Rugby: counterattack

Player X kicks to receivers A, B & C, while players Y & Z chase the kick followed by X.Players A, B & C counter attack, first beating players Y & Z and finally X.Rotateattackers and defenders and repeat.

Tell your players to do the following....... The two passing players keep passing the ball until the coach shouts GO. On GO, the player holding the ball is an attacker, the other two attackers will go with that players. The remaining passer becomes a defender, and will join the defence with the two defenders at the bottom of the grid. On GO - the attack begins, and the defence should try and stop them. The attack aims to score a try at the bottom of the grid. Following each attack the players should return to their positions, but should swap around. You might decide to start this as a touch exercise, then go to contact.

Player X kicks to receivers A, B & C, while players Y & Z chase the kick followed by X.Players A, B & C counter attack, first beating players Y & Z and finally X.Rotate<BR>attackers and defenders and repeat.

2 defenders work together to force 5 players to pass and work them towards touch.The golden rule is for them to keep their spacing even, ensure that the inside defender covers the outside defenders inside, and that they do not rush up to commit to the tackle, but hover across and &quot;swim&quot; past the passer to reach the next and the next attacker. If an attacker draws and passes so well that he then tries to block the defender, he needs to work hard and swim across that blocker to return to his defending role.

8 players are lined up just outside the 22 metre line, with 3 defenders starting under the posts with the ball. One of the defenders kicks the ball towards the 22 metre line. Once they the attackers have caught the ball they have to try and score a try without being tagged/ tackled by the defence. Allow the attacking team 5 minutes to score as many tries as they can, before changing attack and defence around.

Coned area 30 metres by 30 metres with two teams of players on one side Coach kicks the ball is kicked into the the grid. 2 different numbers are called with the 1st number being for the number of attackers and the 2nd the number of defenders The attackers have to field the ball, turn and counter attack against the defenders

Keep your playing briefing, brief and tell the players the following laws. Both teams are in attack and both teams are in defence, at the same time! It is up to you how many players you allocate to your attack and how many you allocate to your defence. If you are touched while carrying the ball (decide if the touch is one handed or two handed), you and your entire team must return to your red zone before being able to restart your attack. While your team is returning to your own zone - you cannot defend the neutral zone and any touches in there will not count. If your team makes a mistake e.g. a dropped ball or forward pass. Your entire team must return to your own red zone, not defending the neutral zone as you retreat. The winning team is the team that invades the oppositions space and scores a try, just outside the grid, first. There is no offside in defence. There is no kicking.

Coach gives orders and the players do it. Example include: coach says do a press-up, coach says touch the groud with your right hand, coach says jump up and clap your hands, coach says pass the ball, coach says jog on the spot. You might have youngers players who don't do as they are told quick enough - be out of the game. But keep it fun!

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.

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.

Make sure that your players are holding their tackle shields correctly! Have your players work in groups of 10, adjust depending on your own training goals. Have more than one activity area in order to keep your players moving, standing around watching is not training. If you find that you don't have enough equipment, then have the other groups undertake a different activity. Keep your activity briefing, brief. Give 8 players a tackle shield each, they should form a circle, with around a meter of space (or less) between shields. 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 provide close support. On being given the ball the new ball carrier has to run into contact with another player holding a shield, the previous ball carrier is now the support player. The two players in the middle must operate at a high tempo for a preset period of time as defined by the coach. Players can rip and roll, provide and take a pop, provide and take a pass, fall and present, fall and pop, and drive and present on their hip. Contact should last no more than three seconds, keep the tempo high! Change the players in the middle of the circle.

The following are the laws for this game: Equal number of defenders and attackers. Use bibs to identify both teams. Normal laws of rugby apply; a knock on etc. results in a turn over. The attacking team gets 8 touches before the ball has to be turned over. Change this to suit your training goals. When an attacker is touched they: stop running, turn and present the ball to a support player who wait for the entire defence to gather in around the defender that made the touch. Following a touch all defenders must gather in and be connected by touching another defender. Only when the support player passes the ball out can the defence restart the game. If the defence goes offside or operates illegally, the attack gains 10 meters. If the defence does not get in quickly, the attack can gain 10 meters. Judge this depending on your player's fitness. There is no kicking.

