Challenge players to react to the chance to have an extra player in attack and how to defend against it. It’s a quick game, so decisions will need sharp action.
No match has unequal numbers unless there’s a yellow card. But sometimes the attack has an overload as a tackler is temporarily indisposed. Replicate that with this game. The “changer” will be doing most of the thinking.
Put two teams of three about 2m apart and the game-changer with a ball in the middle.
You shout out a team colour and the game-changer passes to that team and becomes part of that team.
Key rule: Play normal rugby (or touch rugby) except that the game-changer cannot be tackled if he receives the ball in open play. He must be running onto the ball.
Because the game-changer starts in front of the play, the defence will want to close down the attack immediately and the attack will want to go forward. Play until the attack loses the ball or score a try.
Swap the game-changer after two or three goes.
Make sure the game-changer has a separate coloured bib on.
Develop with another box. This time the game-changer passes into either box and the game is played across the whole width.
Possible rule developments
The game-changer can be tackled after two seconds.
The game-changer can’t be tackled but can’t score.
“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
