EXPERT SESSIONS AND ADVICE FROM QUALIFIED AND EXPERIENCED GRASSROOTS RUGBY COACHES
Keep the players thinking about where to attack as the defence move around dynamically, adding in players as the attack becomes more successful.
The challenge is to keep scoring as the pressure builds.
Put five attackers in the middle of the box.
Put three defenders around the edges, and two about 5m from the outside. The defenders inside can move anywhere but are not allowed to intercept the ball.
The attackers can pass and run in any direction. They score on the outside of the box. If they do, they pass back into the middle.
Every time the attackers score, another defender enters the box.
If a defender touches an attacker within two steps of the try line, the attacker has to pass back into the middlebox. The defender cannot make touches inside the middlebox.
Give the attack one minute to score three times.
THINKING
Defenders can only be effective on the edges of the box. Do they step through the box to cover, or stay around the edges? Do they follow the ball?
Attackers need to keep the ball moving quickly. Do they do this with passes, pass and move or just movement?
in Passing & Handling, Small-sided games
Ged Hall challenges players to be effective in finding space and passing, either on their feet or from the ground (the deck!). Good for fitness as well as decision-making. Deck hands is seemingly a very simple game to play, but beneath its simple exterior is a game that challenges players physically, mentally, tactically and technically. MORE
Twenty years of writing about coaching makes you reflective. I did use games 20 years ago. I invented some at the time, and still use variations of them. You would think by now I would have seen them all. MORE
in Small-sided games, Warm Ups
Use this quick-to-set-up game, including an easy-to-adapt playground element, with rewards and forfeits thrown in. This is a game I will use at the start of sessions as a pulse raiser, sprint activation and to develop realistic evasion skills. It takes less than a minute to set up and can be played with three or more players. MORE
Use this game and its variation to create opportunities for players to make decisions on when to attack open or go back to the blindside. Create opportunities to stretch the defence and then attack where they are weakest. MORE
in Attack, Rugby drills
Attackers need to identify when a blindside is ripe to attack. They do that as they move into position. Test if they can call it and then execute it. MORE
Here’s how I set up a game to work through some plays which had been designed to help a team run with either quick ball or slow ball from rucks. MORE
