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strength DRILLS
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3 v Tackle Bag and body Suit

3 attackers start at the beginning of the grid who will go up against the tackle bag first and then the person in the body suit second; these two should not stand next to each other unless you move on to the progression. At the coaches command the attackers will go into the tackle shield first with the ball carrier going to ground and the two supporters either both clearing out or one person clearing and the next picking up the ball and going into the next defender 5 metres behind who will be in a bodysuit. The ball carrier here will try to stay strong on his feet and offload to the two support runners or one of them will come in and rip the ball and offload to the support runner who will finish by crossing over the line.

Off Loads

Building The Pass Out of The Tackle

Tell your players the following...... One player will be a ball carrier. The player directly opposite will make a half tackle, lifting the ball carrier onto their shoulder. The ball carrier will look for an off-load to a supporting player on the left or right. The support players will be the first player on the other two cones, to the right and left of the ball carrier. The ball is off-loaded and the catching player becomes the new ball carrier, while the remaining support player becomes the new defender. The other two players clear the traffic and the above happens again - with the new support players coming from the other two cones. This can take a minute or two to get going, but stay with it.

Passing

Bungie

The aim of the exercise is to develop core activation buy using a bungie to also develop arm strength. This is the activation movement we are looking for when we throw the ball this will then keep you in a strong position.

Lineout

Contact Relay

Break your players down into groups of 3. In each area there should be 1 player with a tackle shield, 1 player with a tackle bag, and one with nothing. Tell players to do the following..... One player stands five meters from the start of the channel holding up a tackle bag. One player stands at the opposite end of the channel with a tackle shield. One player will be running and making contact at any given time. The Player with nothing in hand runs to the player with the pad and drives them across the grid. On reaching the end they swap roles and the other player runs across the grid to the tackle bag, hits hard, and makes a tackle at the end of the grid. Following the tackle the players swap roles the new player runs across to the player with the pad and the exercise continues.

Warm Up

Dislodge the ball 2v1

Set Up 3 players, 1 ball2 v 1 one player with ball tries to retain possession whilst other 2 work to dislodge ball. 30 secs of work - if successful before time up start again. Players must stay on their feet at all times.

Ruck Clear Out

Maul Rip in a circle

This is good for upper body strength. 5 or 6 defenders, 1 ball, 2 attackers Defenders must stand in a circle about 2 metres apart to keep contact away from injuring anybody unnecessarily. The ball carrier works into a defender who must wrap around and keep hold of the ball, the support attacker must rip the ball from his partner and move onto a different defender for the process to repeat. The 2 attackers are given a time limit to work as hard as possible.

Maul

Pre-Contact Circuit

Brief your players, but keep it brief! In each grid there will not be two channels. In each of the two channels there are two players with a tackle bag and two players binding with their back to the runner. The players binding will be leaning/driving against a tackle shield (similar to how they would be during a maul). The shield will provide support and resistance just before and during the runners hit. The first player starts and runs to the player with the tackle bag and makes a tackle before moving on. After the 2nd tackle they runs to bind with the 2 players and drives them across the line, their bind should result in their head between the hips of the two players in front of him and his shoulders in contact with the from two players backsides. The players driving position should be low and the hit proportionate. When the 3 players cross the line, one of the 2 binding players takes over and continues to run up the other channel, with the first running player now binding with the other remaining player and taking up a driving position against the shield. Change players around to ensure that every player has an opportunity to play different roles.

Contact Skills

Rugby 5 Pin Bowling

Using cones and tackle bags, mark out your training area as shown in the diagram. The tackle bags should be stood up, and at a distance away from the play that tests the strength of their pass. Set 6 balls at each cone and divide your players into groups of 2, and allocate one group of 2 to each training area. Tell your players that... Each player has five tackle bags and six balls, the winner is the player that knocks down the most balls.A player cannot leave their cone and must knock the bags down by passing and hitting with the ball on the bag or the bag itself.

Sevens

Strengthening the Power Stride

Players need to work their way up the cones, moving from one leg to another, winding up by bending at the knee and hips, and exploding off to the other direction.

