Rugby: The Atom Game

2 players  Ball  One player lies ontop of the other. The coach shouts, N,S,E or W. The Bottom player with the ball then fights to get in the long placment position presenting the ball the direction the coach says.   

Groups of four, players stand in a T shape with about two yards between each player. The player in the middle is the focal point and each round is designed to test that middle player as they will be doing the most passing and receiving. Player A - Player B Player B - Player C Player D - Player B Player B - Player D Player C - Player B Player B - Player A Player D - Player B Player B - Player D The middle player must receive from the side and pass out the other side. The middle player then plays a one-two return pass with the player opposite. The middle player then receives the ball from the side player they just gave it to and passes it back across to the original passer. Another one-two with the player opposite is then played. Switch positions clockwise after 20/30 seconds.

The aim of the drill is to develop a high ball over head catch with a support player behind to catch anything over head.

Players start at the top of the triangle. Coach calls colours, 2/3 at a time. Player moves to the called cone, and returns to the start each time. Player should remain facing forward at all times, back tracking when they need to. Coach calls GO and players sprint 10 meters.

circle of players 2 players in the middle one of the player with a ball. The ball carrier has to run into contact with one of the outside player and turn to give the ball to the 2nd player in the middle who has to support very close. On being given the ball the new player with the ball has to run into contact with another player in the circle for the other player to support and get the ball.

You may consider these two points when looking to challenge or build confidence. Keep your player briefing, brief! It's best not to have your players standing around listening to you - let them play, let them discover. Split your players into two teams, giving each team their own set of coloured bibs. Normal laws of rugby apply e.g. if you knock the ball on - then it's turned over to the opposition. When touched the ball carrier must turn, a support player will drive onto the ball ripping and rolling or ripping and popping to another attacking player. The defender that made the original touch cannot make a second touch on the player who rips and rolls. The defenders should act as they normally would during a match. If the ball goes into touch, the put-in should be quick. If that can't be the case - the point of the put in becomes the offside line and the defenders must remain behind that line. The ball must go at least 5 meters and can travel straight or backwards. There is no kicking in this game. You decide on a number of touch options e.g. unlimited touches, 4/8 touches, or make it a little more complex with 4 rip and pop touches, and 4 rip and roll touches (this last option forces the team to employ both tactics or lose the ball). Don't be afraid to experiment with different law variations and let us know what worked for you!

With a group of nine, tell two of them they are attackers - for now. The rest will be in defence. Allocate your defenders within the grid, one defender at defenders cone 1, two defenders at defenders cone 2, and three defenders at defenders cone 3. Tell the defenders that they can move side to side, but not forward and back. Also - tell the players on defenders cones 1 and 2, that they will join the attack when they have finished their defensive duties. So after the first 2 v 1, the 1 defender joins the attack to make the next attack 3 v 2, when this attack is over - the two defenders join the attack to make the last attack 5 v 4. Have your demonstration group quickly complete a walk through, then a run through. Now get the other groups working. Don't forget to give the last four defenders a chance in attack.

Good for warm ups and handling the ball under fatigue. 4 or 5 hurdles, cones for variations. Keep body square on when receiving ball and have one or two players working consecutively. Give target to receive the ball. When working around cones make sure to reach the mark and work hard to next hurdle. Finish by sprinting to designated point whereby more variation can be added.

Have four players stand at the four cones, the other players, in their own running groups of four should, be behind them - ready to go when their turn comes. Give the first player, the player with the ladder furthest away, a ball. The other players should lay down on the ground. When the first player runs and reaches the ladder, the second player can get up and attack, the third player can attack when the second player reaches their ladder, and the forth player can get up and attack when the third player reaches their ladder. The pass should be passed down the line, but you can only pass when you're inside your own ladder and you can only receive when you are inside you own ladder. Players aim to get the ball down the line, and should, score at the end before passing the ball to the first receiver in the next group. Players cannot stop inside a ladder or at any time during the attack.

Players start in the bottom right corner and on the command sprint as a group before doing 5 press ups. They advance as a defensive line, moving as fast as the slowest player. They never leave a player behind. They then side step (push as a defensive line) left to the next set of cones to do 5 sit ups before sprinting to do press ups. The group follow this routine until the end before the next group go.

The players behind start running around the circle in a clockwise direction. When the coach shouts ATTACK, each player must get back to their partner - staying outside the circle and moving clockwise. They must get through their partners legs before getting to the center of the circle and steeling a ball, then carrying it back and passing it to their partner. The team/group that does not get a ball is LEFT OUT! Make sure that you have something for the players that are out of the main game to do. Have the players return their ball to the center of the circle, but reduce the number of ball in the center of the circle by one. So if there are 7 groups left, there should only be 6 balls. The players swap roles in their groups, so the previous runner is now static. Start the game again. Experiment with the number of balls in the center of the circle - to make the game harder or easier.

