Rugby: Continuous passing onto cones

High tempo defending and handling plan. Improve your rugby players' communication, organisation and line speed for a more solid backline

Set up 4 grids of about 8-10m by 5m.

3 players start on the first grid, working from one end to the other, covering the 5m distance.

• The aim is to stay in one straight line as they go up, and also keep themselves evenly spaced
• Once they have achieved that, they fall back into the next grid diagonally across and back. Now there should be 6 players on the line, and they all work together to come off the line, as one.

Players continue working like this, until they reach the end of the grid.

Once the coach blows his whistle the line may press off.

Lets get the ball and the players moving with lateral passing through the hands. Each training area only needs one ball, and that ball should start with the any of the two players at the very ends of the L.

• Tell players to move forward, passing the ball down the line. When the ball gets to the last receiver, that player will pass it to the first receiver in the next line that is waiting to go.
• They should advance right away. Allow the players to simply move the ball down the line.

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.

4 players stand on the corners of a 5x5m grid, and one player in the middle (the piggy).

They play piggy in the middle until the whistle goes.On hearing the whistle:

• The player with ball in hand is pillar aka 1. The rest of the players FOLD in and become 2,3,4 and 5 in the defenesive line.
• Once they are set, they call hold hold and press off the line.