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attacking lines DRILLS
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Attacking Lines: Unders and Overs

Attackers react to the defensive line in a 3 v 2 situation If defence is compressed - overs - an outside line should be exploited. Can use two or three attackers to attack into the wide space If defence is wide - unders - a tight inside line should be hit by the middle player into the gap between two defenders.

Passing

Quick Passing To Space

Give each training area one ball and tell the players the following...... One of the attacking lines takes the ball. They simply attack, moving the ball through the hands - lateral passing only. The defenders (there will be three), mark the first three attacks, they leave the forth free. Defenders can move up and down, left and right, but must leave channel 4 open. Defender start 10 meters back. The ball must go through all four attacking hands. Don't forget to switch the attackers and defenders.

Passing

Wide Passing Lines

The two feeders should be 15 meters apart and will........ Feed the left most attacking unit with a ball, they will move forward at pace passing down the line and setting the ball down when it hits the last receiver. The first feeder will without delay pass the ball onto the right attacking unit, they will do the same as the left attacking unit, on their side of the pitch. Both attacking lines should realign and take a ball from the second feeder, before turning and working their way up the pitch, running the same exercise. Players should change their position in the line.

Sevens

Wide Passing Lines Sevens - Ru...

The two feeders should be 15 meters apart and will........ Feed the left most attacking unit with a ball, they will move forward at pace passing down the line and setting the ball down when it hits the last receiver. The first feeder will without delay pass the ball onto the right attacking unit, they will do the same as the left attacking unit, on their side of the pitch. Both attacking lines should realign and take a ball from the second feeder, before turning and working their way up the pitch, running the same exercise. Players should change their position in the line.

General

Switch Drill Passing - Rugby D...

Drill to practice inside running lines (switches) in attack.Set up a 10m x 10m square (green cones) with two attackers (blue) on one side of the square, and one defender (red) on the other side of the square on the left hand side (see diagram).The attacker with the ball runs forward, then diagonally across the square towards the diagonally opposite cone, to get the defender to chase him.The second attacker also runs forward, then switches back across the square towards where the defender has come form.The ball carrier turns towards his outside and passes to the other attacker who is running a switch. They then score over the try-line marked by the green cones.If the defender holds for the switching player, the ball carrier should continue running and score over the try-line marked by the green cones.

General

Running Lines To Break The Gai...

This drill coaches players the lines they should run when receiving the ball in order to maximise the chance of them breaking the gain line.<li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>Use a tackle bag to simulate where the ruck and offside line would be.<li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>The players line up as if they were going to come &quot;around the corner&quot; to receive the ball.<li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>Players should run an L shaped running line to get across the first defender and then footwork to get through the second defender.Progression (0.49) - Add an extra pass to the drill<li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>For the first receiver the drill is exactly the same in terms of the running line.<li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>Then there is a second player on his outside shoulder who uses the same running line to beat the second defender.<li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>The first receiver has a choice (1.19) - whether to go through the gain line and pass or pass before he gets to the gainline.What is the gain line?The gain line is an imaginary line in rugby parallel to the halfway line that is the back foot of the breakdown or the defences offsideline.

General

Attacking Lines: Unders and Ov...

Attackers react to the defensive line in a 3 v 2 situationIf defence is compressed - overs - an outside line should be exploited. Can use two or three attackers to attack into the wide spaceIf defence is wide - unders - a tight inside line should be hit by the middle player into the gap between two defenders.

General

Support Lines Decision making ...

The aim of the drill is to develop players understanding of support lines Players work in groups of 4 in attackSet up 5 defenders with pads, in a 2-2-1 formationAttackers focus on beating the defence by drawing the opposition or breaking through the pad and offloading to supporting players

General

Quick Passing To Space Sevens ...

