Handling under pressure shows up whether the players have developed good passing habits. This fun game certainly motivates them to concentrate on the best skills to win the race.
HOW TO DO IT
Have two groups race against each other. They line up on the same line. They make two passes and the last player sprints out 5m. See who is the winner.
Develop by having the last player having to run onto the ball.
Finally, develop by the first player starting from a static position and the next two players running onto the ball.
Make sure the players are rotating within their groups and work from left-to-right and then right-to-left.
COACHING TIP
Let the players work out for themselves that they need to time their runs to win the race.
WHAT TO CALL OUT
“Hands out to receive the ball”
“Pass in front of the running player”
DEVELOP THE PRACTICE
Play a game of touch rugby where the ball must be passed twice after every touch. The second pass must go to a player who is running on the ball.
Use this power pass exercise to work on both passing and passing out of the contact. The variability of how the attacker is held back increases the learning outcomes as players face new passing challenges. MORE
Don’t teach falling over. Teach the players to bounce themselves and therefore the ball off the ground and back into the game. It reduces the fear of falling by making the players embrace the ground as part of a skill for continuity. MORE
Mauling is a powerful weapon and you don’t have to be a big side to use it. A great tactic is to set up a maul from the back of a ruck to create go-forward and tie in their defenders. MORE
I’ve been talking tackling to plenty of coaches in the last few weeks. That’s not unusual. Therefore, I wanted to share with you one of my favourite tackling “drills”: High pressure tackling reactions. I say drill because it’s a 1 v 1 exercise. MORE
