Rugby: weekly plan

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Hi, I’m coaching under 9s next year which involves tackling, mauls, rucks etc. I’m after advise on what to coach first and the amount of time spent on each area. Added to this I’ve somehow become the lead coach after a couple of coaches stepped down (feeling a little under pressure!) Would anybody be willing to share any sessions so I can plan the first month or so. Cheers

Hi I’m a proud dad who wants to help his 12 year old son develop as an aspiring number 12/13. No experience at all coaching but willing to give it a go. He already trains with his team of course but only once a week. I’d like to supplement that with a plan that he and I can follow 2 to 3 times a week but limited realisticallly to he and I. Passing and tackling and speed and agility I’m guessing are key? Anything on decision making would also be good. Any advice gratefully received!

I have started an under 10s team up, and I would say about 8 from the 13 children I have , did not play rugby until about 6 months ago. Of these players, there seems to be a lot of potential, as we are scoring tries against teams, that very rarely concede tries.the problem I got with them, is that we are very poor at organising our selves in defense when the opposition has the ball, which does result in us conceding quite a few tries. We have some very good tacklers in the team. Can anyone offer some ideas on how I can get them to organise themselves? Thanks . Chris.

Getting quite frustrated that my u10's are not using the space on the pitch and tend to bunch up. Despite various drills and game scenarios to force them to spread out and pass to someone in space they revert in any game to bunching up around the ball and taking it back into the thick of the opposition rather than looking left or right! Any ideas how to change their ways?

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.

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.

I just finished my collegiate rugby career. I feel inspired I would love to coach rugby to women in countries that have a lower popularity of women's rugby. How do I get started?

I coach under 9`s rugby and a lot of the kids have a bad fear of tackling, they lack the confidence to get stuck in. What is the best thing to help them overcome this?

Tackling nerves - I coach 10 year old boys. Some are very nervous about being hurt when tackling opponents although the same guys are like lions with the ball in hand. As a result our defence suffers. We have tried hammering home the correct technique to give confidence but to no avail. Can anyone suggest any psychology or drills I might try?

I am looking for a Day 0 type of session for American children who may have never held a rugby ball. If I move forward with a rugby exhibition/team creation in the neighborhood, I want to make sure I know how/what to teach Day 0. I'm hoping that interest is growing for touch and flag rugby due to the recent in Philadelphia between the USA Eagles and the Maori All Blacks. I was there. It was fantastic. Tickets sold out so fast, I think there will be more of these in the area. Thanks.

I'm kicking around two different orders for creating mauls. 1) 3rd Man Rip First supporters arrive and drive over rather than stripping ball. I like this one because it allows the supporters to join more quickly and keeps everything going forward. Because the original ball carrier keeps the ball until the 3rd man joins, this maul turns into a clean ruck very easily. I don't like this one because of the increased stress on the ball carrier to protect the ball, and the ball's slower movement to the back. 2) First man rip First supporter arrives and strips, third and fourth drive over. I like this one because the ball is cleared from the front straight away. I don't like this one because it can fall and be a mess, as well as as lack forward momentum as the focus is put on the ball. What do you think about the two ways of forming a maul? I've seen teams do both. Keep in mind I coach mainly older, new players.

Some of my U9s players, who are experiencing contact for their first season, are showing reticence in tackling - how do you coach or get through the fear factor/element?

I'm looking for some ideas of how to keep the cool down fun for an Under 9's session, which have been quite intense with the introduction of contact for the first time?

I coach under 8's and next season they will start contact. When am I allowed to start teaching them tackling skills? I sit january during their under 8 season or at the start of the under 9 season ?

Hi all. I am the coach for the U12s and we are about to enter a tournament this W/E. Does anyone have any pre planned simple fun drills that will link together to keep the players occupied between the Matches? Cheers Iain

Hi. I am in charge of the Mini Rugby (age 8) warm-up and am interested in more ideas. I try and keep them fun, sports specific and interesting for the boys and they seem to like what I do. Can anyone please help? Thanks!

I'm 19 years old in Canada and have started a new team. All the students that have signed up are new to the game and are about 14/15.. Any tips on how to introduce rugby to them?

hi I help coach a under nines team where the bulk of the team are constantly trying to run through tackle after tackle.when we talk to them they all understand about off loading the ball to avoid the seven tackle turnover, but as soon as on the pitch try line fever sets in.any ideas to encourage passing of the ball

an RFU directive states that coaches should not hold pads/shields for juniors to run into during sessions, or even juniors holding pads for each other!!! I notice a lot of drills utilise pads as this was something we always used when I trained years ago! I personally think they are a good thing (especially since some of the juniors I coach are 'not small'!) BUT wondered what the general thoughts were out there in SportPlan world....