Rugby: pattern

Split your players into two teams, giving one group of players a set of coloured bibs to set them apart, and quickly tell your players the following laws: We will be playing a rugby league style touch. When touched: set the ball down, stand over the ball, allow the scum-half to move the ball away from the point of contact. The defenders should stay on side following a touch, and should not compete for the ball. Any infringements in defence should result in the defending team conceding 10 Meters or possibly giving 1 or more extra touches to the attacking team. I'll leave this to your judgement depending on your team's age, skill level, and your session target/s. The attacking team can sustain three touches before they have to kick. Their kick should be as it would be in the game: a kick to touch, a kick for territory, or a kick that can be regained e.g. a grubber kick. The defenders should behave as they would in a real game. Quick put in's from the touchlines replace lineouts. Defenders who take the ball from an attacking kick should counter attack. A forth touch results in a turn over. The Scrum Half has a maxium of 5 seconds to move the ball from the point of touch. A ball kicked directly to touch from outside the attacking teams 22, or where the ball has been taken into the 22 by the attacking team and then kicked into touch - will result in a turn over with play starting on the five meter line closest to where the kick was made. The defence should be 10 meters back. A ball kicked from inside the attacking teams 22 can go directly to touch, as long as the attacking team did not carry the ball into their own 22 before the kick. The resulting put in will be to the opposition from where the ball has went into touch. Quick put-in's are enoucraged, if not possible the ball is played from the 5 meter line with the defence 10 meters back. Give points for quick put ins that work. Feel free to play with any of noted laws, let us know the law variations that work for you!

Keep your player briefing short. Tell your players the following.... Pass the ball left, clockwise for 2 passes. Then right (anti-clockwise) for 1 passes. Retain the ball and flick it to the player behind you. Attack, at speed, across the grid. You will take a pass from the ball carrier on your left before finishing with a pop to the player in front of you. The pattern of this exercise can be a little confusing at the start, but when your players get the pattern there will be no problem. Start off slow and build from there.

The aim is to the defensive situation to keep changing the defence gets used to drifting or pressing. The aim of the attack is to realign using the full width, get the ball out of the breakdown quickly (no matter what position you play), seeing space, communicating options and reading the defence. Can be done with any number of players but best suited to around 7. You will need 7 cones, 1 ball, a 40 m area, attack of line and try line. Players passed the ball quickly down the line. When the ball gets halfway, the coach shouts out a number. Number reflects the number of defenders. The end player puts down the ball by pad, then the 2 defenders get onside (beyond defensive line) and defend against the other attackers. The defenders need to work together. Stay tight and use the sideline extra defender. Drifting from the inside and pushing up and out. Attack looks to use, player pace and beat the drift. Important defence talks and understand what they are doing in the changing circumstances. With 4 attackers and 3 defenders, defenders might look for a blitz defence or up then drift. Scrum-half can break so defence must defend at guard. Attack should be looking up and reading the situation. If we have an overlap then as a unit we must understand how to fix defenders. You must start to add a kicking option to advance the drill. 8 players, you can have a forward runner offering a shadow line of 10. He is involved in the passing down the line but is on a separate cone in the front of the 7. This fits in with the patterns and philosophy of attack. You might get the forward to press ups or other exercise to replicate fatigue.

Split your players into two teams, giving one group of players a set of coloured bibs to set them apart, and quickly tell your players the following laws: Keep the law briefing, brief! Get your players moving as quickly as you can. Normal rules of rugby apply in terms of knock on laws etc. If normal laws are broken - the ball is turned over to the opposition. Make judgement calls that take into account the age and skill level of the player. If a player is touched, shout touch! Allow them to keep running and to hold onto the ball. They can have one more touch. While holding the ball after being touched, the player can: score, pass, keep running, stop and then pass, or even set the ball down - but to do so would be crazy. If they set the ball down - it's in play and can be picked up by the opposition. If the ball carrier is touched a second time - they must pass the ball immediately. If the pass is too slow or there is no support to pass to, the ball is turned over to the opposition. A defensive player cannot simply touch a player twice in short succession. You may decide that two different players must make the two touches, or that a second touch can only be made by the same player that made the first touch 10 meters beyond the first touch. There is no kicking. Have fun with this and let us know any law changes that worked well for your team!

