Rugby: Staying Alive

Players line up at least 2 or 3 behind a cone. The ball starts at one end with the player running up to the cone in front of him and passing to the next player waiting on the cone. As a player has passed he must quickly run around the grid and fall back into position. The Ball is constantly within the grid moving from right to left.

Set up 4 cones in a square, and get the players to form equal lines behind each cone. The ball starts with a player on one cone who runs towards the cone to his right and passes the ball across the square to a player from the next cone running onto the ball. He catches the ball and continues his run, passing the ball to someone from the next cone running onto the ball. Change the direction which the ball is going Progressions: Get the players to change direction on your command (shout/whistle) Multiple balls at a time As a group must complete 10 successful passes before the session can move on, every time a ball is dropped the whole group does an exercise (e.g. 10 press ups).

Set up a square of cones, and get the players to form equal lines behind each cone. The ball starts in the hands of a player behind cone 1, who runs (black running line) towards cone 2, passes the ball to the player behind cone 2 who passes the ball back to the first player. The first player then runs towards cone 3 and passes the ball to the player standing behind cone 3. The player who passed the ball from behind cone 2 runs (blue running line) following the run of the first player and receives a pass from the player behind cone 3 before running towards cone 4 and passing the ball to the player behind cone 4. The player who passed the ball from behind cone 3 runs (yellow running line) following the run of the second player and receives a pass from the player behind cone 4 before running towards cone 1 and passing the ball to the player behind cone 1. The player who passed the ball from behind cone 4 runs (red running line) following the run and receives a pass from the player behind cone 1 before running towards cone 2 and passing the ball to the player behind cone 2. The player who passed the ball from behind cone 1 runs (black running line) following the run and receives a pass from the player behind cone 2 before running towards cone 3 and passing the ball to the player behind cone 3, and the drill continues. Change the direction which the ball is going. Progressions: Get the players to change direction on your command (shout/whistle etc) Multiple balls As a group must complete 10 successful passes before the session can move on, every time a ball is dropped the whole group does an exercise (e.g. 10 press ups).

This drill is designed to work on the loop; on 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 develop your players handling under pressure and their attacking vision and ability to create space

Keep your player briefing short. You may consider having a demonstration group. Give two players opposite each other, one ball each. On your call they will come forward, towards each other, sidestepping to avoid contact before passing the ball either left or right. There should be no forward passes and the players need to communicate to avoid both balls going in the same direction. When the receivers collect their pass - they do the same as the first set of ball carriers. Players that have completed their run and pass within the grid should join the end of the opposite line. Players should seek opportunity to pass off both their left and right hands.

Tell your players the following...... There will be one ball to each group, any player can be the ball carrier. Each group will have one defender, the defenfer will not have to go around the cone. On GO, the group moves towards the closest cone.At the cone, the players spread out and attack the line at pace and with width. They should realign following the attack left, to attack again right. When the second groups sees the first group complete their first set of passes, they should begin without waiting. The defender should swap with another player in their group. Variations: Make the training area small to force quick hands. Make the training area wider to increase the length of the pass. Allow players to be creative in attack.

Using just one hand they should pass the ball to each other, spinning the ball. They should make 10 passes on one hand, and then 10 passes on the opposite hand. Players can change their passing hand by turning round to face the opposite direction. That's it, get working. Refer to the coaching points in order to help your players improve. This drill is about helping players understand and develop their spin pass, while improving the quality of their pass. It should be using in conjunction with other training exercises to develop the spin pass.

There will be one ball carrier at any one time. They will run around the circle, passing the ball. The ball must be handled by all players, so players work to identify themselves as needing the ball. The ball cannot be passed to the person beside the carrier, but backwards passes are allowed. The coach can change the direction of the players running and ask them to do things e.g. touch the ground with your right hand, touch the ground with your left hand, jump up and clap etc.

4 cones with 2 balls. Players start running at the same time and when the meet in the middle, the blue players give a drop off pass to the red player before both continuing their run to the opposite end to which they started.

Keep your player briefing, brief! You may decide to have a demonstration grid. On your call, all players fan out to receive a pass. Players initially attack half the space in the grid, that way the lines do not cross into each others space, as you can see in the animation. Players should then attack the full width of the grid, there will be intersection and some confusion. Players stay within the grid. When they finish an attack (the ball is moved down the line), the last player to recieve the ball should score a try just outside the grid - and the line should get set in their new location to go again. Player initially rotate in a clockwise direction. Change this after a period of time. Make sure that players change position in the attacking line.

Tell your players the following...... There will be one runner. 1 player, static, on each cone. 4 players on the cones in total. There will also be two players in defence, they will have a tackle/ruck pad each. The defenders will be 3 meters in from the start of the grid, the second defender 7 meters behind the first. The defenders can move left and right, but not backward and forward. There will be a ball on the first left cone, and on the second right cone. The player at the first cone with the ball will pass the ball to the runner, who avoids the defender and passes the ball to the reciever on the opposite first cone. The runner then catches the second ball, passed by the player on the second cones. The runner passes the ball to the opposite reciever, avoid contact with the defender. The runner then turns and does the same again - the defender steps back a bit. Don't forget to change the defenders, proving all players will the chance to attack.

