EXPERT SESSIONS AND ADVICE FROM QUALIFIED AND EXPERIENCED GRASSROOTS RUGBY COACHES
In rugby, footwork and evasion skills are the “fine arts” – ways to run with the ball and beat players with skill, pace and panache. These articles include ways to coach players to have “rugby speed” not just pace, and evade contact with nifty “rugby footwork”. Try one of the footwork and evasion drills below at your next session and see how you get on.
in Footwork and evasion, Rugby drills
Develop another evasive skill for the ball carrier by encouraging them to spin just before the tackle. The footwork needs experimenting with because it can unbalance players. Although spinning before contact slows you down a little and is less confrontational, there are occasions when it can allow you to break free from a defender and move into a space. MORE
Improve your players’ footwork as they run forward, so they beat opposition players, or at least create a chance for a good offload in contact. This is a simple session to set up and can be adjusted easily to suit the stages of your players’ development. MORE
Use this conditioning game to help your players develop better footspeed, evasive skills and stop/ start skills. It comes from basketball, and is easy to set up and certainly fun for the players. With thanks to Chris Oliver of BasketballImmersion.com, this is a conditioning exercises that the players will love. First, it’s competitive. Second, it has a risk/reward element which makes the players think tactically about their actions. Finally, it has some great rugby outcomes. MORE
in Attack, Footwork and evasion, Practice plans
Scoring tries is too often a given skill. This session makes a virtue of good body positions. It creates a hard session which the players will enjoy because of the obvious potential outcomes, scoring tries. Your team will also learn how to protect the ball close to line and how to coordinate a last ditch defence. MORE
Develop the idea that if the ball carrier runs an S-line, they can draw in defenders and release support players to attack a flat, organised defence. The out-in-out nature of the run forces defenders to make decisions which creates enough disruption to pull them out of position. MORE
in Footwork and evasion, Small-sided games
If a player can attack the ball at an angle the defence is not expecting, there’s a better chance of breaking the defensive line. Here’s how it works and how to practise it. MORE
in Footwork and evasion, Passing & Handling
Push the ball carrier to change his angles of running and your support runners to react so defences are not faced with easy patterns to defend. This session works on “off-the-cuff” movements of players, so tests their recognition of space and reactions to their own team mates. MORE
in Footwork and evasion, Small-sided games, Warm Ups
A fun game to help work on defensive footwork as well as evasion skills from attackers. Develops evasion skills, plus defensive footwork and communication. MORE
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 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