Mark out a channel about 10 meters in length, with a cone at either end and four diagonally placed other cones. Divide your players into two small groups. Players work in pairs. The drill starts with a pass being made at the top of the channel. Players then run down the side, stepping off and changing direction at the cones placed in a zig-zag pattern. They round the last cone and run up the centre of the channel placing and picking the ball for each other. When they reach the top of the channel the ball is passed to the next pair who repeat the drill.

Be brief when telling the players the laws of this game, it's important to get them moving quickly. This is not a contact game. Break your players into two teams, giving each team their own colour of bibs if necessary. One team goes to attack, and one to defence. Nominate a Scrum Half for each team. There is no kicking in this game. Normal laws of rugby apply e.g. a forward pass will result in the ball being turned over to the opposition. If an attacking player is touched: they must go to ground, present the ball, two of their teammates ruck over (staying over the ball), and the Scrum Half moves the ball for the next phase of attack. When you start playing this game make sure that the defence is employing your defensive pattern around the ruck. As the game develops consider telling the defenders that they must have one or more players at the back of the ruck, if they are not fast enough to do this - push them back 10 meters. It’s important that defenders are employing their defensive pattern behind the primary defensive line. Have attacking players do what they normally would at the ruck. Depending on your goals decide on the number of touches you wish to allow e.g. unlimited is not a bad option as mistakes will be made! When you feel the time is appropriate, usually during a ruck, blow you whistle and should FLIP IT – kicking in or throwing in a second ball to the back 3/2 defenders on the team currently in defence OR just kick it behind the defenders. The defensive team goes, without hesitation, into attack. The team that was attacking goes into defence and you or an assistant coach remove the other ball from play when you can. Ideally you might have two balls with different markings. Don't hesitate to shape the game to focus on your session goals, and let us and other coaches know what worked for you!

Split the players into two teams, giving each team their own set of bibs. Two different colours that clearly define the teams. Keep your player briefing, brief. It's important that you get your players moving as quickly as possible. Tell the players that we will be playing One Touch Ruck, see the laws surrounding this game in the Warm-Ups section of the SportPlan site. Briefly - when an attacking player is touched while carrying the ball: they go to ground and either pop or present the ball for a minimum of two supporting players to ruck over. The defence should behave as they normally would at the ruck, committing two players who will not compete for the ball or go into contact. The defence should employ their normal patterns around the ruck. The attacking team can have three touches in a row between the 15 meter lines, if they move the ball to the either of the 15 meter channels they can have another four touches in that channel before having to move the ball back out. If the attacking team moves quickly from one 15 meter channel to the other (exploiting space), they get a bonus of 4 touches in that zone. If any attacking team exceeds the number of touches they can sustain inside a channel, the ball is turned over. Play with these laws a bit - keeping an eye on what you want to achieve in this session. The normal laws of rugby apply, any law infringements result in a turn over. There is no kicking in this game. Don't forget to give the defence a turn in attack, if for any reason the attacking team is particularly good at retaining the ball. If they are, well done you as a coach!

Be brief when telling the players the laws of this game, it's important to get them moving quickly. This is not a contact game, but there will be some light contact. Break your players into two teams, giving each team their own colour of bibs if necessary. One team goes to attack, and one to defence. Nominate a Scrum Half for each team, it will be their job to move the ball from the back of the maul and out to an attacking line. There is no kicking in this game. Normal laws of rugby apply e.g. a forward pass will result in the ball being turned over to the opposition. If an attacking player is touched: they must stop and turn, a maul is then built based on how you have trained your players to Maul. Only four players should be in the maul - but every player should be able to maul - including the backs! When you start playing this game make sure that the defence is employing your defensive pattern around the maul. They will commit 4 players, but will not do anything more than provide light resistance. Once formed the maul can take four steps before moving the ball. If there is a delay in creating the maul, or the quality of the maul is poor - the ball can be turned over. Depending on your goals decide on the number of touches you wish to allow e.g. unlimited is not a bad option as mistakes will be made! If a team has been in possession for a long time, don't forget to turn the ball over to give the opposition a run. Don't hesitate to shape the game to focus on your session goals, and let us and other coaches know what worked for you.

Keep your player briefing; brief, and get them working as soon as possible.I can't stress this enough, it's not a debating society - players want to play. Split your players into two teams, giving each team their own set of bibs - if necessary. One team will be in attack, the other in defence. Tell the players we are going to play one touch off-load, the normal laws of rugby apply. Any forward passes etc. will result in the ball being turned over. When a player is touched, they must pass right away without delay. A delay will result in the ball being turned over. Use your own judgement here, taking into account the age and skill level of the players. Alternative: You might decide that one team will play 5 minutes in attack no matter what - and 5 minutes in defence. They have unlimited touches, you can change this depending on your training goals. Let them play - don't tell them what it's all about. Let them discover, remember this is the warm-up! Don't hesitate to change any of the above to suit your training goals/targets.

