Evasion skills are essential but there aren’t always big spaces to move into. This game works on getting players to avoid contact in enclosed areas while maintaining possession.
Set-up
Play on a 25x20m area with two tackle tube gates (or ruck pads) separated by a single tube on one side (picture 1). Five attackers (A) opposite five defenders (D).
The rules
The first attacker and first defender enter their gates. On reaching the tube barrier, the attacker has one second to decide which way to run and beat the defender (picture 2).
Defence is two-handed touch tackling. Keep going until all have attacked and defended and keep a count on the tries scored per team. Then swap attack and defence and play again to find the winning team.
To progress, send in two attackers but only one goes through the gate. This gives the ball carrier 2v1 options.
Scoring
A try is scored if a player beats a two-handed touch. When it’s a 2v1, the player in possession has to avoid being touched.
Tell them
“Low centre of gravity, stay on your toes not heels and don’t overstep – this slows you down.”
“Look at the defender and change direction accordingly.”
Coaching tips
Presents a match-like scenario and challenges players to evade contact while keeping the ball.
“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
