Rugby: Zig Zag Passing Practice

As the start of the season nears, continue to build your players resilience to contact and ensure they?re up to speed with their physical conditioning with this demanding session.

• Groups of 2
• Bags
• Balls
• Contact conditioning 

1. Body height clear out work

In there groups, do contact hits on each shoulder. Stand 2m apart and take turns doing hits against bag

2. Crocodile role

One player lies on top of a tackle sausage (long way round), the group of 4 take turns swapping roles of being tackled and tackler. Focus is the crocodile role.

3. Clear out.

One player stands over the top of tackle bag competing for the ball. Other player arrives from 2m away to clear out the player, to prevent the threat of stealing the ball.

3. Bounce and compete

Players lay either side of the a ball. When whistle goes, both players bounce off the floor, one competes for the ball while the other focuses on clear out or crocodile role.

Do 3 sets of 2mins. Repetitive drill.

• 2 Teams.
• Half Pitch.

Touch Game with conditions; 

Attacker once touched must go down, bounce back up and drive into defender, then perform a long place. 

While all defenders retreat 3m and hit the floor and bounce back up again before continuing play. 

• Groups 9+ 
• Ball
• Cones

This could be perfect fro a warm up drill. 

Player with the ball runs to first cone and performs a pull back pass to the second receiver then onto the 3rd.

When the ball reaches the third the 3rd reciver runs to the cone and performs a pull back pass back inside the the 2nd reciver in the next line. 

This is continuus and should be short and fast pase.

• Set up: the cones as shown with a cone 10 meters each side of the posts on the try line. This will mark where the ball will be passed from (feeder) preferably from a scrum half.
• Divide the group into 3 and ask them to stand in single file behind each cone.
• The ball is fed from a position alternately from either side of the post. This will encourage the players to scan, communicate and to be expectant of the ball.
• The players on the cones opposite the posts will either be the 1st receiver or the BANG option runner. The BANG runner is always running an out to in, or up to in line to fix the 2nd defender.
• The players on the middle cone will receive the ball in the BINGO (pull back) option outside the ‘outside’ post or just in behind the BANG player.
• The BINGO players should run and an arced run to receive the ball outside the outer post. The BINGO player should try to straighten up prior to receiving or on receiving the ball.

• Progression:
• Get 2 players or coaches to stand in front of the posts with 2 different coloured cones in their hands on their hips.
• The cones will represent the ‘hips’ of the 2nd defender.
• The aim is to encourage the 1st receiver to scan, look, and make a quick decision (choice of pass) depending on what the defender is doing.
• If the 1st receivers sees the ‘inside’ cone on the 2nd defender then they must assume the defenders hips are turned OUT and make a short pass to the BANG runner.
• If the 1st receivers sees the ‘outside’ cone on the 2nd defender then they must assume the defenders hips are turned IN and make a PULL BACK pass to the BINGO runner.