Be brief when telling the players the laws of this game, it's important to get them moving quickly. This is not a contact game. Break your players into two teams, giving each team their own colour of bibs if necessary. One team goes to attack, and one to defense. Nominate a Scrum Half for each team. There is no kicking in this game. Normal laws of rugby apply e.g. a forward pass will result in the ball being turned over to the opposition. If an attacking player is touched: they must go to ground, present the ball, two of their teammates ruck over (staying over the ball), and the Scrum Half moves the ball for the next phase of attack. When you start playing this game make sure that the defense is employing your defensive pattern around the ruck. As the game develops consider telling the defenders that they must have one or more players at the back of the ruck, if they are not fast enough to do this - push them back 10 meters. Have attacking players do what they normally would at the ruck. Depending on your goals decide on the number of touches you wish to allow e.g. unlimited is not a bad option as mistakes will be made! Don't hesitate to shape the game to focus on your session goals, and let us and other coaches know what worked for you!

3 attackers and 2 defenders. The scrum half passes to the first receiver of group of 3 attackers. The 3 attacking players must then pass the ball down the line as they attempt to beat the defenders.

A drill to practice defending in wide channels.Set up a grid that is 40m wide and 20m long, with the 40m divided into a 25m channel (red to red cones) and a 15m channel (red to green cones).There are seven attackers (blue) and four defenders (red). Only two defenders are allowed in the 15m channel at a time.The seven attackers are trying to score against the defenders, they receive 5 points for scoring in the 25m channel and 10 points for scoring in the 15m channel. (Points system incentivises scoring in the wide channels)Every time the attack score they turn around and attack the other direction.PROGRESSION:Defenders can only enter the 15m channel when the ball is in that channel.

2 defenders work together to force 5 players to pass and work them towards touch.The golden rule is for them to keep their spacing even, ensure that the inside defender covers the outside defenders inside, and that they do not rush up to commit to the tackle, but hover across and "swim" past the passer to reach the next and the next attacker. If an attacker draws and passes so well that he then tries to block the defender, he needs to work hard and swim across that blocker to return to his defending role.

WHY?Put pressure on attacking side. Force ball back inside. More numbers in defence than attackers. WHEN?When the ball is at the edge of the field near 5m lines. Attackers playing close to the game line. HOW?Lead from Outside backs. Line up outside shoulder of attackers. Run Up and In. Fast Line speed. Stay connected to inside man. Resposible for the space inside you. Aim for Man&Ball hits or interceptions.

Drill to test defenders reactions to situations.Set up a 15m x 15m grid with 3 defenders (blue) and 4 attackers (red).All start on the side with the green cones, and jog towards the side with the red cones, defenders about 5m infront of the attackers.On the coaches call the defenders turn to defend and have to adjust to the attack.

Keep your player briefing short. Tell your players the following.... Pass the ball left, clockwise for 2 passes. Then right (anti-clockwise) for 1 passes. Retain the ball and flick it to the player behind you. Attack, at speed, across the grid. You will take a pass from the ball carrier on your left before finishing with a pop to the player in front of you. The pattern of this exercise can be a little confusing at the start, but when your players get the pattern there will be no problem. Start off slow and build from there.

Drill to practice defensive organisation when the kicker must put their teammates onside.Set up a grid roughly 30m long and 30m wide.Set up three players in a line out with a scrum half 2m away and a kicker roughly 10m away (red players).Roughly 20m along the touchline set up a group of players (blue) ready to receive the kick and counter attack.One player in the line out passes the ball down to the scrum half who passes to the kicker. The kicker kicks the ball upfield, and runs to chase. The players in the line out can only defend once the kicker has run past them.The group of players receiving the ball (blue) gather the ball and begin to counter attack, aiming to score on the try-line behind the defenders (yellow cones). The defenders must organise themselves to defend and stop the attack by making a two handed touch on the attacking ball carrier.PROGRESSION:Practice doing high kicks and long kicks to give the defending players an idea of how much time they will have to get organised.Overload the players receiving the ball (blue) to have more players than the defendersAllow the attack to offload instantly after the touch has been madeAllow the attack more than one phase to attack so the defence must practice re-organising after a breakdown.

