A quickly executed attack from turnover possession causes the opposition problems. This activity focuses on players’ decision making after winning turnover possession.
One of the main reasons teams don’t capitalise on turnover ball is that they don’t get organised quickly enough. As soon as the call is made players need to get into as deep an alignment as they can.
Set up four players with ruck pads and four tacklers 5m away and opposite them.
Put two defenders 10m behind from the ruck-pad holders either to the left or right of them.
Have the four tacklers move up as a line and make contact with the ruck pads.
They drop to the ground and get back to their feet quickly. As they are contacting the pads roll out a ball.
The nearest player picks it up and the group now attack against the two defenders coming from either the left or right side.
The attackers realign quickly to be able to run forward onto the ball.
Ideally, there are two passes away from the pick up.
Play touch or full tackling.
Develop by adding players without ruck pads on either end of the ruck pad line (they will become defenders after the ball is rolled in) and another one or two team mates behind the initial defenders.
TECHNIQUE
Call when it’s a turnover.
Tackler gets back to his feet quickly to pick up the ball.
Nearest players get aligned quickly to attack.
Pass the ball away from the contact area and attack space.
A hard and fast flat miss pass can cut out defenders before they have a chance to change their running angles. It can lead to clean breaks as your attackers exploit the gaps.
By scanning the line and hitting the ball at an angle towards a space, the ball carrier is going to be almost impossible to stop. MORE
I was helping out a representative under 15s training session. I had been given two techniques to cover as part of a skill. One attacking technique and one defensive. MORE
Practise your backs moves in a more realistic environment. Identify weak defenders with constraints that will make your attackers want to play down that channel and exploit mismatches. MORE
Expose weak defenders by taking contact. This creates opportunities to isolate them in the defensive line and then attack them through that channel. MORE
Tom Brocklebank , Leicester Tigers junior academy coach, suggests that teams lose the ball at the breakdown because players don't look after the ball. Use competitive activities with consequences to improve their contact skills. MORE
We all think of a lovely diamond shape of support. A ball carrier at the front, two supporters on either side to take a short pass and a player behind to support in contact. That is the ideal shape for support but the reality is different because unless you are running a set piece move... MORE