Give each training area one ball and tell the players the following...... One of the attacking lines takes the ball. They simply attack, moving the ball through the hands - lateral passing only. The defenders (there will be three), mark the first three attacks, they leave the forth free. Defenders can move up and down, left and right, but must leave channel 4 open. Defender start 10 meters back. The ball must go through all four attacking hands. Don't forget to switch the attackers and defenders.

General

React to space and attack Back...

5 players start on a straight line of cones about 5m apart. 10m away there are 5 more cones. Two of the 5 cones are blue, and two are red, and the middle cone is orange. The player on the orange cone never defends, he always attacks and always starts with the ball in hand.The coach shouts a colour and the players who are standing on those cones must run forward and touch the cone 10m away from them. It will always be 2 defenders, but their positions will slightly vary. Once the first defending player has touched the furthest cone across from where he started the orange player can initiate attack. The orange player will have 2 supporters, one either side of him.The ball carrier should look to attack the &quot;Mid-Space&quot; i.e. the space between the 2 defenders, as hard as he possibly can. This will cause at least one of the defenders to move in towards him, and therefore open up space for the supporter.You will notice as the drill goes on, if the ball carrier runs at this space hard enough, the defenders are sometimes caught in two minds of &quot;its your man&quot; and the attacker will glide straight through the gap, but only if he is explosive from the word go!!

General

Passing Along The Line Passing...

Simple hand drill that can be progressed onto many simple backline movements. 1 ball, 4 players, area of 20-30m by 20m 1st player starts with the ball who commences the sequence by running, 2nd player run from depth and receive the ball then pass to 3rd player who will do the same to the 4th. From this point the order will reverse to get another repetition through everyone's hands so you can score at the end of the grid.

General

Depth and Quick Hands Handling...

Highlights the importance of attacking from depth and letting the ball do the work in attack.Team of four attackers versus three defenders.The teams line up opposite each other face to face.On the shout of GO, each team retreats a few yards and the ball is passed to the nearest attacking player.The attackers then quickly pass the ball along to the next teammate in the line as they step up.The defenders try to get close down the attackers.

General

Realign To Attack A Broken Def...

Three attacker start on their fronts with three defenders lying opposite them. On go the attackers backtrack and realign into an attacking line. Two defenders come up to defender with one handing back. The attackers try and beat the first two defenders and then try to beat the final defender at the back.<br><br>

General

Tri-Attack Passing - Rugby Dri...

Tell your players the following...... The first line of attackers move forward, passing the ball down the line. The entire group switches position to the right side of the grid, and attacks as a line. They then attack down the grid through the top of the grid, facing the next line of attack.

General

Diamond shape supporting lines...

This is an exercise for continuity and support for attacking play Lay out a rectangular playing area, with four attackers and minimum three defenders The attackers begin in a diamond formation, with the ball carrier at the front The defenders are then stacked in rows, one defender per row, spread out diagonally The ball carrier is tackled by the first man, and offloads to one of the two supporting attackers The receiver of the pass runs and is tackled by the next defender and they offload to one of two supporting attackers As one of the four attackers will be on the floor from a tackle, the next phase will include three attackers, who should be in an arrow formation

General

Hit The Gap Drill Decision mak...

A drill to practice decision making and finding space between defenders.Set up a line of three defenders with tackle shields (roughly 2m apart), with one defender 2/3m behind the middle defender (blue - see diagram).Roughly 5m opposite the defenders set up three attackers, one opposite the middle defender with the ball and one either side of the ball carrier (red - see diagram).When the ball carrier starts running towards the defenders the defender behind moves in to fill one of the defensive gaps. The attackers must successfully select the space and pass the ball to the player to run through the gap and score. PROGRESSION:Defenders put more pressure on attackers.All players must touch the ball. The third attacker must get through their space as a support player.The ball starts on one side instead of in the middle and players have to call whether the space is the first gap or the second gap, in which case the ball carrier should through a miss-pass.

General

2 vs 2 (out - in support line)...