4 Tackle Bags. 10 Cones and 1 Ball. 10m x 30m. The first player in the line begins with the ball. As he approaches the first cone and passes to player 2 who is supporting. Player 1 carries on their run and hits the tackle bag before running backwards to player 2 original position. Player 2 on receiving the ball passes the ball onto player 3 before hitting the tackle bag and back pedalling to player 3 original position. When the ball reaches player 5, that player side steps behind the others back to position 1 where the drill is repeated.

Tell your players the following....... There should be one group of 4 players between each cone on the four sides of the grid. The ball carrying group will advance - passing the ball down the line. When the ball gets to the last receiver in the attacking line, they will pass the ball to the first receiver in the next attacking line. Simple as that - they should keep going. All four groups must go, in any one cycle of attacks - a cycle is 4 attacks. Progression: Add in one or two defenders, have them work from side to side - rather than closing down space and - don't forget to change the defenders into attack after some time in defence.

1) Run out (2 steps) turn and pop ball to a support player. 2) Run out (2 steps) turn and let support player take it out of your hands. 3) Run out - go to floor (facing support runner). Chest pass up to support. Progression: Support player tells person in front which of the above he wants.

Tell your players the following..... The attack will remain in attack for 5 minutes, you'll then switch over. Normal rules of sevens apply, but this game will be touch to start with. When the ball carrier is touched, they must set the ball down, another player can then move it from the ground. The touch is considered a ruck. When the coach calls a defenders colour e.g. RED - the two players in defence wearing red drop to the ground and complete 3 press-ups, they can then return to their feet and are back in the game. That's it, play. Keep your player chats brief, but through questioning highlight that the downed players in defence open up space, what do we attack - SPACE!

Set up a running slalom for your players to run through at the end of their training. It should be approximately 10 by 5m in size.Slalom through the blue conesFrom the final blue cone players run backwards to the 1st red coneThen run forward out to the next red cone, then backwards again (repeat pattern until final red cone)Quick turn around the final red cone and then <em>sprint</em> to the end of the courseJog back to the start line and repeat.

3 players line up in a straight line, approximately 10m apart, each standing opposite an agility pole. The ball is passed by a scrumhalf to the first receiver The reciver runs straight at the pole and passes the ball to the next player who does the same. Play continues until the third man has completed the exercise

Using cones mark out the four corners and the midways points of each side of a 20 x 20 meter training area. Divide your players into groups of 8, and allocate one group of 8 to each training area. Have one coach at each training area, and one ball. Each player should have their own cone to stand on, as shown in the diagram. Have more than one training area in order to keep your players as busy as possible. Tell your players the following...... This will be a 5 v 3 attacking opportunity for the 5 players given the ball. There are 4 players on the midpoint positions, one on each side of the training area. The coach will give the ball to one of those players. The 4 closest players will join the ball carrier in attack, the opposite 3 players will become defenders. The try line is just across the defenders starting line. The defenders operate within the laws of the game and should try to stop the attack by turning the ball, forcing a mistake, or pushing the attack out of the playing area. The attack should aim to score a try, but should play within the laws of the game. When the attack is over the coach will take the ball and players should return to their starting positions for the next attack. Don't forget to give every player the opportunity to play in attack and defence by changing the starting position of the ball.

Tell your players the following... We are playing 7's, normal rules apply - except this is touch. Upon getting touched a player must off-load the ball right away to a supporting attack player. They must stop running. If they do not off-load right away - the ball is turned over to the defence. If they keep running the ball is turned over. Touch is one handed. There are unlimited touches, but in the even of the law being broken e.g. a knock on - the ball will be turned over. The game is to be played at pace. We will have 4 quarters of 4 minutes for this game. Bring you players together for no more than a minute at the end of each quarter to highlight what is going well, what could be better and to agree targets for the next quarter. Ask players, don't just tell.