Agility & Running Skills

Surfs Up

Tell the players the following....... Lay flat on the ground. In a moment but not yet, I want you to get to your feet, but you cannot use your knees. You will get up like a surfer, pushing up with your hands and jumping to your feet. It's a race, lets see who can get up first? On your call the place get to their feet and then back down again. When they have got the idea, have some fun with it e.g. last one up sings two lines from their favorite song. But whatever you do has to be fun and not humiliating.

Sevens

Ground Work Strength - Contact...

2 players Ball One player lies ontop of the other.The coach shouts, N,S,E or W.The Bottom player with the ball then fights to get in the long placment position presenting the ball the direction the coach says.

General

2 Hand Passing Stomach Passing...

The aim of the drill is to develop players wrist strength.

General

Rucking Ruck - Rugby Drills, R...

Groups of 4 and two groups of defenders with contact pads. 1 ball per group. The ball carrier drives into the contact pads and presents ball backwards. Player 2 binds on, face to face and secures ball, player 3 binds on the other side to form a front row. All attackers bind together and drive defenders back 2-3 metres. Player 4 takes ball out at back and runs back around cone with players 1-3 in support. Repeat going back the other way until all attackers have practised each role.

General

Rugby: Bag Slams | Contact Con...

This is the second exercise in a series of three that can be put together to form a contact conditioning circuit. The circuit can be sets of 30 seconds of hard work followed by 30 seconds of rest. Swap in this circuit for your usual fitness routine to give the players something a bit more interesting and transferable to a game. Alternatively, this would be a great exercise to include as part of a warm up.<li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>Players work individually, picking up a tackle sausage and driving it into the ground. <li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>Repeat for the whole 30 seconds.This exercise will develop your players core strength, which is immensely important in most areas of the game.Moreover, this exercise simulates how players will have to maintain power in a game. For example when going from making a tackle to then contesting the ruck.0.40 - What is the purpose of these conditioning circuits?

General

Grip Games Handling - Rugby Dr...

Here are two games to improve your players grip on the ball:1. Simple grip battle (0.00-0.14)<li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>Two players have one ball between them.<li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>This is a grip battle where the players are trying to take the ball from each other. <li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>Tell your players to focus on how they are gripping the ball and using grip strength rather than by moving their feet or hips.2. Competitive grip game (0.14-1.04)<li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>Set up an area with cones and give half of the players a ball.<li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>The players without the ball are trying to knock the ball out of their hands.<li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>The players with the balls are trying to stop that happening.<li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>Either play that when all the balls go down the defence wins.<li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>Or play when a ball goes down those two players swap roles.<li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>(1.04) Have players work on the hand off and ball transfer in pairs and then play again and see the difference.

General

Contact Relay Warm Up - Rugby ...

Break your players down into groups of 3. In each area there should be 1 player with a tackle shield, 1 player with a tackle bag, and one with nothing. Tell players to do the following..... One player stands five meters from the start of the channel holding up a tackle bag. One player stands at the opposite end of the channel with a tackle shield. One player will be running and making contact at any given time. The Player with nothing in hand runs to the player with the pad and drives them across the grid. On reaching the end they swap roles and the other player runs across the grid to the tackle bag, hits hard, and makes a tackle at the end of the grid. Following the tackle the players swap roles the new player runs across to the player with the pad and the exercise continues.

General

Rugby 5 Pin Bowling Sevens - R...

Using cones and tackle bags, mark out your training area as shown in the diagram. The tackle bags should be stood up, and at a distance away from the play that tests the strength of their pass. Set 6 balls at each cone and divide your players into groups of 2, and allocate one group of 2 to each training area. Tell your players that... Each player has five tackle bags and six balls, the winner is the player that knocks down the most balls.<br /><br />A player cannot leave their cone and must knock the bags down by passing and hitting with the ball on the bag or the bag itself.

General

Core Work - Swiss Ball Lineout...

The aim of the exercise is to develop core activation buy pulling your core in, this will flatten your back off, at the same time fire your glutes forward and squeeze them tight, this is the activation movement we are looking for when we throw the ball this will then keep you in a strong position.

