All too often defences can tell exactly where the ball is going and who the strike runner is going to be. “Options open” is all about creating as many realistic attacking options for the passing player and keeping the defence guessing until it’s too late. The patterns are basic and can be achieved by any team.

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

What to think about

Many clean breaks are made only for the cover defence to somehow stop the try being scored. Support is everyone’s responsibility. Once a break has been made, everyone within range should be working hard to get on the ball carrier’s shoulder. In an ideal world, when faced with cover defenders the ball carrier should have options on both sides. This makes the defenders’ job tougher. Players need to face these types of situations every week in training and to be put under pressure to score everyone of them.

set-up

1. Create space by changing your angles of running.
2. Hold your runs from deep so the defenders have to commit early.
3. Always expect the ball.
4. Run onto the ball at pace.

What you get your players to do

Line up five attacking players, three in front and two behind. They have to move the three defenders to create space for a strike runner. Let them experiment as much as they want, but insist that every player must be a potential strike runner in every attack. Play one phase only and use a two-handed touch tackle on the hips. If tackled, the ball carrier can only pass to a support player within two metres.