Have the supporting player communicate the best options in contact for the ball carrier
Mark out three 5m x 2m boxes each 1m from the next and staggered by 3m. Put a ruck pad holder in each box and a pair of players with a ball about 2m in front of the ruck pad holders.
Starting with “Pick”, the ball carrier goes into the ruck pad, goes to ground, the supporting player shouts “My pick” and swoops down to pick up the ball (see below). The players recover and move to the next ruck pad.
At the next ruck pad, the ball carrier steps into the ruck pad and pops the ball to his team mate as he bounces off. The support player shouts “My pop”.
At the last pad, the ball carrier steps into the ruck pad, turns and the support player shouts “My rip” and drives himself into the ball carrier and rips down and away with the ball.
The players cycle through each one. You can have the players working on the same skill at all three, or mix up the skills.
Develop by taking away the ruck pads, and also by working in threes. The players cycle through each one. You can have the players working on the same skill at all three, or mix up the skills.
You will need
Three 5m x 2m boxes
1 ball per pair
Cones
3 ruck pads
Got more players?
Line up lots of pairs to run through the boxes, or set up more boxes alongside.
What to tell your players
“Swoop early to pick up the ball”
“Hands up to receive pop pass”
“Get the shoulder into the ball to rip and drive”
Do you have a breakdown policy? If not, you should. A policy helps guide players' actions at the breakdown. Alongside accurate skill execution, it can help to win the race to the space over the ball after a tackle. MORE
Improve your players’ footwork before contact and how they protect the ball, so they retain possession. An excellent breakout exercise during a normal session.
The attacker should dominate any contact whether to offload or wait for support. MORE
Need to build up players' contact confidence or create more physical sessions? Here are four tried-and-test methods that help players understand how to adapt. MORE
A ball carrier on the ground aims to hold the ball while another player tries to rip it away. If it is ripped, the ball carrier attacks to win 1 v 1. If they lose their grip, the player on the ground pops up the ball to their team-mate, who aims to score 1 v 1. MORE
Avoid slow ball at the tackle or even losing the ball by making every ball carrier far more active on the ground. Use these two exercises to build up players’ ball placement skills under pressure.
After the tackle is made, the farther away your player can place the ball from the defence, the harder it is for the opposition to disrupt it. Encourage good placement habits with these exercises. MORE