General

Bungie Lineout - Rugby Drills,...

The aim of the exercise is to develop core activation buy using a bungie to also develop arm strength. This is the activation movement we are looking for when we throw the ball this will then keep you in a strong position.

General

Sausage Pad Tackling - Getting...

Start with a sausage pad horizontally on the floor. Players should get low to make a shoulder on tackle with the sausage pad. Encourage players to drive through with the legs to push the pad forwards. Drag the pad back into position and repeat.

General

Single Arm Tug Of War Tackling...

Get in pairs and players start in a press up position. Players hold onto opposite arms whilst still in the press up position. The aim is to remain balanced and work to pull the other player over

General

Ball Tag Warm Up - Rugby Drill...

Make sure that you have your warm-up area marked out before your players arrive, it's important that you get them working right away. You can decide to play this game in smaller grids, or a larger playing area with the entire team. If using small grids, they can be 10 meters x 10 meters - and mark out as many as you need depending on the size of your team. If playing in a large area with the entire team, have two players working as taggers. The rest will be attackers - running around the playing area trying to avoid the taggers/defenders. If playing in a smaller area, have 2 defenders/taggers and 6 attackers. Give the taggers/defenders a ball each. Keep your law briefing, brief! It's important to get the players working as soon as possible. Tell the players that the two players with the balls will be chasing and looking to tag the rest of the players. If you get tagged, you join the taggers team. Play the game until all players are tagged. The last two players tagged, become the first two taggers for the next game. The ball cannot be thrown.

General

Scrum core stability Scrum - R...

Groups of 3. - 2 players get into the T.O.P positon next to eachother. - Another player on all 4 knees on thier back..- the players holding the player above them must work together to move from side to side. - 5m each way.

General

Low Tackle and Clear | Contact...

This is the third exercise in a series of three that can be put together to form a contact conditioning circuit. The circuit can be sets of 30 seconds of hard work followed by 30 seconds of rest. Swap in this circuit for your usual fitness routine to give the players something a bit more interesting and transferable to a game. Alternatively, this would be a great exercise to include as part of a warm up.Players work in pairs, one player holds a tackle bag behind a tackle sausage.The other player makes a low tackle on the sausage and then drives through, clearing out the player holding the tackle bag.This player then goes to ground and gets back up to complete another repetition in the other direction.It is the job of the player holding the tackle bag to lift up the tackle sausage after each repetition.This drill will increase players overall fitness levels while being very relevant to game situations. 0.21 - Why is this important for players?

General

Surfs Up Sevens - Rugby Drills...

Tell the players the following....... Lay flat on the ground. In a moment but not yet, I want you to get to your feet, but you cannot use your knees. You will get up like a surfer, pushing up with your hands and jumping to your feet. It's a race, lets see who can get up first? On your call the place get to their feet and then back down again. When they have got the idea, have some fun with it e.g. last one up sings two lines from their favorite song. But whatever you do has to be fun and not humiliating.

General

Wrestling off the floor | Cont...

This is the first exercise in a series of three that can be put together to form a contact conditioning circuit.Alternatively, this would be a great exercise to include as part of a warm up.<li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>Your players should work in pairs.<li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>One player lays with his back on the ground and the other lays across him facing down.<li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>The player with his back on the ground has to work really hard to get back to his feet against the resistance of his partner.This exercise will develop your players core strength and ability to manipulate the body in order to get back to their feet.This drill is simulating aspects of the game such as having to roll away after making a tackle.

General

Sausage Pad Tackling - Getting...

Start with a sausage pad horizontally on the floor. Players should get low to make a shoulder on tackle with the sausage pad. Encourage players to drive through with the legs to push the pad forwards. Drag the pad back into position and repeat.

General

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strength SESSIONS
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Fitness Testing Session

Put some responsibility onto your players and make sure that they?re up to the standard they should be after pre-season. Test their levels with this session.

