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LOGINOrganising your U16 season (2026)
| To the first game | First game to half-term | Half-term to Christmas | Christmas to February | After February half-term |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Block 1 | Block 2 | Block 3 | Block 4 | Training voluntary (GCSEs) |
What Changes for U16s
The framework for your first season with the U16s. Very little changes in law; almost everything changes in the players.
- ›Very few law changes from U15 to U16 – the headline one is lifting in the lineout.
- ›Physicality steps up again – players are bigger, stronger, and want to express that.
- ›Tactically, the game starts to look like the adult game, even if technical ability has not caught up yet.
- ›Pressure increases: more players are chasing premier teams, county rugby and higher standards.
- ›Academic pressure (GCSEs) builds through the year. Be clear from the start that training becomes voluntary after February half-term, so players have a target rather than a reason to drop out at Christmas.
The U16 Coach’s Job
Talking to U16 coaches, and from personal experience, the recurring worries are physicality and injury, players who are not super fit but hit much harder, and no longer being able to "wing it" tactically the way you might at U12 or U13.
Selection policy is the retention policy
- ›Keep the side together. This is a key drop-out year, so selection policy matters.
- ›Agree a clear policy at the start of the year: target a couple of key games with your strongest team, with a bench that plays a genuine half.
- ›Everyone gets a fair share of game time the rest of the time.
- ›Do not target every league game. Fringe players drift away if game time is concentrated at the top.
- ›Manage the expectations of your strongest players too.
It is their season
Treat this as their season, not a stepping stone to Colts. For a meaningful proportion of the group, this could be their last season of rugby – make it memorable, and park the "next year" talk.
Understanding Your Players
Every squad splits roughly into three groups, and sessions need to work for all three.
Pro players
- ›Think and breathe the game.
- ›Eyeing academy status or a representative pathway.
Sports players
- ›Love rugby and are skilful.
- ›It is not the be-all – they may play other sports too.
Social players
- ›There for their mates first.
- ›Rugby is a smaller part of their life.
Ask players individually and collectively what they want from the season. Collectively is harder, because louder voices dominate, so find the right moments. A simple coach-led IDP conversation covers the improvement part, and it can be about fitness, skills or leadership, not just first-team status.
Fitness Philosophy
- ›Do not make fitness the big thing this season. Make it a "nice to do", not a compulsory one.
- ›Players are going through major body changes – shape, size, image issues, hunger. Compulsory fitness talk switches social players off.
- ›Use fitness buddies so players train together. Build a culture of getting fitter rather than calling out being unfit.
- ›Celebrate small signs of improved fitness rather than criticising poor performances. "We’re looking a bit fitter, what can we do differently?" brings everyone in.
Hide the fitness vegetables
Build conditioning into what you are already doing rather than flagging it as a separate, competitive block.
The ABCD Framework
Four roots to coach every single week – an A and a B, a B and a C, or a C and a D each session.
The Four Roots
A – Attacking clear (rucking)
- ›Get beyond the ball. Stopping at the ruck is a no-no.
- ›Aim for two players past the ball at every ruck.
- ›This is an awareness and fitness habit, not a skill – every player can do it.
B – Ball carry and ball placement
- ›Great ball placement covers for poor rucking, but poor placement is rarely saved by good rucking.
- ›Keep fighting for the floor the moment you are tackled – "quick ball" thinking, manipulating body position to present it fast.
- ›Coach it every session, including in the warm-up. Good placement also kills the jackal, which U16 defenders love to attack.
C – Catch and pass
- ›Players need volume outside of training. There is never enough on-the-ball time in a session alone.
- ›Avoid static, stand-and-pass-along-the-line drills; they do not reflect the game. Use movement passing – short, long, in and out – with pressure added.
- ›Key cues: catch the ball early, keep hands moving towards the target.
D – Defence
- ›1v1 tackling is fine, but the game is rarely 1v1. Use plenty of three defenders against two attackers so players have to make real decisions, double up and move.
