Rugby: Piggy in the middle and defend

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

5-7 players run around in a rectangle shaped grid. They must move very fast within it awaiting the whistle, but they are not allowed to touch the other players.

1. Once the whistle goes they must occupy the closest cone to them, facing the coach.
2. Then they must shift, heavies to the inside and speedsters to the outside.
3. On the next whistle they then press in one line.

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 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.

Players line up at least 2 or 3 behind a cone.

1. 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.
2. 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.