Originating in football, the Rondo is a small sided game that encourages many touches of the ball and can be easily constrained to impact the desired outcomes. Use them as a starter activity, getting players to self-organise into these simple games to work on their catch/pass skills under pressure.
STANDARD RULES
Player can move with ball, become defender if they either: get intercepted, throw the ball out, or get touched in possession.
Scoring variation – per pass or by scoring a try on any of the lines.
VARIATION #1: LINEMAN
Standard rules, however now one attacker can only move along the lines to be an option to pass to.
Scoring variation – per pass or by scoring a try on any of the lines.
VARIATION #2: 2V2
Standard rules but 2v2 – on a change in possession, the other team begin to “attack”.
Scoring variation – per pass or by scoring a try on any of the lines.
VARIATION #3: MAGIC MAN
Standard rules plus magic man who is always an option for the attacking team.
Scoring variation – per pass or by scoring a try on any of the lines.
VARIATION #4: MAGIC LINEMAN
Standard rules plus magic man who is always an option for the attacking team – however he is restricted to the lines to move on.
Scoring variation – per pass or by scoring a try on any of the lines.
VARIATION #5: 3V2
Attack get 1 minute to score as many tries between the red cones as possible. Every time they’re touched or ball gets intercepted they pass the ball back to teammate behind the blue line to start again.
Defenders can only move forward once ball crosses the blue line.
Other rule adaptation: if defender intercepts and gets outside the box before being tackled, they are immune from returning to the middle for 3 attempts.
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
“The supporting player starts in front of the ball carrier, while the defender has his back to the attack. When you shout play, with the supporting player walking forward and the defender out of position, the players will have to think quickly to come up with winning solutions.” 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
Change your try lines so they extend up the edges of the pitch to create a new sort of challenge for the players. The initial outcomes may seem strange, yet you may find the longer-term benefits help your team’s go forward. MORE