Rugby | Decision making Drills

In this game players try to keep possession and carry the ball over their opponent's line to score a try.

Pupils are put into teams of 12 (with larger groups reserves maybe used). Play a full game incorporating :- 6 vs 6 Scrums. 6 vs 6 line outs. Drop kick restarts (or punt if skill level requires). Full tackling.

Two teams Minimum three passes before scoring All players must be in the 'player zone' to score a point One touch turnover Players can pass in any direction

Bags Balls  2 attackers line up opposite 2 defenders with bosh bags.  The coach delivers a ball into the attackers.  The ball carrier aims to run an overs line - Outsid ehsoulder of first defdner, and attack the second defender. The second attacker looks to leach on/latch on to the ball carrier pushing them through the contact area.  Looking for a quick exstra few yards.   

Three attacker start on their fronts with three defenders lying opposite them. On go the attackers backtrack and realign into an attacking line. Two defenders come up to defender with one handing back. The attackers try and beat the first two defenders and then try to beat the final defender at the back.

Out in 4s - simple hands - When players reach the end they should turn left. Group realigns around the cone and then use simple hands to finish. You can put defenders into the second channel to increase the difficulty of this drill.

2 groups of 2 players start on set cones about 15m apart. The 2 players are situated one in behind the other, the same goes for the second set of 2 players. Once the player with the ball starts to run, the supporter goes wide and straightens onto a gate of cones. As soon as he passes the ball the second supporter can start to move out to his designated gate. Ensure that the players hide behind one another!

A coach or scrum half feeds a ball carrier who should be running onto the ball. The ball carrier should run towards the tackle sausage and use footwork and a hand off to move past the tackle sausage towards the first two tackle bags. The player should aim to hit the gap between the two tackle bags and power beyond the contact. Those two players then drop the bags and follow the original runner in support. The ball carrier then hits the bag, goes to ground and looks to lift the ball up to one of his support players.  The next player then hits the last tackle bag, goes to ground and presents the ball. The next support player clears away the bag to secure the ball. This drill works on a number of skills (running onto the ball, hand off, footwork and hitting gaps, communication and support, clearing out a ruck) in continuity which means its more game realistic and trains players to not only perform the individual skills, but also to be thinking about how the skills link together and what their next job is.

This drill coaches players the lines they should run when receiving the ball in order to maximise the chance of them breaking the gain line. Use a tackle bag to simulate where the ruck and offside line would be. The players line up as if they were going to come "around the corner" to receive the ball. Players should run an L shaped running line to get across the first defender and then footwork to get through the second defender. Progression (0.49) - Add an extra pass to the drill For the first receiver the drill is exactly the same in terms of the running line. Then there is a second player on his outside shoulder who uses the same running line to beat the second defender. The first receiver has a choice (1.19) - whether to go through the gain line and pass or pass before he gets to the gainline. What is the gain line? The gain line is an imaginary line in rugby parallel to the halfway line that is the back foot of the breakdown or the defences offsideline.

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.

Coach or feeder standing on the touchline. Player A start five metres away and player B on the five metre channel. Once the coach has fed the ball in the players must complete a simple 2 on 1. If the feeder drifts across the player dummies and runs through.

The normal rules of touch rugby, however variation of:  -When there is a touch the player must pass the ball over his head within 2 meters of the touch.  ⁃This encourages support play, and increases your teams fitness.  ⁃Fun and Hard Work. 

Set your players up so they are in groups of 6, with 3 forwards and 3 backs. Line up the 3 backs to protect 2 try lines (marked by red cones) and line up the three forwards to protect one try line (marked by blue cones). The forwards try to score on the two try lines and the backs over the one try line. Play normal rugby rules but the forwards are not allowed to use mauls.

Touch rugby in teams of 5. Once a team has been touched three times change possession. When a player is touched, the tackler stays in passive contact until the nearest attacker comes in and supports their players by mauling the ball away to continue the game.

Start your session by splitting the players into two teams, one with bibs and the other without. Once the teams have been decided begin the game of touch rugby.

The drill starts with 2 attackers in blue, standing behind one another, 5m from the 1st defender/attacker in red. The blue players attacks the red defender, once they pass him the defender/attacker joins the attacking team in one motion - therefore 2 players will be ahead with 1 backup supporter creating a 3v2 situation. The 3 attackers now attack the 2 red defenders. Once the attackers beat the 2 red defenders the two defenders also join the attack to make it a 5v3. The 3 defenders at the end stay on. The 2 attackers, 2 defenders and 1 defender must be replaced by new player to keep the drill continuous and stimulating