break through defences while ensuring support players are on hand to take a quick pass beyond the initial contact. Get the ball carrier to run the right angles to attack the gap between defenders, smash through the tackle and then offload to their support players. The support players will learn the best lines to receive the offload. MORE
in Passing & Handling, Rugby drills
Use this power pass exercise to work on both passing and passing out of the contact. The variability of how the attacker is held back increases the learning outcomes as players face new passing challenges. MORE
in Contact, Passing & Handling
Don’t teach falling over. Teach the players to bounce themselves and therefore the ball off the ground and back into the game. It reduces the fear of falling by making the players embrace the ground as part of a skill for continuity. MORE
in Passing & Handling, Small-sided games
Lines of three players pass the ball quickly to the end player who races to a line in front of them to be the winner of the groups. MORE
in Footwork and evasion, Passing & Handling, Small-sided games
A player races out to pick up a ball cleanly and then win the race to the far line. MORE
in Passing & Handling, Rugby drills
A good catch starts the whole movement for a better pass. It creates time on the ball, which means the ball carrier can pass more accurately and, if necessary, more quickly. Here’s a individual training idea you can encourage your players to use away from your sessions. MORE
