There are so many elements to passing, which ones do you concentrate on first and how do you train them?
Here are a bunch of the priority skills you need and then great ways to train them.
Priority skills for spin passing and Priority skills for catching pick out which of the most important techniques you need to use under pressure and then concentrate on how to train one of them for spin passing and for catching. There are two sessions in each article which concentrate helping both advanced and developing players.
For push passes, in other words a non-spin pass, Magic hands and core to the try line give your players key cues to ensure they are both accurate with the pass and engage the defender.
Finally, all players need to be able to clear the ball from the base of the ruck. Super-fast clearance (scrum half) passes will develop the basic ideas so you can make the best use of quick ruck ball.
There are seven key factors for spin passing, but if you had to concentrate on just one, here’s which would make the most difference to your players. MORE
There are five key factors for catching the ball, but if you had to concentrate on just one, here’s which
would make the most difference to your players MORE
With younger age groups, the ball must be passed away from either the tackle or the ruck. Every player needs to be a clearing passer, and the faster the better.
The clearance pass doesn’t need to be a spin pass. A firm pass, with the hands going through to the target is enough on most occasions. All the players in your team should be practising this skill. MORE
Don’t let your attack become stuck in a one-size-fits-all pod of three players. Test the decision-making skills of the team.
The three-player pod allows an additional attacking option to open when the defence doesn’t align to match your attack. MORE
Number one in the lineout is probably the most dynamic lineout position strategically, requiring strength, skill and agility. Here are three areas he needs to concentrate on. MORE
Lineout training should be based around getting the basics right first. When Gary Gold was coaching the South African team with Victor Matfield and they were the best lineout in the world, he used to say: "They know where the ball is going, but Victor will always beat them into the air."
But a lineout is not just about the jump/lift. It's also about what happens afterwards. Here are four activities to develop different aspects of this set-piece situation. MORE
Not every set piece works out, and this session looks at some simple recovery strategies. It mainly involves one player retaining the ball, staying strong and then his team mates coming back to help him.
A physical activity to develop ways to mop up errors. MORE
Hold defenders to retain space for receivers to move into. Here are the key points to fixing defenders which should help young and developing players to improve this skill. Generally, defenders want to chase the ball carrier, but their mind is always on whether to stay on the current ball carrier or move onto potential... MORE
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. MORE
