Rugby: 1 vs 1 Ball Retention

The ball carrier walks up to the defender and turns away to present the ball to their own team. The defender should try to turn the ball carrier and keep him facing away from support.

2 attackers with a half back attack a defender The support player should be able to read the situation and apply the best techniques for ball security, either driving out or sealing off the ball.

The ball carrier and one support player runs towards the other group and, at the middle the ball carrier goes to ground and presents the ball. The support player straddles the player on the ground, picks up the ball and runs on to the next group, passing the ball to them

The aim of the drill is to develop positive work after the tackle and when would you use a 360’ roll. often a loose tackle or let go. 360 roll 

This drill is designed to get your players in good habits when presenting the ball at the breakdown. This will allow your team to hold onto possession better and get quicker ball. The players run towards cones in lines of three, passing the ball from one end to the other. When the coach says "Down" or blows their whistle, whoever has the ball must drop to the ground and present the ball. The player who has presented the ball then passes to the player behind him and the drill carries on continuously. 0.29 - Demonstration  1.20 - What is the purpous of this drill?  

Groups of 3.  Ball One player performs a tackle on his knees.  The ball carrier works to manage the contact area by using footwork/fend.  Aim is try work aorund a question mark shape - to get line of sight to support runner.  Try to keep to hands on the ball before giving the pop/pass.  Support runner must tempo run to time his suport line correctly come in narrow so the pop isnt hard.

In groups of 4 inside the grid with 1 ball per group. Players should pass the ball around the group with small pops. On the coach's whistle the player with the ball takes the ball into contact and hits the floor. Other players must then seal-clear-pick. After picking the ball players can continue to pop pass the ball until they hear the next whistle.

Two players with shields stand facing the runners on opposite sides of a grid. On the command, the players run into the shield and spins to their right before joining the back of the group on the left hand side. The practice keeps repeating. On GO, each ball carrier drives into the contact pad and spins out, past the defender before passing the ball to the next player in the other group.

The aim of the drill is to develop positive work after the tackle when held or stuck.

Place 2 players in the centre. Both players pass to those running the circle. Notice that the gap between the passer and the catcher has narrowed because there are now 2 players acting as passers.

Players form a single file, pick up a ball, run a few meters and then places the ball down before heading towards the next ball. The balls are placed at random in the grid area. The second player starts out when the first player has placed down the first ball, and so on. Players rejoins the end of the line after placing down the last ball.

Good for younger rugby players to learn how to go into contact and set up the ball at pace, you can use it as a competition between the team with a limit of time etc. 2 tackle shields 1 ball 2 people are on the tackle shields about 5 metres apart facing each other, there is a ball carrier standing in the middle of the two defenders. Ball carrier runs in to one defender and places the ball, once placed, he gets to his feet quickly and runs into the next defender doing the same. This process can continue for as short or as long as you like, a good challenge would be 30 second limit to get in as many hits and ball placements as possible.

A circle must be set up for player/coach to walk around. The players must be in pairs with one been the attacker and the other the defender. Both players start stomach down however the defender is on top of the attacker and must work to stay on top of the attacker. The coach/player walks around the circle shouting ‘set’ at 10-15 second intervals, at the command ‘set’ the attacker must move and present the ball with both balls towards the coach/player.

Good for younger rugby players to learn how to go into contact and set up the ball at pace, you can use it as a competition between the team with a limit of time etc. 2 tackle shields, 1 ball 2 people are on the tackle shields about 5 metres apart facing each other, there is a ball carrier standing in the middle of the two defenders. Ball carrier runs in to one defender and places the ball. Once placed, he gets to his feet quickly and runs into the next defender doing the same. This process can continue for as short or as long as you like, a good challenge would be 30 second limit to get in as many hits and ball placements as possible.

Once an attacker is touched they must offload within one second. You can start the game so that players have to pass the ball in front of defenders and then later progress the drill and ask them to pass from behind the defence, by taking two steps past the defender, before offloading. Question players on what they consider to be the most effective option when attacking?

Grid 10x10 Numbers 18+ Ages: 9+ Balls: 6 1) Run across and place ball down about 1 metre in front of player on other side of grid. 2) Player straddles ball - picks it up - holds it close to back shoulder - runs low across to other side of grid - places ball 1 metre in front of next player. 3) As above but roll ball in gently rather than place down.

In pairs, in a 5 x 5 m grid Pupils roll the ball to their partner who gathers it up. The first pupil runs and tries to take the ball from their partner. Change after the ball is successfully defended or wrestled away.