Work on attacking the edges of the ruck defence. That means not attacking next to the ruck, but the area often less well-defended two players out to the side of it. The ball carrier goes into contact with close support, with a view to driving in, down and then providing quick ball for the 9 to clear.
Work on attacking the edges of the ruck defence. That means not attacking next to the ruck, but the area often less well-defended two players out to the side of it. The ball carrier goes into contact with close support, with a view to driving in, down and then providing quick ball for the 9 to clear.
Warm up time: 5-7
Session time: 8-10
Development time: 8-10
Game time: 10-15
Warm down time: 5-8
What to think about
Normal ruck defences have two players in place on either side of the ruck. They set the defensive line and other players fill in. Sometimes the third player to the side of the ruck is not as strong a defender or is late into position. He might also have a less defined role (whereas the roles of the inside defenders are pretty clear). Hence he is a good player, or a good space to target.
The receiver does not need a big run-up. He should take the ball quite flat, possibly looking to pass to the closest supporter, and then driving in with him. However, ball security is key, so better to be safe and strong in this case.
Don’t let the players forget about good footwork before contact, to plant the defender and aim to make metres over the gain line.
set-up
- Attack close to the gain line and outside the first two ruck defenders.
- Drive into the space between defenders with close support to recycle the ball quickly.
What you get your players to do
Put two ruck pad holders as defenders close to the side of the tackle tube which acts as a ruck (see picture 1).
Put a feeder by the tube with two attackers lined up outside the two ruck pad holders.
Have the ball fed to the attackers who attack just outside the ruck pads, driving forward about a metre before going to ground to present and protect the ball.
The players then get up and reposition to attack from the other side. Continue for four attempts before swapping roles.
Two attackers aiming to drive into the channel outside the ruck pad holders. On contact, the ball carrier goes to ground, presents the ball, with the other support player protecting the ball. The feeding player gathers the ball, and the whole group swaps position to the opposite side.
Development
Take away one of the ruck pads or add one more defender. Now the support player has to work harder to protect the ball carrier.
The ball carrier should present the ball away from the non-ruck pad holder. Finally, with three defenders, have two on their knees next to the ruck pad and one 5m to the side.
The ball carrier should aim to beat this defender with the other two defenders coming off their knees to help.
Play full contact. The defence cannot move into the 3m channels until the ball is passed or moved from the base of the tackle tube.
Game situation
Put two defenders each side of the tackle tube and four attackers on the other side (see picture 2). The defenders cannot move into the 3m areas at the side of the channels until the first pass is made.
Use full tackling and play until there is an infringement, the ball is turned over, or when the attack make significant progress up the channel (say at least 5m).
What to call out
- “Step before contact”
- “Get low before contact, keeping square and driving with short steps through the contact area”
- “Fight to the ground before presenting the ball”