Teach your players the importance of avoiding the tackler while running in the right direction with this fun game that also works on player tracking and tackling.
Set-up
A 7m square within a 15m square. Seven attackers, each holding a ball are in the 7m square with five defenders surrounding them (picture 1).
The rules
On your call of “Go!”, defenders run around their nearest outside cone then re-enter the square.
Attackers score a try by breaking out of the 15m square without being two-hand touch tackled by a defender (picture 2).
When all attackers have scored or been touched they turn and face the 7m square from outside the 15m square. Defenders now go into the 7m square. On your second call of “Go!”, defenders break from the small square while attackers look to get back into it without being touched (picture 3).
Play for two minutes. If numbers permit, play two squares and see who the best defence/attack is. Switch roles and repeat.
Scoring
A try is 1 point
A touch tackle is 1 point
Add individual scores together to work out the winning team.
Tell them
“Ball always in two hands”
“Constantly look left and right when in possession”.
Coaching tips
By looking at defenders and where they are running, this game allows players to see where the defence is and take action to avoid it.
“The defender keeps themselves light on their feet, head up and marking a potential break, coming forward to close down an attacker when they move forward” MORE
Players must win the race to the best space when attacking. In defence, players must work early, scan early and look to close space to force errors.
Attackers seek space, defenders take it away. This is also true over the ball.
Run this game over a series of sessions to gain the most benefit as the players develop their understanding of the tactical implications. MORE
Here’s a series of super-quick activities to set up and use to mix up your training to keep all your players occupied. Ideal to hand out to your co-coaches and aimed at a range of core skills in game-like contexts.
Here. is a series of what I’ve called Quick Coach. They are mini-activities aimed at four to six players. The aim is to provide you with a bank of breakout exercises you can run during your session. They should only last around five minutes, but the key is that they are very quick to set up and can be run by any coach in your group. They can even be run by one of the players if appropriate. MORE
