EXPERT SESSIONS AND ADVICE FROM QUALIFIED AND EXPERIENCED GRASSROOTS RUGBY COACHES
This season, never hunt around for a fresh rugby drill again, find activities to help you train all the skills your players need in Rugby Coach Weekly.
Get proven and easy to use drills for all groups and abilities and to coach all rugby skills with Rugby Coach Weekly. As a coach, it is your job to give your team the skills and technique to be great players.
The rugby drills in this section will help you coach your players in the core skills of the game. We’ll tell you what to look out for, how to get the ideas over to your players, and we’ll give you games and exercises to really power-up their skills.
in Attack, Footwork and evasion, Rugby drills
How often do you despair that your players can’t score when there’s an overlap? Why is it players drift out in attack and play into the hands of the drift defence? Here are my simple solutions. MORE
in Contact
Attacking the space between two defenders in a close proximity means a good chance of a double tackle. Instead, attack one defender and beat just them. In a tight defence, though the space between the defenders seems more attractive, it means that those two players step in to double team the ball carrier. MORE
in Footwork and evasion, Rugby drills
Use this activity to improve players’ ability to scan what’s in front of them. It will allow the players to develop their footwork options before contact or in open play. All the targets are in front of the ball carrier, so they will need to go forward but still avoid the defender. MORE
in Attack, Practice plans
The use of pods, that is small pre-defined groups of players, used to be the preserve of the top teams. However you can utilise these groups to help your players gain more structure and, crucially, know where they have to run and who they have to support. MORE
in Ask Dan, Contact, Rugby drills
"With the return to rugby, I’m really worried that my team (U13s) will have forgotten lots of things about rugby. In particular, I’m trying to work out when and how to introduce contact and tackling." This question came from a coach in Gloucester and is typical of lots of concerns around this area of the game. It is true that the players will have "forgotten" lots of skills. Here's how I would approach this situation. On the next page are two tackling exercises to support training. MORE
in Warm Ups
‘Escape the square’ is a quick game that can be used in warm ups to get players focused on moving the rugby ball in attack, scanning for space and communicating with team-mates. MORE
in Defence, Rugby drills
Improve your players’ awareness of how to move together as a defensive line. A defensive line needs to know who’s covering who and then double up if they can to make a tackle. MORE
in Contact, Rugby drills
Make sure your players use the right footwork to power through the contact area and then manipulate the ball so they can offload or present the ball cleanly. Though power and aggression are important in the contact area, the ball carrier also needs to be technically accurate to ensure good continuity. MORE
in Rugby drills, Scrums & Lineouts
Work on good setups and movement, jumping and organisation in your lineout pods with this dynamic activity. It should mix up roles of your players. Let players try out different roles, even if it’s not perfect. That allows players to realise what works for all those involved in the lineout lift and jump. MORE
Make more of poor opposition kicks with this session. Also, work on what your defence might do when you do make a poor kicking decision. Most matches have poor kicks. Use these training scenarios to practise your team’s reactions and decision making. MORE
