Go forward from the lineout

The session looks at running and support lines from the back of the lineout. There is a run up of around 10-15m for the ball carrier before he meets the lineout defence and support players arriving from the side. Both attack and defence need to consider how to cover this space effectively to create or prevent breaks and quick ball.

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

What to think about

Both attack and defence face different challenges. First, there is more space between attack and defence than in most other situations. Second, attack support is in front of the ball carrier to start with, and there is open space to the outside. The danger is that both attack and defence drift too much, reducing their opportunity to win the battle to the gain line. This session is good for the whole team because you can use forwards and backs and don’t need to be too position specific. Even the first receiver can be a forward. This session is based on attack within 20m of the lineout. It builds the elements from 1v1 through to 3v3.

set-up

1. Win the race to the gain line. In attack, look to offload or win the tackle battle to give your support a target.
2. In defence, aim to slow the ball carrier so the support defenders can be in place to slow/win the ball and/or be ready for the next play.

What you get your players to do

Put an attacker and defender on opposing sides of a 10m x 5m box each withn a support player outside the box. Get a feeder to pass the ball to an attacker who aims to get to the far end of the box (see picture 1). The defender in the box comes forward to tackle him. Playing full contact, let the play develop inside the box – the attacker is looking for a positive outcome: a try, an offload or a good ball placement to their supporting attacker.