Simple ruck and drive skills

Use this series of exercises to build up simple skills for rucking. It starts with low impact techniques before upping the level of contact in a breakdown contest. 

Contact needs careful management. Skills should be honed before they are put into bone-on-bone situations.

ACTIVITY

1. A player bear crawls over 5m. 
2. From this low position, they drive into a ruck-pad holder and force them back.

DEVELOPMENT

1. Then, put a ball on the ground. 
2. The pad holder crouches down next to it, hovering the pad over it. They keep a gap between the pad and the ball for the clearer to get into. 
3. The clearer again drives the pad holder away, staying low.

GAME SITUATION

1. Once perfected, mark out a tackle gate with cones.
2. Put two players on their front at right angles to the gate. 
3. On your call, they move to opposite ends of the gate in press-up position so they both arrive with no pace to drive the other person off the ball.

TECHNIQUE

• A good flat back.
• Dropping the centre of gravity by bending the knees and not the back.
• Chin up looking forward through the top of the eyes.
• Aiming to get under the opponent and stay low to drive him back.

NOTE The ruck-pad holder could wrap their arms around the top of the pad and so encourage the attacker to go lower.