Help the second defender at the tackle situation choose whether to make a difference at the tackle or leave it alone to be ready for the next tackle.
Defenders need to trust their team mates to make a tackle. They should only step in if they feel the tackler is beaten or they can create a double tackle that will create a chance for slow ball or a turnover. Any other effort is a waste.
Put two attackers and a feeder (9) at one corner of the box, facing two defenders.
Put another two attackers in the middle, facing another defender.
Have the attackers run into the box and aim to beat the two defenders coming forward.
If they score, then restart the exercise again.
If the ball carrier is tackled, then the other attacker goes over the ball and the feeder (9) passes the ball to the attackers in the next box.
The defenders aim to stop the next attack crossing the gain line (going beyond where the last ruck finished).
Develop by allowing the first pair of defenders to try to steal the ball.
TECHNIQUE
One defender must aim for the ball carrier and the other must trust him – communicate who is covering who.
Only double up if you can drive the ball carrier back. Bounce out of the tackle into the next box quickly.
If you are able to train, then you will be aiming to improve your players’ skills and tactical appreciation around specific areas of the game. If you are in lockdown, it’s a chance to hone your session planning in readiness for your return. MORE
My “Find the bib” game is adapted from the game called “Drop-off touch”. It challenges the players to look for mismatches and also create them too. MORE
A fun game which forces players to push their passes hard towards the target, improving their accuracy and pass strength. One group aims to intercept a pass with their own ball (the “skeeter"). This activity encourages hard passes to a target, so will create better passing habits. MORE
Let's consider planning our technical and tactical awareness to exploit a narrow defence. In other words, if there's an opportunity to attack when the attack has more numbers than the defence. In the simplest terms, that might be a 2 v 1. These sessions consider 3 v 2s and 4 v 3s and how and when to use the miss pass. MORE
This is a great game for when you are short of numbers and have a variety of positions at training. Use it to develop catch and pass and also for players that find identifying/exploiting space challenging. The aim of the game is to score as many tries as you can, within a set period of time. MORE
In the third part of a session, after a warm-up game and then a skill drill, introduce a skill game. The game is still focused on the objective. It gives the players a chance to explore the skill in the context of the game and see why it is relevant. MORE