Lockdown planning: Better support for the ball carrier

If you are able to train, then you will be aiming to improve your players’ skills and tactical appreciation around specific areas of the game.

If you are in lockdown, it’s a chance to hone your session planning in readiness for your return.

In this planning for post-lockdown training, we are going to look at the supporting roles around the ball carrier. Specifically, the way that players are ready to take a pass to attack space or once the defensive line is broken.

To enhance learning, you are better off focusing on an “arc” of learning for a specific area. This means spreading out the training over a number of weeks, rather than dedicating one session to this.

Here’s a four-week plan for busting the line and supporting, but you can split this up into more sections if you want.

Objective: Develop awareness of how to support the ball carrier and angles of support.

Week one: Be in a position to support.

Week two: Supporting in a narrow channel.

Week three: Supporting in a wider channel.

Week four: Moving as a collective unit to be in support.

Let’s say you dedicate 15 minutes each week to the activities and assuming you have warmed up before the start, you could use a mix of games and drills.

Each session may include all of the skills or tactic from all of the weeks. However, each week focuses on the specific skill/tactic, the reasons why there are important and how the players could improve their own contributions.

The mix depends on the skills of your players. Here are four ideas to help.

1. Square support
2. VIDEO: Handling in a confined space
3. The ever-changing channel
4. Collective movement

Here are the other plans in our lockdown series:

• Lockdown planning: Bust the line
• Lockdown planning: Protecting against an overlap
• Lockdown planning: Exploiting a narrow defence
• Lockdown planning: Preventing quick ruck ball sessions
• Lockdown planning: Quick ruck ball sessions

Square support

in Attack, Return to play, Rugby drills

Get the ball carrier to attack straight and then the supporting player to move in behind to react to where the ball carrier moves to. Avoid the support player dictating where the ball carrier runs to. Instead, he has to be in the best position to take a pass if the ball carrier needs support. MORE

The ever-changing channel

in Attack, Return to play, Rugby drills

Develop handling decision-making skills where the attack faces different defensive pictures and have different supporting options coming through. The players will have to look ahead, read where best to support the ball carrier and finally, clearly communicate where they are in relation to the ball carrier. MORE

Collective movement

in Attack, Practice plans

Simple patterns of play from breakdowns can create overlaps. Here is a pattern where the players behind the breakdown situation move to one side of the breakdown, leading to an overload. It works on running and handling skills with a real “in-game” feel to the outcomes. MORE

VIDEO: Handling in a confined space

in Attack, Passing & Handling, Rugby coaching videos

Improve the ball carrier's footwork to attack a gap at pace, drawing a defender and passing to a support player. Also, develop the roles of the support players to put pace onto the pass and change angles quickly. MORE