<div class=&quot;&quot;&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&quot;&quot;>Be brief when telling the players the laws of this game, it's important to get them moving quickly. </div> <li class=&quot;&quot;&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&quot;&quot;>This is not a contact game. <li class=&quot;&quot;&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&quot;&quot;>Break your players into two teams, giving each team their own colour of bibs if necessary. <li class=&quot;&quot;&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&quot;&quot;>One team goes to attack, and one to defence. <li class=&quot;&quot;&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&quot;&quot;>Nominate a Scrum Half for each team. <li class=&quot;&quot;&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&quot;&quot;>There is no kicking in this game. <li class=&quot;&quot;&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&quot;&quot;>Normal laws of rugby apply e.g. a forward pass will result in the ball being turned over to the opposition. <li class=&quot;&quot;&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&quot;&quot;>If an attacking player is touched: they must go to ground, present the ball, two of their teammates ruck over (staying over the ball), and the Scrum Half moves the ball for the next phase of attack. <li class=&quot;&quot;&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&quot;&quot;>When you start playing this game make sure that the defence is employing your defensive pattern around the ruck. As the game develops consider telling the defenders that they must have one or more players at the back of the ruck, if they are not fast enough to do this - push them back 10 meters. <li class=&quot;&quot;&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&quot;&quot;>It’s important that defenders are employing their defensive pattern behind the primary defensive line. <li class=&quot;&quot;&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&quot;&quot;>Have attacking players do what they normally would at the ruck. <li class=&quot;&quot;&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&quot;&quot;>Depending on your goals decide on the number of touches you wish to allow e.g. unlimited is not a bad option as mistakes will be made! <li class=&quot;&quot;&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&quot;&quot;>When you feel the time is appropriate, usually during a ruck, blow you whistle and should FLIP IT – kicking in or throwing in a second ball to the back 3/2 defenders on the team currently in defence OR just kick it behind the defenders. The defensive team goes, without hesitation, into attack. The team that was attacking goes into defence and you or an assistant coach remove the other ball from play when you can. Ideally you might have two balls with different markings. <li class=&quot;&quot;&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&quot;&quot;>Don't hesitate to shape the game to focus on your session goals, and let us and other coaches know what worked for you!

1. Defensive Organisation 4 Defenders line up on the the cones. When coach goes to pass the ball, when hands are on the defenders get line speed, making lots of noise and staying connected. After each rep the players move along the cones back trackign until the reach the end, this is continuous. 2. 3 v 2 In a 5mx5m grid, 3 attackers attack 2 defenders.Same focus on the defence on when to drift or make the takle on attackers.Lots of communcitaion and line speed is key. 3. Kick out touch- Reduced Defence. A defending player kicks the ball from the back of the pithc to attacking team. Attacking team has more players than defensive system to induce a counter attack situation. Players will learn to fill space with fewer numbers aswell as being a good attacking practice identifying space and overlaps.

The exercise stand clockwise, with the first player going from the bottom left cone. The defender must tackle that player to the ground. As soon as that tackle is complete, the attacker quickly clears the area, and the defenders gets to their feet. The next attack goes right away. This pattern repeats, with each new attacker coming forward from a new cone, and then rejoining the back of the line on the opposite side. The idea is for the defender to be tested time after time, in quick succession. The ball carrier can try to evade contact. After 1 minute, change the defender.

The exercise is simple, the attacker has 2 minutes to score as many tries as they can. They do this by attacking the space between 2 sets of cones, but there is a defender they need to avoid. When it is clear which area the attacking is going to attack, that defender can advance. This is a full contact exercise. If the attackers scores, they return to the center of the grid to attack again. They cannot attack the same defender twice. If the attack fails, they reset and have another go. After 1/2 minutes, switch the attacker. This is a competition, so keep score.

Be brief when telling the players the laws of this game, it's important to get them moving quickly. This is not a contact game. Break your players into two teams, giving each team their own colour of bibs if necessary. One team goes to attack, and one to defense. There is no kicking in this game. Normal laws of rugby apply e.g. a forward pass will result in the ball being turned over to the opposition. If an attacking player is touched: they must pass the ball right away, the type of touch were playing is based on one touch off-load, but you can use any touch variation that works best with respect to your training goals. When the coach shouts DEFENCE DOWN - every defensive player must do 1/2/3 press ups (you choose the number). The attack can continue while the defence is down. When you start playing this game make sure that the defense is employing your defensive pattern. If the defence infringes with respect to the law or they are not fast enough to get onside - push them back 10 meters. Depending on your goals decide on the number of touches you wish to allow e.g. unlimited is not a bad option as mistakes will be made! When there is a mistake - turn the ball over. Don't hesitate to shape the game to focus on your session goals, and let us and other coaches know what worked for you!

Use the diagram to highlight suggested starting positions. 10 is the ball carrier, advancing forward, before cutting in as shown in the diagram. 12 advances, and cut in on the same line as 10. 13 advances and cuts across 12, taking a switch pass from 10. 15 and 14 press up.