Split the players into two teams, giving each team their own set of bibs. Two different colours that clearly define the teams. Keep your player briefing, brief. It's important that you get your players moving as quickly as possible. Tell the players that we will be playing One Touch Ruck, see the laws surrounding this game in the Warm-Ups section of the SportPlan site. Briefly - when an attacking player is touched while carrying the ball: they go to ground and either pop or present the ball for a minimum of two supporting players to ruck over. The defence should behave as they normally would at the ruck, committing two players who will not compete for the ball or go into contact. The defence should employ their normal patterns around the ruck. The attacking team can have three touches in a row between the 15 meter lines, if they move the ball to the either of the 15 meter channels they can have another four touches in that channel before having to move the ball back out. If the attacking team moves quickly from one 15 meter channel to the other (exploiting space), they get a bonus of 4 touches in that zone. If any attacking team exceeds the number of touches they can sustain inside a channel, the ball is turned over. Play with these laws a bit - keeping an eye on what you want to achieve in this session. The normal laws of rugby apply, any law infringements result in a turn over. There is no kicking in this game. Don't forget to give the defence a turn in attack, if for any reason the attacking team is particularly good at retaining the ball. If they are, well done you as a coach!

This is the third exercise in a series of three that can be put together to form a contact conditioning circuit. The circuit can be sets of 30 seconds of hard work followed by 30 seconds of rest. Swap in this circuit for your usual fitness routine to give the players something a bit more interesting and transferable to a game.  Alternatively, this would be a great exercise to include as part of a warm up. Players work in pairs, one player holds a tackle bag behind a tackle sausage. The other player makes a low tackle on the sausage and then drives through, clearing out the player holding the tackle bag. This player then goes to ground and gets back up to complete another repetition in the other direction. It is the job of the player holding the tackle bag to lift up the tackle sausage after each repetition. This drill will increase players overall fitness levels while being very relevant to game situations.  0.21 - Why is this important for players?

Players lie flat on their back and bend their knees together and press them against the floor. Slowly move the knees left and then right on the ground.

Be brief when telling the players the laws of this game, it's important to get them moving quickly. This is not a contact game, but there will be some light contact. Break your players into two teams, giving each team their own colour of bibs if necessary. One team goes to attack, and one to defence. Nominate a Scrum Half for each team, it will be their job to move the ball from the back of the maul and out to an attacking line. There is no kicking in this game. Normal laws of rugby apply e.g. a forward pass will result in the ball being turned over to the opposition. If an attacking player is touched: they must stop and turn, a maul is then built based on how you have trained your players to Maul. Only four players should be in the maul - but every player should be able to maul - including the backs! When you start playing this game make sure that the defence is employing your defensive pattern around the maul. They will commit 4 players, but will not do anything more than provide light resistance. Once formed the maul can take four steps before moving the ball. If there is a delay in creating the maul, or the quality of the maul is poor - the ball can be turned over. Depending on your goals decide on the number of touches you wish to allow e.g. unlimited is not a bad option as mistakes will be made! If a team has been in possession for a long time, don't forget to turn the ball over to give the opposition a run. Don't hesitate to shape the game to focus on your session goals, and let us and other coaches know what worked for you.

Split your players into two teams, giving one group of players a set of coloured bibs to set them apart, and quickly tell your players the following laws: Keep the law briefing, brief! Get your players moving as quickly as you can. Start this game with a rugby league style touch game - when touched a player can set the ball down, standing over the ball, another player moves the ball from the ground; restarting the attack. Make it a two touch turnover game to start with. Punish every mistake; forward passes, off sides, everything; be harsh. Each mistake results in a turn over. When the players get going; tell them that every touch will result in a turn over. On a turn over ball the defence must retreat 10 Meters. Be harsh; any touch and the attack lose the ball. Any law infringements; and the attack lose the ball. Referee the defense equally harshly; if they infringe; force them back 10 meters and allow the attack to continue. Change the laws as you see fit, and let us know the variations that work for you.

Passing warm up game Two teams No moving with the ball (similar to netball) Aim is to complete 10 passes If a team completes 10 passes, the other team does 10 push ups.

Set up an area of about 15 x 15m. Have 2 teams of 5+ players, with 1 one ball. The players can run anywhere in the area but can't run with the ball. The first team that get 10 passes wins a point. If the ball in intercepted or dropped then turnover. The 1st pass is after the turnover is free. Stop the game every 1 minute to stretch for 30 seconds.

Tell the players: The player in possession of the ball when the coach blows their whistle has to run around the cone at the end of the grid to try and run the full length of the grid to score a try. The player from the opposition in line with the player that is running can try to stop the player scoring by running around the cone and tagging the runner before they reach the line. For tag rugby players, provide all players with tags. In other variations decide on touch or contact, depending on how warm the players are - and your training goals. Provide coaching on the go with encouraging feedback.

Keep your player briefing; brief, and get them working as soon as possible.I can't stress this enough, it's not a debating society - players want to play. Split your players into two teams, giving each team their own set of bibs - if necessary. One team will be in attack, the other in defence. Tell the players we are going to play one touch off-load, the normal laws of rugby apply. Any forward passes etc. will result in the ball being turned over. When a player is touched, they must pass right away without delay. A delay will result in the ball being turned over. Use your own judgement here, taking into account the age and skill level of the players. Alternative: You might decide that one team will play 5 minutes in attack no matter what - and 5 minutes in defence. They have unlimited touches, you can change this depending on your training goals. Let them play - don't tell them what it's all about. Let them discover, remember this is the warm-up! Don't hesitate to change any of the above to suit your training goals/targets.