This is a basic 2 v 2 drill to allow players to progress from a simple 2 v 1. In a channel no wider than 10m, 2 attackers have 5 attempts to score a try on the red cones. The attackers try to create space and beat the defenders by running good support and holding lines.

General

Quick Hands - Warm Up Warm Up ...

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.

General

Switch Over Attack Passing - R...

Drill to practice attacking organisational skillsSet up a grid roughly 20m wide and 20m long, with different coloured cones at one end and 5m away from that end (see diagram).3 defending players line up at one end (blue players between white cones) and 5m infront of them 4 attacking players line up (red players between green cones). One further defender waits at the opposite end of the grid.On the coaches command the three defending players run to the green cones and turn to defend. Meanwhile the four attacking players run to the white cones and turn to attack, receiveing the ball from the coach (grey). They are trying to score at the far end of the grid (red cones).Once the attack have beaten the defensive line the final defender may move forward off the try line (red cones) and try and defend.

General

Passing Box Passing - Rugby Dr...

Tell your players the following....... There should be one group of 4 players between each cone on the four sides of the grid. The ball carrying group will advance - passing the ball down the line. When the ball gets to the last receiver in the attacking line, they will pass the ball to the first receiver in the next attacking line. Simple as that - they should keep going. All four groups must go, in any one cycle of attacks - a cycle is 4 attacks. Progression: Add in one or two defenders, have them work from side to side - rather than closing down space and - don't forget to change the defenders into attack after some time in defence.

General

Attacking Kick On The Move Kic...

Practice short kicks while attacking forward (not standing still).The attackers are aiming to land their kick in the target area (yellow cones). Adapt the size based on their ability (e.g. senior players 5m x 5m, junior players 10m x 10m).Set up two cones (red) to simulate the area of a ruck/scrum/line out and give a defensive offside line. Two defenders (red) position themselves on the offside line opposite two attackers (blue).One attacker (1) acts a scrum half and passes the ball to the first receiver (2). The first receiver (2) catches the ball and tries to perform a chip or grubber kick into the target area . The second attacker (3) chases the kick and tries to regather it.The two defenders aim to put pressure on the kicker.Once the attack have gathered the kick they should return it to the feeder and join the back of the line to start again.PROGRESSION:Defenders to start passive and increase pressure as attackers gain confidenceStart with a chip kick and progress to grubber or vice versa.

General

Wave After Wave Passing - Rugb...

Keep your player briefing, brief! Tell the players the following or have a demonstration group..... We have 1 scrum half, 4 runners and 3 defenders with tackle/ruck shields. The scrum half starts the attacking line by passing a ball from the ground at the first cone, to the first receiver in the attacking line. The defenders start 10 meters back and press up on the first 3 attackers, leaving the 4th attacker free. The attackers use quick hands to move the ball down the line, before the next cone. The last receiver sets the ball down, the attack line will have realigned, and the scrum half will now be on the second cone of the opposite side of the grid ready to restart the attack. The defenders rush 10 meters back and and once again press up on the first 3 attackers, leaving the 4th attacker free. They keep going until the end of the grid, turn around - and do the same working down the grid. Don't forget to change the defenders.

General

Push Push 3 Sevens - Rugby Dri...

Tell the players the following...... When the attack advances the defenders PRESS UP on the attack. The attackers must pass the ball down the line, no inside passes. The defenders PUSH/DRIFT across pushing the attack towards the sideline. When the attack reaches the end of the grid, if it reaches the end - the attack turn and sets - as does the defence. The exercise restarts. This is a full contact exercise. Don't forget to switch defenders into attack.

General

4v2 attacking grid Handling - ...

Groups 18Balls ConesGroups of 4 line up on all sides of the square.2 defenders tand in the middle of the grid. The attackers start by fixing and beating the 2 defenders in the middle. Once beaten offload the ball to the next 4 attacking a differnt direction. Aim is to score as many tries as possibel in a set time.

General

The Trinity Sevens - Rugby Dri...

