Rugby: Clapping Game

Your tips and session ideas have really brought some interest back...
Eifion, Rugby Coach

DESCRIPTION

Tell your players the following.

  1. Lets just get the ball moving clockwise for a while, just to get the ball moving through the hands.
  2. After a minute or two, lets switch the direction of the ball.
  3. After another minute, tell them the ball can go in any direction, but......
  4. The receiver must clap once before catching the ball - and the passing player must move the ball within 5 seconds.
  5. The passer can dummy, and if a receiver claps they must do one or more press-ups.
  6. If the receiver doesn't clap and receives a ball - they must do one or more press-ups following their pass.
  • You can also play this game using a word like RUGBY. Each time a play makes a mistake they get a letter. The loser is the first player to get all the letters that spell RUGBY. Some teams and coaches have more interesting and colorful words to spell - I'll leave this to you.
  • Have fun with this!

COACHING POINTS

Don't feel that you have to focus on all of the following coaching points, you may have your own. Select the points that most closely match your overall training and session goals.

  • Players should work to keep the tempo of the session high, but not at the cost of bad passing.
  • It's important that players have fun with this, it's a game!
  • Receivers hands should be out, presenting a target.
  • Receivers reactions should be quick, clapping before receiving the ball.
  • You are helping your player to read the game here. Is a pass about to happen, what cues tell to the possible direction of the pass, can you tell from reading body position etc? Scanning the player in front of you, and reacting to what you see - is all part of the game in terms of defence.
  • Ball carriers carry the ball in two hands.
  • Ball carriers dummy, while keeping control of the ball.
  • The pass is weighted in terms of distance, speed, and accuracy. However, the passer uses increased speed of ball to catch the receiver out - the lesson here is that a pass that is too fast is too hard to catch.
  • The pass must be good, in the sense that it is to a receiver.
  • Mistakes will be made, allow your players the freedom to make mistakes without feeling a failure - keep it fun.
  • Passing should be off both hands. There is no weak or strong hand, just hands that need a little more work. Work is the key, not talent. Maybe you have very gifted right handed passer - lets see how good they are with the left.
  • Receivers are quick to react.
  • Ball carriers should scan for weakness and attack that weakness, the same as they would in the game!
  • That said, it's important that one player is not always attacked - therefore try to keep your groups equal in terms of ability.
  • Players can use a variety of passes to catch receivers out.

PROGRESSION

  • You can make this game a little harder by reducing the size of the circle or by asking the receiving player to face the opposite direction, wait on the passer to say turn - and then clap and receive the pass (the passer must say turn before sending out the pass).
  • You can also increase the number of claps the receiver must do.

READ MORE
READ LESS
OFTEN USED WITH...
1257550
1009

SIGN UP NOW FOR FREE

  • search our library of 1100+ rugby drills
  • create professional rugby coaching plans
  • or access our tried and tested rugby plans
STAY CONNECTED

in more ways than one

sportplan_netball
MORE Passing DRILLS
/drills/ Rugby/ Passing /categoryDrills_21.jsp

JOIN SPORTPLAN FOR FREE

  • search our library of 1100+ rugby drills
  • create your own professional coaching plans
  • or access our tried and tested plans

Sportplan App

Give it a try - it's better in the app

YOUR SESSION IS STARTING SOON... Join the growing community of rugby coaches plus 1100+ drills and pro tools to make coaching easy.
LET'S DO IT