Rugby | Handling Drills

Set up a channel with two sets of defenders working in pairs inside. Three attacking players start with the ball and run around the far cone, realigning as they run around the cone. Players then play out the 3v2. After this first 3v2 the attackers must move the ball quickly and play out the second 3v2.

Offensive players (blue), line out in one deep line while the defence (red) line up opposite in a straight line, slightly inside player from the player that they are marking. The offence will attempt to pass the ball across the line at speed. Defenders will move up to stop them but do not tackle, simply press. This teachers the attackers to pass under pressure, as they try to pass across the line without making any mistakes.

The player with the ball rolls the ball out for a player to run onto and collect whilst moving. They then pass the ball back before replacing the player that rolled the ball out. The player that rolled the ball out runs to join the back of the queue.

 The aim of the drill is to develop ball carrying in a contact zone.

Coach starts with the ball and can throw the ball to either one of the outside players of the 3 players ready to play. The player in the middle always joins the player receiving the ball to play a 2v1 against the the 3rd player who becomes the defender. The attacking players run around the cone nearest to them and the defender runs in the opposite direction. When they meet inside the grid the attacking players must use the extra man to get around the defender - either by passing or taking the man on.   Progression: 3v2, 4v3. 

One set of cones set wide, another set narrow opposite.  Ball    Players line up opposite each other on each cone.  Constant 2 on 1s.  One defender alternately pressurises the pass.  High temp, High pressure. 

6x6m Grid  Ball  Players line up in 3s opposite sides of the grid.  Simply pass the ball along the line.  1 defender is in the middle of the grid putting pressure on all ball carriers. Once hand completed the next line starts immediately.  Defender swaps out when there is a mistake or when he touches someone with the ball.  Progression: add another defender, make the passes wider. 

Cones  Ball 3 channels of different widths are lined up next to eachother 3 attackers and 2 defender run around opposing cones before attacking each other.  Defenders must put pressure on but be passive as will ruin the drill if they disrupt the play. Running around the corner will encourage the attackers to realign, and adapt to the different space requirements.

Groups 18 Balls  Cones Groups of 4 line up on all sides of the square. 2 defenders tand in the middle of the grid.  The attackers start by fixing and beating the 2 defenders in the middle.  Once beaten offload the ball to the next 4 attacking a differnt direction.  Aim is to score as many tries as possibel in a set time.

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?  

The aim of the exercise is to develop ball control and reaction catching skills.

The aim of the exercise is to develop ball control and reaction catching skills.

8+ players  Ball  Players stand at equal distance away at differnt points along the grid. One working player runs in the middle of the channel.  The players on the outside pass the ball into the running player. The Working player must complete 2 sets of passing - 1 run off each hand. 

Groups 5  Balls  Cones  Sausages. 1. Chanel Fix  Attack sausages lined up one behind eachother.  they must use footwork to step to a side of the sausage and then give a pass before running into/past it. Attack inside shoulder of the bag to fix defender. 

Groups 5  Balls  Cones  1. Chanel Fix  5 players Attack Defenders lined up one behind eachother.  They must use footwork to step to a side of the sausage and then give a pass before running into/past the defender. 

-4 bags -2 sausages.  Put players on each bag, sausage and 2 defenders at the end of the grid.  There are 4 working attacking player.  Step 1 - Complete 2 shoulder clears on the opposing tackle bags.  Step 2 - 2 attackers nominate themselves to tackle the sauages.  Step 3 - the 2 support players pick the ball up and try complete the 4v2 (tackling players need to bounce up of feet quickly) 

4 + groups  Balls  All players have a ball, start by passing the ball once left then twice right, then 3 times left etc.  if the ball goes down you start again.  Winning team is the team who competes the most amount of passes without the ball going down. 

This drill will develop your players ability to regather difficult balls and make offloads.  Working in groups of three, one player is practicing the skill at a time.  The practicing player throws the ball to two other players who are holding balls. These two players bounce the ball back and the practicing player has to gather the ball without knocking it on. Progression   Now the practicing player holds two balls. He has to offload and then regather the ball with one hand. (0.40) 

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.

This drill is designed to work on the loop; one of the simplest and most effective ways to create your own overlap/space out wide.  Start with three attackers and three defenders using tackle bags in front of them. Attacker 1 passes to attacker 2 and begins to loop around. Player 1 should then receive the ball back and his next aim is to fix the third defender. Attacker three should make his way out to the edge where the space has been created. Attacker 1 then passes to attacker 3 who has space to get around the defence. Using this drill will help your players handling under pressure, vision and ability to create space.