The players stood behind the line work the ball up through the channel in groups of 5. As they progress up the area they work the ball left and right. Defenders are placed on cones which have been given a number. As the group work their way up the channel the coach could call <em>1</em>. At this point one player from cone <em>1</em> runs out to defend. If a call of <em>1</em>, <em>2</em> is made then one player from cone <em>1</em> and <em>2</em> come out to defend. A call of <em>2</em>,<em>2</em> means two players from cone 2 come out to defend and so on... The diagram shows a call of <em>4, 1.</em>

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.

Set up a running slalom for your players to run through at the end of their training. It should be approximately 10 by 5m in size.Slalom through the blue conesFrom the final blue cone players run backwards to the 1st red coneThen run forward out to the next red cone, then backwards again (repeat pattern until final red cone)Quick turn around the final red cone and then <em>sprint</em> to the end of the courseJog back to the start line and repeat.

players start ontop of eachother.the guy ontop is trying to stop the boy on the bottom gettign up wrestle and by no means let the player on the floor up.

Put a group of 7 inside inside one of your grids. Tell them the following laws: The player not wearing a bib (the runner) is trying stay away from the ball - because if you touch that player with the ball they have to do 10 press-ups etc. (amend depending of players age etc.). Give one of the 3 man teams the ball; the hunters, it's their job to pass the ball to each other hunting the runner, trying to touch the runner with the ball. The other team of three is there to try and intercept the ball as it is passed between the hunters (they are interceptors). Ball carriers can run with the ball. The ball cannot be thrown at the runner. Passes can be in any direction. If the ball is intercepted by the other team, they now hunt the runner and the opposing team has to try and intercept the ball to get it back. Don't forget to change the runner by swapping them with a member of of the two teams in the grid. If a team has been good at keeping the ball, swap the ball over when you feel the time is right. If the ball is dropped or a pass goes outside the grid, it's turned over to the other team who then become the hunters. The team trying to intercept cannot push or have any contact with the hunters (ball carriers). <em>Law Change:</em> After a little time you can change the law to: the ball carrier cannot move with the ball or the ball carrier only take 2/3 steps upon catching the ball.

They pass the ball around either clock wise or anti clock wise, you can decide to change the direction youself at any point during the exercise. After the player passes the ball they have to follow their pass, touching the cone of the player they passed to - then get back to their cone before receiving the next pass. The tempo of this exercise should be high.

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.

2 teams  Bibs  Balls  One team must try and complete 10 passes in a small grid.  When the player has the ball in his hand he cannot move, the other team must try to intercept the ball to stop them completing 10 passes.  Defending team must stand 1 metre away from ball carrier. If the ball is dropped or intercepted its a turn over.  If a team knock the ball down its a knock on and the same attacking team keep the ball. 

Set up: <span style=&quot;background-color: transparent;&quot;>Set up the cones as shown with a cone 10 meters each side of the posts on the try line. This will mark where the ball will be passed from (feeder) preferably from a scrum half.<span style=&quot;background-color: transparent;&quot;>Divide the group into 4 and ask them to stand in single file behind each cone, 3 attacking groups, 1 defending group.<span style=&quot;background-color: transparent;&quot;>The ball is fed from a position on the try line (10 meters from the post). <span style=&quot;background-color: transparent;&quot;>The players on the staggered cones opposite the posts will catch and pass the ball using the correct technique.<span style=&quot;background-color: transparent;&quot;>The player on the defending cone will move forward once the scrum half passes the ball to apply pressure on the middle attacking player.<span style=&quot;background-color: transparent;&quot;>The players on the middle cone will receive the ball with a live defender in front of them.<span style=&quot;background-color: transparent;&quot;>The 3rd receiving player needs to receive the ball at pace and run as close to the outside post as possible.