This session connects a lineout with what happens in the phase after the lineout. It is aimed at developing a relationship between the set piece and phase play, depending on whether the lineout works or not.
ACTIVITY
Put two defenders on the two of the five cones spread along the potential length of the lineout.
A lineout pod, plus one player move to the lineout, position them opposite a free cone, and the ball is thrown in.
CLEAN CATCH
If there is a clean catch, the ball is passed to the spare player. He puts the ball down on the ground, and the players run to a ruck pad about 15m to the side of the lineout.
The spare player picks up the ball and pops it to the pod of players who are coming around to far side of the ruck pad. The defenders move around to defend that side.Play full contact.
FUMBLED OR MISSED BALL
If there is no clean catch or the ball is missed, then the lineout players have three seconds to get to a ball which is 10m away and behind the lineout.
One of the players picks up the ball and runs through the box in front of the ball, whilst the defenders aim to stop him. Play full contact.
GAME SITUATION
Split your forwards in two. They compete at one lineout. When the lineout is over, they run to a 20m box about 10m away and play against each other until a try is scored or an infringement occurs.
Throw the ball to one of the teams of forwards as they run over, with the ball going to the team who won the lineout.
Use parent stations to allow you to run lots of activities with a parent overseeing each activity.
It requires one parent, minimal setup and minimal instructions. Each station runs for two to three minutes before the players move to another station. MORE
One player goads another, then touches the line and races to the other end to avoid being touched by the chaser. It’s a like smaller version of the Bangladeshi game of Kabadd MORE
Create attacking shape, where forwards understand where they are supposed to run to support the next phase of play. The groups of forwards are called pods and need to work together. MORE
Should an attack be successful at a 2 v 1 every time? At the top level, most of the time you would have thought, yet you would be surprised how often they fail.
Add in another attacker and defender, or even two attackers and one defender, and that ratio of success drops very quickly.
But it is still a golden opportunity to make ground and even score. So, you need to increase the success rate, and you do this by creating as many scenarios as you can. MORE
Use the catch and drive, or the front peel to make the best use of front ball. The front peel is the perfect counter punch to a defence that sets up to defend a catch and drive. MORE
Dropped balls or loose kicks mean that the ball is on the ground and needs recovering. Use this session to work on the skills and decision-making around this situation.
It’s not a natural action to fall on the ball. Help the players understand how to develop this technique as smoothly as they can. MORE