Rugby: Technical work at the breakdown

Teach your team to ruck safely, effectively and quickly. By going 'through the gate' you'll avoid giving away penalties and encourage better binding

4 blue players must try and defend with shields two gates from the attacking red team.

The ball carrying player must meet the defending players and then go to ground and place the ball. Once this has been done the attacking side must form bind together and ruck the shields out of the way - to 'come through the gate'.

The final red player to come through collects the ball and runs anti-clockwise to the next gate and the next set of defenders to repeat the drill.

The two original defenders must now move to defend the other side of the grid.

Set Up:

• 3 players
• one in tackle suit
• one with ball
• one tackle bag

The player in the tackle suit crouches or kneels next to tackle bag which is representing an attacking player.

The suited player tackles the bag and the player with the ball places it next to tackle bag to simulate the tackled player placing the ball.

The suited player then returns to their feet and gets ready to compete for ball with the third player who clears out suited player the win the ball.

1 player stands crouched down 1 foot either side of a tackle bag holding a ball at the end of the bag

2 players run around the wide cones to then come in towards the player with the ball and clear out the ball .

Repeat the practice going the other way.