There is a lot of “wrestling” for the ball in rugby. Ball carriers want to hold on to the ball, while defenders want to rip it away. A wrestle might develop into a maul. This session works on both attackers and defenders learning how to protect or win the ball.

Warm up time: 5
Session time: 6-9
Development time: 6-9
Game time: 15-20
Warm down time: 7

What to think about

Upper body strength will count for much in a wrestle situation but this can be overcome with different techniques. First, encourage the ball carrier to keep their upper body and arms moving while the defender tries to rip the ball. This can unbalance the ripping player and also make it harder for them to find a good grip. Second, try to get the ripping player to seek out “levers” and “handles” on the ball carrier. These are the gaps and holes between arms, body and ball. Dislodge a lever to reveal the ball. Finally, for both sets of players, make them use their feet to generate power, either up, sideways or down. This will help them drive the ball in the direction they want.

set-up

1. Ball carrier: Keep rolling the shoulders to keep the ball away from the defence.
2. Defender: Get your arms inside their arms and between the ball and the body.

What you get your players to do

Put two attackers each with a ball in one half of the circle and three defenders in the other half (picture 1). On your shout of “GO” the attackers move into the defenders’ half.They must retain the ball for 10 seconds (picture 2). If a defender goes out of the circle, he must return through the attackers’ side. If an attacker goes out of the circle, he must return immediately. If the ball is ripped from one attacker, the defender or defenders can move on to work on the other attacker.