Many tackles made around the edge of a ruck or scrum are not standard tackles. The defender needs to react quickly to the situation and sometimes use different skills to bring the ball carrier down. Some of these might be wrestling-type throws, which this session concentrates on.

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

What to think about

This is not a wrestling session, but a tackling session using wrestling moves. The moves themselves should concentrate on the players discovering the best ways to bring their opponents down quickly. Mostly, the players should work on a firm grasp around the core of the ball carrier. They should then pivot the ball carrier over their hips and upper leg before landing on top of them. Relatively smaller players may use the ball carrier’s momentum to aid them, whilst stronger players might be able to be more aggressive.

set-up

1. Grab the ball carrier around the waist and pull him over and towards the ground.
2. Aim to land on top of the ball carrier and then compete for the ball.

What you get your players to do

Set out the box as in the middle picture. Put a defender in the middle of a smaller 3m square and two lettered ball carriers on two sides. Shout “A” or “B” and that ball carrier has to exit the box opposite him to score over the far line. Make the defender only tackle at the shorts or above. Repeat the exercise four times before changing the roles. The defender can stand as close or as far away as he wants to the attackers.