Train 'no-look' passing

A no-look pass is clearly a high-risk skill – mistakes are easy to spot. But there’s also reward.

The main advantage is that a defender is drawn onto the ball carrier, creating space elsewhere.

So why not just fix the defender and pass while still watching the receiver? That’s the key question. 

In theory, a good fix-and-pass achieves the same goal, without the added risk. The no-look version adds an element of disguise, but only works if the player is accurate and understands the situation.

Context

It works because the no-look pass is normally short, and the receiver is close to the ball carrier – so close, it would be easy for the defender to step over and tackle them.

If the receiver was any wider, it’s likely that they would be marked by another defender, or, in a number of situations, they might be too close to the touchline. It exploits the space right next to a defender and potentially allows a clean break.

If your players are going to use a no-look pass, they should understand the context. That is, when and why.

Pressure

Clever plays, including the no-look pass, rarely transfer successfully from skills training to matches, unless they are put under pressure. Our exercises here develop the first part of this journey. 

Too often, that’s where we stop. We do increase the pressure – but is it the sort of pressure that replicates a game situation?

Pressure can be applied by reducing the time and space a player has to perform a skill. Further developments add defenders, and then defenders from different angles.

All good. But the real test is that players must choose whether to use that skill or another one. And, in the case of a no-look pass, the ratio should be about 1 to 10, I think. 

In other words, the player gets one or two chances in a match to use a skill.

Creativity

Rugby is so dynamic that it’s very hard to set out hard and fast rules for when to use plays or skills. The players should react in the moment. 

They have a range of right answers, in terms of ways to be successful. It could be a short pass, long pass, an offload, a dummy or a side-step. Each one might lead to a clean break this phase, the next phase or the next phase, and so on. 

No-look passes are one possibility in all of these answers. 

Don’t be afraid to give the players the tools to be creative, and then choose when to use them – wisely. 

To check, ask them afterwards why they used the pass.