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Rucking good fun
Get serious about winning games by working on active and successul rucks to recycle good ball to attack with - but use fun activites to practise these skills.
WHY USE IT
Keep going at rucks by building up aggressive commitment with recycled front-foot ball. Using short, sharp activities in training builds good technique and habits.
Set up
10-12m square with 5-7m channels added at both ends – red, blue and green zones. One ball, six ruck pads, 14 players (see top picture).
HOW TO DO IT
Eight attackers jog round the blue zone passing the ball until you call a zone for them to attack – in this case “RED”. On your call, one red defender holding a ruck pad advances. Two other defenders holding pads then move forward off the try line. Any touch with a ruck pad results in a ruck (see the middle picture). Three support attackers drive past the ball within three seconds and clear out the defenders (see the bottom picture). Any mistakes mean returning to the blue zone.
TECHNIQUE
Ball carrier:
- Good footwork before contact then staying low before and after the tackle.
- Avoids T-boning defender and uses space available.
- The ball is pinned tightly to the stomach. Short, quick forward strides.
- Protect the ball after a tackle, offloading, uploading or placing the ball.
Support players:
- Get three past the ball within three seconds.
- Stay on feet and keep body parallel to touchline.
- Eight attackers pass the ball around the blue zone
- Put three ruck pad holders in each end zone with one of the three at the front
Related Files
- Shout out a zone, and the attackers move forward to score
- Contact with the pad means the ball carrier goes to ground straightaway, with three supporters clearing out the ruck pads
- Any mistakes mean a return to the blue zone again
- The ball carrier uses good footwork before contact, and then drives forward square before “taking the tackle”
- The support players need to go through the tackle gate and stay on their feet
Look for:
i) Good ball placement
ii) Offload in the tackle
iii) Upload from the ground (pass up)
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