EXPERT SESSIONS AND ADVICE FROM QUALIFIED AND EXPERIENCED GRASSROOTS RUGBY COACHES
Covering core and advanced skills, each Practice Plan provides the blueprint for an entire session for you to run with your team. A quick read through and you've got a ready-made session to take on to the pitch. Perfect for when you're running late and don't have time to hunt around for new ideas.
Practice Plans can be adapted by the coach to suit any age group from age 7 to 16, and are appropriate for adult teams. As a Rugby Coach Weekly subscriber you can access all 200 Practice Plans on the website covering the entire range of skills and tactics, in a format you can easily print and take to training.
in Attack, Passing & Handling, Practice plans
As a defence drifts across the pitch to cover attacking players, it becomes vulnerable to a switch in the direction of the attack. Often, however, when this switch is used it is on a whim of a single player, who goes on his own and ends up isolated. “Whip back” provides your team with a structured approach to the play. MORE
Good defensive systems need organisation and communication, and quick line speed. You can only close down effectively with these three elements. For the player it all starts from a good foot position. This session gives the player the right set up to make better decisions when he is defending. MORE
in Footwork and evasion, Passing & Handling, Practice plans
Help your players discover the power of passing and evasion under pressure with this game. “Danish long ball” can be used to trigger lots of skills exercises, with players returning to the game afterwards. For instance you could work on long passing, sidestepping or communication in between bouts of play. MORE
in Passing & Handling, Practice plans
A bad pass need not always mean the end of a fluid move. Players can learn to react positively by adjusting their bodies to catch and then deliver the ball, and support players can learn to delay their runs. In this way your side can continue their patterns of play even if one of the passes has been disrupted. MORE
in Passing & Handling, Practice plans
Faster passing shifts the ball to where the defence is not, before they can fill the gap. Long passes are easier to defend because the defenders can shift as the ball is in the air. If a team passes the ball quickly, defences find it more difficult because their focus is constantly changing. MORE
in Attack, Passing & Handling, Practice plans
Switch passes, also known as cut passes, should be a natural part of the passing armory and used by all players. This session uses a simple exercise which can be set up with lots of stations for lots of activity. Players will quickly learn that timing and angles are as important as the pass itself. MORE
in Practice plans, Rucking & Mauling
Ball presentation is crucial to ensuring quick, clean possession for the attacking team. The tackled player must get the ball back as far as he can towards his team. He should also control the ball for as long as he can, without being penalised for holding on. MORE
in Attack, Passing & Handling, Practice plans
The pace of the attacking line can be enhanced by a player entering from a deep position. The timing of this run comes from using lots of practices like the ones in this session. Players get to know the passing shapes of their team mates and so find it easier to read the running lines and get their timing right. MORE
in Attack, Contact, Practice plans
The new ruck laws are designed to encourage turnovers in the game. It is an area you can’t afford to ignore. A quickly executed attack from turnover possession causes the opposition problems. This session – “Turnover attack” – focuses on the players’ decision making after winning turnover possession. MORE
in Attack, Passing & Handling, Practice plans
The “slide pass” has been used to good effect recently by a number of international teams. It is a flat pass to a player who is drifting outside his defender. Introducing the move also lets your team practise some good basic passing and running skills. MORE
