Catching skills rugby drill

Set up the rugby coaching session

• In a five-metre box, have one attacker and one defender.
• To begin with, you feed the ball. The defender moves forward to tackle when the attacker moves.
• The attacker must focus on the pass and not the defender.
• Start with the pass going slightly deeper to give the catcher more time and less pressure.
• As the players develop, make the pass flatter, increasing the pressure and catching skills needed.

Develop the rugby drill skills

• Add another attacker so that the catcher under pressure has the option of passing.
• Add a second defender and make it a 2 v 2 pressure rugby drill.
• Vary the way the ball is delivered to the catcher. High passes, low passes, ball rolled along the ground or ball chipped up in the air.
• Change the starting point for the defender to create different problems for the catcher.

Put the rugby drill skills into a game situation

• Set up a pitch which is wide and short in length.
• This will ensure the players on both the attack and defence get flat and create a lot of pressure on each other.
• Condition the game so it’s similar to rugby league at the contact point with each team getting six tackles before change over.
• Also ask the attacking team to try and get two passes in before contact.
• As rugby coach, control the defence to ensure the pressure from them is not overdone and the catching skills from the attacking team improve under pressure.

Discover more innovative rugby coaching ideas with “grab-and-go” training sessions that cover all the basics.

Click here for a rugby drill to speed up players’ catching skills.