Rugby: Space Invaders

• Keep your player briefing, brief! Tell the players the following laws for this exercise.....

1. Players must start the game behind the outer cone of their corner and only one of them can enter the grid at any one time.
2. This game works on a relay basis, one and only one player in the grid from each group at a time - and the next player must be touched before they may enter the playing area.
3. While balls are in the center of the grid, one relay robber from each team can enter the grid to steel a ball from the center of the grid and bring it back to their own box or bank.
4. If all the balls in the center of the grid have been stolen, teams can now steel each others balls - but the same relay rules apply.
5. The winning team is the team that can get 4 balls into their box. Adjust this to allow your players to experience success or to make the game harder.

• You can add or remove balls to make the game harder or easier.
• No cheating! Only one ball can be carried at a time, only one player from each team in the grid, and you cannot go until tagged.

The 'Hunters' run after the 'Runners', trying to touch them with the rugby ball. If a 'Runner' is touched, then they are 'Stuck in the mud!' and can only be released when one of their team-mates, who is not stuck, crawls between their legs without themselves getting touched with the rugby ball.

Involve a ball in your warm-up.

Get players to pass the ball around their head to flex the neck and shoulders.

• Within a group there are two groups of 4 attackers and one chaser/scrum half.
• At the middle point, marked by a cones, the scrum half moves the ball to the first attacking line.
• The scrum half firstly tracks the progress of the ball, as the exercise progresses - the scrum half should apply more and more pressure to the ball carrier - working up to the point of becoming a full on defender.
• When the ball reaches the opposite end of the grid, the last player in the line sets the ball down.
• The scrum half then feeds the ball to the next attacking line, fulfilling their own role within the exercise.
• The opposite attacking line should realign in preparation for the next attack.
• The tempo of this exercise should be high.