Not all rucks are made the same and neither are the players. Especially in the forwards, the difference in height can mean they need to explore varied techniques. Here’s how…
Tall players (like locks) need to keep on their feet when it comes to driving into low rucks. Props can make use of their size to clear defenders past the ball.
Put three attacking ruckers on their fronts in the middle of one side of the box.
Have two ruck-pad holders in each box, just behind a ruck pad on the ground.
Shout out a number between one and three, plus a colour.
That number of ruckers get to their feet and run over the designated ruck pad before driving away the ruck pads.
As the ruckers get to their feet, indicate with your arm whether you want the pad holders to either just move forward OR lean very low over the ruck pad in front of them.
If they are normal height, the ruckers drive them back and out of the box.
If they are very low, they just clear them back from the pad and stop.
Develop by having three pairs of players scrummaging against each other.
In a box next to them a player feeds an attacker and he’s tackled immediately.
The scrummaging players break and aim to win or secure 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
If you are designing your plan for your team's training, you are better off focusing on an “arc” of learning for a specific area. This means spreading out the training over a number of weeks, rather than dedicating one session to this. MORE
Most controlled mauls are formed at lineouts. Open-field mauls carry more risks for the attacking team, but it’s still worth considering it as a tactic. Here’s how… 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