Here is a collection of great ideas for planning, fitness, skills and games for your pre-season preparation, whatever age and level of player you coach.
Get the detail right when coaching skills and everything will fall into place. Let's look at what players should do just before tackling a ball carrier. MORE
Got the lungs burning? Now it’s time to get those brains whirring! Put the players in lots of different scenarios which match possible situations they might face in a match to help them think about their options. Decision-making exercises mean that your team will have to connect with each other, communicate and discover what works best. MORE
We can all remember an inspirational figure in our sporting lives, someone who has made a difference. Now you are a coach yourself, you have the chance to be that figure for someone else. What a privilege. Also, what a responsibility. That means that good coaching and management comes from hard work and choosing the... MORE
Every team wants to start the season well. Use these sessions to build your players’ form and fitness so that they are ready to go on that first whistle. MORE
A session ideal for pre-season or in-season if you need to reconnect your players with their handling and pace onto the ball. Accurate passing is essential to maintain a flowing attacking move capable of exploiting mismatches and space. Look at the detail as well as the outcomes. MORE
Whether it’s in pre-season or you need a boost during the season, use this series of three sessions to ensure you have a strong scrum base. Here are the first two weeks. MORE
Here is a circuit that allows you to train the core running skills – changing direction, changing pace, turning, accelerating and running backwards or sideways. It is good for a pre-season or in season MORE
Here's an example of a mind-map preparing for a season. It's the starting point for a discussion of what needs to be covered and who's going to cover it. MORE
How often have you heard: "No, yes, good, great," and then lots of sighing. Does this sound like a coach you know? And does this really seem helpful? Let's consider how we enhance our language to engage players and most importantly understand them. MORE
In Lockdown planning: Quick ruck ball sessions, we focused on applying pressure on the defence. Now, let's plan for the other side of the ball. France's defence coach, Shaun Edwards says that it is his main metric for success: slowing down ruck possession. To enhance learning, you are better off focusing on an “arc” of learning for a specific area. This means spreading out the training over a number of weeks, rather than dedicating one session to this. MORE
Here's my analysis of four different scrum half passes. Each one has their own style and is effective in its own way. Use these clips to inform your own coaching and share with your 9s to help them find improvements in their passing. MORE
received these two emails within a few hours of each other, so this isn’t an isolated situation. However, I will hasten to add, it’s not a problem either. Up to the age of 17/18, boys grow at very different speeds. This is both physically and mentally. It’s likely that the more “aggressive” teams you face have a number of boys are ahead of the curve in this sense. They are more mature than their peers. MORE
Whether you were hooked or not, Game of Thrones was a phenomenal TV hit. Over 32 million viewers watched season eight. There were lots of reasons why but one which has perhaps a lot to do with the way we should be coaching rugby. MORE
Get players to attack defenders in close or wide situations. They will have to see where to run and change angle sharply at pace to adjust. Players need the confidence to change angles, especially those players who are not used to sprinting and conditioning. MORE
