Help your players relish tackling by making a competition of it. Not only will this improve the team’s defence as they become incentivised to tackle more, it can change the mindset of players from “have to tackle” to “want to tackle”.

Warm up time: 5-7
Session time: 8-10
Development time: 8-10
Game time: 12-15
Warm down time: 5-7

What to think about

Individual pride in tackling needs to be developed in individuals within a team. You need to put as much emphasis on praising good tackling and defence as you do on good attacking play. Encourage players to congratulate each other during games for making big hits and crucial tackles. Praise individuals for their efforts in training and games. Aim to increase the kudos of making good tackles within your squad as a whole. Tackling games, where the defensive team receives rewards, increases the collective feel for defence.

set-up

1.   Select the correct tackle for each situation.
2.   Execute the tackle effectively, making sure the ball carrier goes to ground before you do.
3.   Work hard to get back to your feet for the next tackle.

What you get your players to do

Split into groups of five, each in a 5m square. Make one player the tackler and give the other four a ball. The tackler has to make as many tackles as he can in 30 seconds, then swap over. Start at walking pace and gradually increase the speed of the players’ movement. Encourage the tackler to use both shoulders and make a variety of tackles. Do not allow the ball carriers to hand off to start with.