Rugby: Contact Skills Circuit

Master the ?Smash? and the ?Roll? rucking technique so that when the pressure is on and a clear decision needs to be made, clearing the ruck becomes second nature to your players.

As the start of the season nears, continue to build your players resilience to contact and ensure they?re up to speed with their physical conditioning with this demanding session.

Contest for every ball and cause a turnover with this session by focussing on both defensive and attacking breakdowns. Work on the jackal and bounce in defence and attack at break down with the smash and crocodile roll.

• Groups of 3+ 
• Bag 
• Sausage

2 player starts on his chest infront of the sausage, another player lines up opposite.

When whistle is blown, the first player makes a chop tackle on the bag and rolls out the way. 

The second defender then then spider carwls over the sausage and clears the incoming bag holder. 

• tackle sausage 

Place 2 sausages perpendicular from eachother in a T shape. 

Have one player line up a couple meters away from the bag. 

Conditioning drill, the player does reps of clearing the bag, running back to the line, doing a down up and going again. 

• Set up a 5mx5m grid
• Work in fours - two attacker and two defender
• The ball is fed from a player from the 1st defending player who also holds the tackle pad and will simulate the ‘jackal’ threat player in the 2v2
• The first attacking player receives the ball and engages the pad holder and passes to the second attacking player
• The second attacking player engages the second defender (tackler) and bounces out to a weak shoulder
• The first attacking player (inside clear out) and the 1st defending player (jackler) then try and race to support
• The inside clear looks to support the attacker and clear out the jackler

• Groups of 10+ 
• Tackle bags 
• Cones

step 1 - players perform a down up - chest to the floor. 

Step 2 - Players make a double shoulder hitbetween 2 bags opposite.

Step 3 - active player moves down the line to hit the next group of 2 bags.

At the end players start again, aim to do 2/3 min sets then swap the bags.