The exercise starts with the first attacking unit running around the bottom of the grid, as they do the first defending unit run around the top of the grid. The first defender run up to defend in line with the first cone, the second defender in line with the middle cone, and the last defender is at the end of the grid. Therefore the attack will aim to beat the 3 defenders, in three 3 v 1 situations. When the attack finishes, they pass the ball to the next attacking unit, and the exercise starts again with the new attacking and defending unit. The last two attacking and defending units, switch sides returning to starting positions, ready to go again.

General

3 vs 2 Passing - Rugby Drills,...

This is a 3 v 2 drill in favour of the attackers. On GO, the attackers and defenders run around the cones on the attacking and defensive lines. The coach passes to the middle attacking player. The receiving player then carries the ball up to the line of defenders, and will have an attacking runner either side of them. Depending on the position of the defenders, the attacker with the ball will then have to make a decision to pass left or right. The attackers aim is to make it past the defending line.

General

attacking lines ANSWERS
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where can I get an under 8 year program of training?

where can I get an under 8 year program of training or activities to introduce them to the game of Rugby?

Archived User Coach

Post lineout rules. Defending maul.

Hi, I have an enquiry about the post lineout rules. A lineout jumper successfully catches the ball, returns to the ground and precceds to maul. The defending team has three options to put (1)leverage against with defending maul, to (2) attack the main front men of the maul but also I heard on this weekends commentary there is a (3)dragging down. When the lineout jumper is returning to the ground it seems the defending team can hold the jumper as long as no pressure is excerted and when they hit the floor the defending team can tackle him (drag him to the ground) stopping the maul. Is this right and if so are there further rules governing this that i cannot yet find? I have read the IRB 2009 laws but still i have no answer. Many Thanks

Archived User Coach

How can i learn and understand strategy of my possition?

How can i learn and understand strategy of my possition. I/m playing at possition 10. Is there any literature to read about?

Archived User Coach

how do you become better at running lines and angles?

how do you become better at running lines and angles when attacking with the ball in rugby

Archived User Coach

Hi, I'm required to coach the tight 5 to right wheel?

Hi, I'm required to coach the tight 5 to right wheel a scrum - yes, it's for an exam. I have researched it - including talking to forwards - and all of the sparse info out there describes unlawful techniques. I can make a stab at almost anything apart from this 'black art' as I have no references to use. Help!

Archived User Coach

U10s organisation in defence. ...

I have started an under 10s team up, and I would say about 8 from the 13 children I have , did not play rugby until about 6 months ago. Of these players, there seems to be a lot of potential, as we are scoring tries against teams, that very rarely concede tries.the problem I got with them, is that we are very poor at organising our selves in defense when the opposition has the ball, which does result in us conceding quite a few tries. We have some very good tacklers in the team. Can anyone offer some ideas on how I can get them to organise themselves? Thanks . Chris.

christopher jenkins Coach, Wales

Attacking scrum - what back li...

Any "simple" attacking moves from a scrum that you can recommend for a U15s XV side. Looking to get them to think about how the back line would would set up and have different options from a) center field and b) tight left or right all at the half way mark.

Dave Greenwood Coach, England

Position discipline! | Sportpl...

I am a coach with an under 10 rugby side. Last season the team found it hard to stay in their positions (acting like a swarm of bees). Can anyone suggest how i can get them to stay in positions, particulary our backs.

Lindsay james Coach, England

How can I improve my team's li...

How can I improve my team's line speed in defence? Are there any drills which can help me?

michael klieve Coach, England

how to keep a defensive line f...

i currently help out with the coaching of the u7+u8 tag rugby but we are struggling to keep a defensive line can have anybody got any drills

jason halse Coach, Wales

Openside flanker position afte...

My coach has put me at openside flanker and I'm confused of where i should be after the scrum. Should I be attacking the opposing scrum half or just trailing behind the backs waiting to clean up/ form a ruck? It would be great to know what I'm doing !

Archived User Coach

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