- ›Be wary of pad work for physicality. Pads do not give honest feedback; bone-on-bone at walking pace is often better.
Set Piece
Scrum
- ›Work on front-row body shapes every week, even with players who will not play there.
- ›Growth spurts mean flankers can end up in the front row.
Lineout
- ›Contested lineouts are a big change at this age. Run a maximum of five-man, and often three-man is the better option.
- ›Hookers rarely throw accurately beyond the middle, so build plays that work at the front rather than risking the back.
- ›Plays depend on the length of the 9’s pass. Identify their strong side and build calls around it.
- ›Introduce lifting and jumping without overcomplicating it – four to five weeks gets a new lifter or jumper to a decent standard.
Moves – 9 and 10
- ›Avoid over-using out-the-back plays (10 passing behind 12 to 13). Accuracy suffers and defences read it – prefer plays in front of the line, such as 12 running with a switch or pop to 13.
- ›Develop two genuine 9–10 combinations rather than many options.
- ›U16 10s often stand too flat. Encourage them to stand deeper so play can be unwound and width found, even if a defender is not fixed.
- ›Get the ball to wingers more often – they are under-used at this age.
- ›Have one short move and one long or wide move, building on last year’s plays rather than starting from scratch.
Fast Ball, Slow Ball
With fast ball
- ›Clear forwards out of the way quickly.
- ›The 10 needs a call to unwind it, rather than letting forward after forward carry.
With slow ball
- ›Bring forwards in, but do not keep hammering the same AB channel.
- ›Attack the D channel to isolate the fourth defender and create space.
Structuring the Season
Block the season into four phases and give each one a clear focus, so you are not chasing too many things at once.
| Block | Period | What gets the focus |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | To the first game | One skill to nail, one play to nail |
| 2 | First game to half-term | One skill to nail, one play to nail |
| 3 | Half-term to Christmas | One skill to nail, one play to nail |
| 4 | Christmas to February | One skill to nail, one play to nail |
Everything else – rucking, catch and pass, retrieval – still happens. This is simply what gets real focus and real celebration.
Session Structure
- ›Warm-up – "naive" rugby. It has rugby content but is not about progressing tactics; it is about bonding the group.
- ›Deliberate skill work – potentially split into units. Keep this to a maximum of 15 minutes.
- ›Skills games – put the skills under pressure.
- ›Finish with a game or energy activity rather than a run-through, unless it is late season with a specific cup game to prepare for. Players are there to play.
Example Six-Week Plan
A simple way to sequence the skill and play focuses from the season blocks above. Each focus runs for two weeks.
| Wk | Skill focus | Set piece theme | Session game / scenario |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ball placement | Scrum body shape | 3v2 carry and offload |
| 2 | Ball placement | Scrum body shape | Ruck clear gate game |
| 3 | Early hands | Lineout jump and lift | Catch and pass under pressure |
| 4 | Early hands | Lineout jump and lift | Wide channel passing game |
| 5 | Tight tackle grip | Scrum – 2v1 drill | Tackle and clear scenario |
| 6 | Tight tackle grip | Lineout – two hookers | Defence shape conditioned game |
Competent, Connected, Challenged
Competent
- ›Cheer the simple, boring things done well – great ball placement, great early hands.
- ›This raises the standard of everything else.
Connected
- ›Ask players what they want, agree it together, and keep checking in.
- ›It is their season.
Challenged
- ›Set genuine rugby problems for players to solve.
- ›Small-group huddles are where this lands best.
Running huddles
- ›Control the space – scaffold the conversation so it does not become a free-for-all.
- ›Keep the chat positive: focus on what can change, not what went wrong.
- ›Model what good feedback looks like before asking players to lead it themselves.
- ›Roll leadership opportunities around the group rather than relying on one or two players. Not every player will want it, but more should be given the chance.
- ›Build a shared language so everyone understands what "good" looks like.
- ›
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