Drill to practice fast, accurate passing. Set up a T shape with 3 cones roughly 5m away from the central cone (see diagram) One player stands on each cone, the player in the middle of the T is the player who works (yellow). The players on the outside (blue) take it in turns to pass to the working player (yellow), who must catch the ball and pass it to the free player on the edge (see video. PROGRESSIONS: Start slowly and increase the pace at which the players pass to the working player, giving them less time to catch and pass the ball Increase the distance that the working player must pass the ball.

Groups 10+  Balls  Cones  Sausages. 1. Chanel Fix  Groups of 5.  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. 2. Passing Grid - Static Defenders  Normal 3 man passing grid, however with sausages placed in the middle. Players run forward use footwork to beat the bag and give the pass back inside. (pass before the sausage). 3. Passing Grid - Moving defenders.  Same as above but instead of sausages, use moving defenders with bags. 4. Passing Grid - Starting on corners. Groups of 4 start on each corner with 2 defenders in the middle.  The attacking line must get around the corner and square up to beat the 2 defenders.  At other end give to next group and start again.  Continuous.  5. Final Game  Groups of 3 on all sides of the grid, with 2 defenders in the middle. Continuous drill to score as many tries as possibel in 1 min.  Focus on all skills above. 

Now split your players into two teams, giving one group of players a set of colored bibs to set them apart, and quickly tell your players the following laws: No forward passes. All passes need to be flicks or back passes with one hand. When touched, stop and set the ball down. The pass off the ground must also be a flick or one handed back pass. Another player from your team will act as scrum half - passing the ball to his teammates, who will continue the attack. Each team will be allowed five touches before they must turn the ball over (you can make this more or less depending on the skill level of your players and what you're hoping to achieve during the session.) Some coaches decide on unlimited touches, only turning the ball over when a mistake is made by the attack e.g. a knock on. Knock on's and other law infringements will result in a turn over to the opposition. Don't be afraid to play these laws a little, e.g. for younger players you might even go as far as to allow some knock on's or turn a blind eye to the odd forward pass - let them play a little and have fun!

A quick drill to focus the players before going into a session or at the start of a match day warm up. The aim of the drill is to develop early hand-catch, quick and accurate transfer of the ball to a support player. Set 4 cones 3-5 meters apart on the 5 meter line. This will mark the starting point for your players. Set up cones opposite on the try line Ask your players to line up behind each cone. The ball carrier runs out to the cone opposite and passes to the next player Once the player on the end receives the ball, the drill changes direction and the ball goes back in the direction it came from

2 players face one another and stand about 5m apart. The ball is cupped in one hand (not gripped). The player with the ball swings the ball back and forward with a straight arm with force, releasing the ball into the opposite players' hands.

This is a simple passing exercise that can be used as a warm up to improve players reaction time and catching skills 6 players and 1 coach in a circle, and the coach holds a ball at all times With the other ball, the players throw to you and (using the ball you're holding) hit the ball back to a different player in the circle The players will not know who the ball will come to and so must react quickly to catch and then throw back to you to hit to someone else The shape of the ball means that even if you aim at someone, it could deflect to another player.

Groups of four, players stand in a T shape with about two yards between each player. The player in the middle is the focal point and each round is designed to test that middle player as they will be doing the most passing and receiving. Player A - Player B Player B - Player C Player D - Player B Player B - Player D Player C - Player B Player B - Player A Player D - Player B Player B - Player D The middle player must receive from the side and pass out the other side. The middle player then plays a one-two return pass with the player opposite. The middle player then receives the ball from the side player they just gave it to and passes it back across to the original passer. Another one-two with the player opposite is then played. Switch positions clockwise after 20/30 seconds.

Lets just get the ball moving clockwise for a while, just to get the ball moving through the hands. After a minute or two, lets switch the direction of the ball. After another minute, tell them the ball can go in any direction, but...... The receiver must have their hands in the air. The passer cannot pass to a player directly beside them. The passer can dummy, if a player takes their hand down they are out. The reciever can take their hands down to catch a ball if it is coming their way. 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. You can make this game a little harder by reducing the size of the circle or by asking the players to touch their toes before catching the ball. You can also increase the number of balls in the circle. Have fun with this!

Tell the players the following: Lets just get the ball moving down the line. Give the player at the start of one of the lines a ball, tell the line to advance using lateral passing - with the last player in each line passing the ball to the first player in the opposite line. Players should change positions in the line following each attack. Focus on the coaching points - the drill is only a means to an end. No spin passing. When you feel that the players are executing the short pass to your satisfaction - add in more pressure by have two opposite lines run at once. Once the teams have master that - lets get all four units running at one. The firt two groups go, when they each the mid-way point - the second two groups go. This will mean that all four gourps will be working at one. The groups keep moving unit you tell them to stop. Devlop this by alowing players to attack and be creative in their attack e.g. loop, M1, etc. There will be lots of traffic, they need to stay on their toes and work hard to keep the attack and the ball alive.