Pre-season Contact Build-Up

After a long off season period it's important to carefully ease your players back into contact - use this session to get your players tackling again in a safe and injury-free environment

Pre-season Burner 2

Get the team excited to be back together again. Pre-season?s going to be a battle, but go and make it fun with this burner!

Building player's confidence in contact

Build your player's confidence in contact with this session, as you work on their contact skills in a safe and competitive environment

Rugby Fitness, Strength and Endurance

Make sure your players don't run out of steam with this Rugby Fitness session, working on their strength and endurance

Tackling for Toddlers - The basics of tackling

Lose the fear of tackling by teaching correct technique. That's the maxim for this session as we look at ways to get your children excited about tackling effectively!

Improve your Handling and Kicking

Work on two key elements of any player's’ game with this session, regardless of their position!
strength ANSWERS
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hello i am searching for strength and conditioning?

hello i am searching for strength and conditioning level 1 online course and can you tell me where can i find it?thanks

irakli chkonia Coach, Georgia

What are the key learning points of a miss pass?

What are the key learning points of a miss pass?

dave walker Coach, England

RFU - proposed Mini's rule changes

RFU - proposed Mini's rule changes%3A All - just a quick straw poll%3A Have any CLUBS that you are aware of officially come out in SUPPORT of these changes? If not, have they come out officially rejecting the proposed changes, or are they adopting a "wait and see" attitude? Regards Stephe

Archived User Coach

How do you afitness test on your players to see how fit the are

How do you afitness test on your players to see how fit the are.

Archived User Coach

I have a junior Colt (u17) 6'3&#034; plays 2nd row.?

I have a junior Colt (u17) 6'3" plays 2nd row. He has good skills but want to `bulk-up' to make bigger hits when tackling. Anyone suggest a suitable weight-training routine to help him put on muscle.

Archived User Coach

Hi,i coach under 12 and both the hookers struggle to?

Hi,i coach under 12 and both the hookers struggle to get the ball past the 2nd player, does anyone know of any drill that could help them to improve their distance.<br />Cheers<br /><br />AB

Archived User Coach

Hello, i am after some help with planning a half hour?

Hello, i am after some help with planning a half hour session in off loading out of the tackle

Archived User Coach

how can I improve the strengh of players legs to kicking?

how can I improve the strengh of players legs to kicking?

Archived User Coach

Comments- Dear sir, I played for 35 yr.s mostly hooker,?

I was asked a question  by email recently and I thought it would be good to put it here as a question for anyone else to comment on%3A Dear sir, I played for 35 yr.s mostly hooker, some back line play. I was tutored in 1972 by former US Eagle hooker Jessie Lopez. We need to stabilize modern era scrums, specifically the front row. The way it's been done forever is wrong. Currently two pressure points come together head to head; and ofcourse the front rows twist amp; turn, left and right, up and down. Thus we are having more injuries with increased focus on scrum strength. FRONT ROWS SHOULD COME TOGETHER CONCAVE AS OPPOSED TO CONVEX. The hookers need to take the under bind on the props instead of the traditional over the top.This technique works much better by dispersing/spreading the impact.Also the hooker being set back about 6 inches is less at risk. If you don't think I know what I am talking about then ask some professionals who serve as the battering ram to try it. Their is a thin line separating safety from serious injury my friend. The way it's done now is time proven to be dangerous. You sir are probably not a hooker or tight head, so go inquire. It might not seem like a noticeable difference, but if it saves a couple people from getting thier necks broke next year - THEN IT BECOMES A BIG DIFFERENCE !! Thanks, Tim Nicodemus Fort Wayne Rugby Club

Simon Jones Coach, England

Strength and speed training for U11s....thoughts?!

Strength and speed training for U11s....thoughts?! Way are people's thoughts on 10/11 year olds doing strength/speed training? I'm guessing that many will disagree with it and say that kids should be learning skills, getting match practice and enjoying themselves, rather than getting bogged down with this kind of training. I'm also guessing that there's a school of thought that children are too physically immature to be putting extra strain on joints etc. If there's anyone out there that knows of any evidence for, or against, I'd be really grateful. I coach a team with a number of (in my opinion!) quite talented players. At least one of them is somewhat let down by his lack of speed and a lack of strength. Should I let them concentrate on learning, and leave the speed/strength training until they're a few years older, or does anyone have any advice on what they could be doing now? Thanks!

