EXPERT SESSIONS AND ADVICE FROM QUALIFIED AND EXPERIENCED GRASSROOTS RUGBY COACHES
Test the passing, visual and communication skills of players by having two balls being passed at the same time in opposite directions from one end of a grid to the other in order to score a goal.
A 10m square for every four players: Teams of two in each. Stack the squares and have one player from each team at both ends of the grid (picture 1). One end player holds a ball.
The balls are passed in to a team mate and passed from square to square until they reach the other end.
Whoever takes the final pass scores a goal for the team (picture 2).
Opponents can intercept any ball they wish and use it to score, but they can’t leave their own square. Both balls are scoring balls. Picture 3 shows how passes can be varied from square to square.
After every goal, grids shuffle along one to allow everyone a chance to play in the middle where most of the action happens.
The winning team is the one with the most goals at the end of the allotted time.
“Listen and react to a call from a team mate.”
“Look for the best person to pass to under pressure.”
“Move a defender to make a pass.”
This is a pressure passing game that makes a player not only try to evade a defender but also look for another person to pass to very quickly.
in Passing & Handling, Small-sided games
Ged Hall challenges players to be effective in finding space and passing, either on their feet or from the ground (the deck!). Good for fitness as well as decision-making. Deck hands is seemingly a very simple game to play, but beneath its simple exterior is a game that challenges players physically, mentally, tactically and technically. MORE
Twenty years of writing about coaching makes you reflective. I did use games 20 years ago. I invented some at the time, and still use variations of them. You would think by now I would have seen them all. MORE
in Attack, Passing & Handling, Small-sided games
Keep the players thinking about where to attack as the defence move around dynamically, adding in players as the attack becomes more successful. MORE
in Small-sided games, Warm Ups
Use this quick-to-set-up game, including an easy-to-adapt playground element, with rewards and forfeits thrown in. This is a game I will use at the start of sessions as a pulse raiser, sprint activation and to develop realistic evasion skills. It takes less than a minute to set up and can be played with three or more players. MORE
Use this game and its variation to create opportunities for players to make decisions on when to attack open or go back to the blindside. Create opportunities to stretch the defence and then attack where they are weakest. MORE
Here’s how I set up a game to work through some plays which had been designed to help a team run with either quick ball or slow ball from rucks. MORE
