9 tricks

A scrum half has a variety of ways to clear the ball from the back of a ruck. The greater the range of methods, the more he can keep the defence guessing, and so create gaps. This session develops those tricks and helps the rest of the team read which tricks might be used and when.

Warm up time: 5-7
Session time: 8-10
Development time: 8-10
Game time: 15-20
Warm down time: 5-7

What to think about

How do the players know the intentions of 9? Sometimes 9 or the support player needs to make a specific call. For instance, “nuts” for a pick up and switch or “Gregan” for a pick up and flick inside. Both 9 and the receiver should be aware of the other’s lines and angles. This comes from practices using sessions like this. The timing is built from learning the type of movements the 9 makes before he picks up the ball.

set-up

1. 9 – pick up and run or pop the ball to a player from the base of the ruck. Base the type of pass or run on the defence in front of you.
2. Support runners – listen to any call and offer 9 options to pass from inside or outside.

What you get your players to do

In the warm up, get the 9s to try out various pass and run options (as the top picture). In the main session, have three columns of players about 3m apart and 3m from a “gate” (as the middle pictures). Put yourself in front of the gate with some balls. Have a 9 start by one side of the gate. Call out a column, put one ball on the ground and have the 9 walk towards it. Have him pick it up to either pop, run or run and pass. The first player in the column called moves forward to take a pass from 9. Once the pass is made, 9 moves to the other side of the gate as you repeat the exercise. Change 9s after ten passes. Then increase the pace of the exercise.