Matt Coach, England

(U11 Rugby) - How to referee the 'big lad'

I'm coaching and reffing U11 rugby and one of my players is the definitive 'big lad'. His 'strength' is his size and his power, but last weekend he didn't seem to get reffed fairly. The opposition couldn't tackle him down, one on one and when another two joined in to make a mini maul, that didn't slow him down much either. The ref then let other people join in the (one sided) struggle to tackle him down, which seemed very unfair as A) it's outside the laws of U11 rugby,, B) it makes it nigh on impossible for him to offload, C) when he is brought to ground, he has 4-5 players all over him and he got pinged for 'holding on'. He is a recent arrival to rugby and it was our first game for a couple of months, so the situation hadn't reared his head before. We are keen that he learns all of the core skills of rugby and doesn't get used as a battering ram, but after seeing a pack of hyenas trying to pull down the big fella, something just didn't seem right to me.I'd be grateful for any thoughts and opinions.

Archived User Coach

Player development - is there a template for Profiling

Are there any templates I can use for a rugby player development programme. I want to 'profile' players ability strength development areas etc

Archived User Coach

Upper and lower body workouts

Hi I was just wondering what the best upper and lower body workouts would be for rugby. It would be great if you know some good ones and get back to me. Cheers Asked using Sportplan Mobile App

Liam Manley Coach, England

Subscription

I am a member and can log in. However, I can only view about 4-5 drills and then they become locked. How do I get access to all of the drills, etc. What's the subscription cost. Can you help me with it as technology isn't a strength for me.

Michelle Turley Coach, Canada

gymnast with amputated arm

Bar routine for gymnast with amputated arm

Mandi Smith Coach, United Kingdom

ISSA Certified membership update?

hoping to get thoughts on how to contribute to your library to gain access to soccer drills for my kids. im issa certified personal trainer and strength and condition coach. fierce sports owner operator.

Alan Fleming Coach, United States of America

First time coaching the U13s n...

I have just started helping our head coach with under12's team. He wants to retire and has put me forward to be head coach next season. I am a little worried on how i should aproach training with the boys, going to a full 15 a side team on a full pitch. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Archived User Coach

(U11 Rugby) - How to referee t...

I'm coaching and reffing U11 rugby and one of my players is the definitive 'big lad'. His 'strength' is his size and his power, but last weekend he didn't seem to get reffed fairly. The opposition couldn't tackle him down, one on one and when another two joined in to make a mini maul, that didn't slow him down much either. The ref then let other people join in the (one sided) struggle to tackle him down, which seemed very unfair as A) it's outside the laws of U11 rugby,, B) it makes it nigh on impossible for him to offload, C) when he is brought to ground, he has 4-5 players all over him and he got pinged for 'holding on'. He is a recent arrival to rugby and it was our first game for a couple of months, so the situation hadn't reared his head before. We are keen that he learns all of the core skills of rugby and doesn't get used as a battering ram, but after seeing a pack of hyenas trying to pull down the big fella, something just didn't seem right to me.I'd be grateful for any thoughts and opinions.

Archived User Coach

Resistance Training for U14 | ...

I am curently helping coach an U14 team, my focus being on forward play and conditioning. As a general rule, for conditioning I only get the lads to work against body weight for resistance training. Some players (and parent?)are eager to get into the gym and start to use weights as means of resistance. Obviously at this age the level of physical maturity of players is vast, boys to men, hence each individual must be assessed. I have done some reseaech which would indicate that the use of weights for 14-15 year old is to be encouraged (Irish RFU), but I am keen not to get the lads into the gym to early. Does any one have and ideas on this subject or can point me to any research to support either idea.

Archived User Coach

I need ideas for fun team buil...

I need ideas for fun team building activities and any fun games to help towards team building. Has anyone got any ideas on what to do? Anything to spice up rugby training sessions in the dark, cold winter nights.

Archived User Coach

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