Encourage your players to use good footwork in small spaces by avoiding contact. These two fun activities are excellent for warming up body and mind.
Though rugby is a contact game, avoiding it is a core skill. There are no set techniques because each player will have their own style. Let them develop it in these two activities.
Put up to six players in a box, with a ball between two and a defender.
When you shout go, the defender tries to touch the ball carriers.
If a ball carrier is touched, he has to pass.
If he bumps into another player, he has to put the ball down on the ground.
If the ball is on the ground, another player picks it up. Run for 30 seconds and then swap the defender. You can make it a competition to see how many bumps there are.
The bottom picture shows that in the second exercise below, the player has to put his foot inside the box.
Put two or more players on each corner, with the front player holding a ball.
When you shout “go” the ball carrier in each corner runs forward, putting at least one foot inside the box before continuing to the opposite corner and giving the ball to the next player.
Count how many “bumps” there are in 30 seconds.
Make it harder by adding in more players and balls.
In designing my first session back after lockdown, I need to understand my focus, principles and my team's current state. What is my focus for this return to rugby? I want the players to enjoy their return to rugby and I want to run sessions that allow for plenty of social interaction that they have probably missed. I need to be empathetic to the fact that they will have done a varying amount of exercise in the last few months. I do want to use the next few months to re-enforce my own principles of play for my backline players and build on the skill levels and understanding that will underpin that. MORE
Encourage your ball carriers to run at pace, looking to avoid contact by anticipating where the spaces are. This is a scanning exercise for just the ball carrier. They will make mistakes, yet start to become attuned to looking for gaps. MORE
Develop the players’ ability to make extra yards by moving to the side of their opponent, while still moving forward. A player who’s moving forward is harder to stop than one who’s moving sideways. Develop a step that’s both forward and sideways. MORE
The best sidesteppers seem to be able to beat another player inside the space of a telephone box. Use this exercise to make even the least fleet-footed replicate this skill. Develop light feet with a jump and step to create a really dynamic sidestep. MORE
Create a competition to get to the line, with the attacker either using speed or evasive skills to beat a defender coming from a different angle. This easy to set up activity can be run as a breakout from games or as a large group in lots of boxes. Mix up the players so sometimes... MORE
If your players can create a one versus one opportunity, it is a chance to breach the gain line. If they can unbalance their opposite defender, then they should succeed. Players need to understand that there are a number of ways to unsettle the defender both with and without the ball. It helps for the attacker to know what the defender is trying to achieve and reverse the psychology. Here are four of them. MORE
