Rugby: Bulldog on knees

Help your players get over their fears and watch them gain confidence in contact!

Build your player's confidence in contact with this session, as you work on their contact skills in a safe and competitive environment

Refresh your junior players' tackling technique before the season starts to help them grow in confidence and prevent injuries in your team!

Set up a wide pitch, with cones on the half way line plus an extra box on two opposite corners. These corner boxes are the prisons for tackled/tagged players.

The aim of the game is for players to run into the opposing team's area and grab a ball to bring back into their ball area in their half.

However, if a player is tackled/tagged while in the other team's half they must go and stand in the prison square.

Players can be released from prison by being tagged by a team-mate. Once released they must walk around the outside of the pitch back to their own half before rejoining the game.

3 attackers start at the beginning of the grid who will go up against the tackle bag first and then the person in the body suit second; these two should not stand next to each other unless you move on to the progression.

At the coaches command the attackers will go into the tackle shield first with the ball carrier going to ground and the two supporters either both clearing out or one person clearing and the next picking up the ball and going into the next defender 5 metres behind who will be in a bodysuit.

The ball carrier here will try to stay strong on his feet and offload to the two support runners or one of them will come in and rip the ball and offload to the support runner who will finish by crossing over the line.

The player with the ball jogs in a straight line with the tackler coming in form the side to tackle them.

Players stand 5 metres apart, only the attacking player moves in this drill, the tackler remains still as their partner approaches.

As the player gets close the tackler should keep their head up and engage the runner with either their left or right shoulder.

Holding around their knees tightly and driving with their shoulder they should allow the player to fall over their shoulder to floor.