Activities for U10 players

Minis and juniors: Ruck testing

in Rucking & Mauling, Rugby drills, U10+

See how well individuals react under pressure at the ruck with this decision-making activity and progression. It isolates ball presentation and 1 v 1 ruck skills. It’s intensive, so only needs to last ten minutes. MORE

Race transition to attack

in Attack, Defence, Rugby drills, U10+

Combine a competitive passing drill and a game to switch your players on and get them working hard on both technical and tactical aspects of their game. Use this activity to replicate game tempo. MORE

5 ways to keep young players engaged

in Mini tag, Rugby coaching, Tips

Know what children want and then change your way of coaching to keep them coming back for more. MORE

React to three man rucks

in Contact, Rugby drills

The RFU U11 rules of play only allow three players from each team into the ruck area (ball carrier/tackler plus two). All teams can learn to use these skills to win this contact collision contest. MORE

Run, step, pop and support

in Passing & Handling, Rugby drills

Draw defenders out of position and then use short passing for the support player to run onto. Use this activity to get the timing right and then put into a game situation. MORE

VIDEO: Confidence for contact

in Contact, Rugby drills

Here’s an activity that can be used both for a contact warm-up and for increasing the contact skills of less confident players. Progresses into full 1 v 1 contact. MORE

Put pace onto the ball

in Passing & Handling, Rugby drills, U10+

Unless your players get into position quickly, they won’t be able to run onto a pass at speed and attack space. This exercise gets them realigning fast so they can master this challenging skill. MORE

Practise instinctive tackling

in Rugby drills, Tackling

Create low-impact tackle situations where the defender has to move into position without much time to think. A sharp response and accurate technique are called for in this defence activity. MORE

Topping the tackle

in Rugby drills, Tackling

A defender who finishes on top of the tackle is a valuable asset, because he’ll be quicker to join the next phase of the game. Help players learn the skill and understand the benefits with this activity. MORE

VIDEO: Learning to tackle with walking the line

in Rugby drills, Tackling

Tacklers need to feel confident that the right technique works. This is more difficult when they are practising with static targets. Part of the reason why a ball carrier goes to ground is that they are unbalanced, and so it's much easier to bring a moving player down to the ground. MORE