Search: Fending

Match Related Drills

The fun and challenging rugby drills and games in this category below recreate realistic attacking and defending scenarios, similar to those your play...

Sevens Drills

The Sevens drills below to sharpen your players' rugby skills such as quick hands, speed evasion and passing under pressure before moving on to develo...

Tackling Drills

All players need to be able to tackle. Tackling is how a player physically stops an opponent from moving forward with the ball. It's a vital aspect of...

1 Vs 2

category: Handling

• The aim of the drill is to develop ball carrying in a contact zone.

2 V 1 Around The Corner

category: Decision-making

• The aim of the drill is to develop handling in a short space.

2 Vs 2 Linebreak Scenario

category: Agility-Running-Skills

Here we are re-creating a 2 vs 2 scenario which we might find on the field. The aim is to put players under the same conditions which they would po...

3 Touch Kick

category: Warm-Up

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 followin...

3 V 2 Positioning

category: Decision-making

• The aim of the drill is to develop handling in a short space.

3 V 2 Positioning

category: Decision-making

• The aim of the drill is to develop handling in a short space.

3 Vs 2 Reload

category: Decision-making

• The aim of the drill is to develop players reload speed and positioning.

Alignment - Running As A Group

category: Agility-Running-Skills

Working in groups of up to 4, players spaced approximately 4-5 metres apart.

Players jog to the 1st cone then jog backwards to the start line...

Another Defender Bites The Dust

category: Warm-Up

• Normal laws of rugby apply; a knock on etc. results in a turn over.
• The attacking team gets unlimited touches.
• A player is ...

Contact Zones

category: Ruck-Clear-Out

Set up:

8 defending players Tackle Suits, one ball carrier and four support players.

Corner Line Tag

category: Tag-Rugby

The aim is that when the coach signals the start the defending players will spread across to the other side of the field quickly and defend the ent...

Defence - Swimming In Twos

category: Defensive-Patterns

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, ens...

Defending In Threes

category: Backs-Moves

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.

Defending In Threes

category: Defensive-Patterns

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.

Defending In Threes

category: Ruck

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.

Defense, Drift And Blitz

category: School

• Excellent drill to put defenders in game situations and having to make decisions.
• Defenders go from defending one side into t...

Fending Off - Strong Hands

category: Off-Loads

Line of defenders - 5m apart in staggered formation tackle shield.
Individual players move down the line, fend off each tackle in turn - righ...

Flat Defence

category: Defensive-Patterns

Players line up together along the line of the 1st set of cones.

On the signal of the coach all the players advance to the 3rd set of cones ...

Kicking Switch

category: Passing

3 grids: 10x30

Number of players: (up to 14)

Number of balls: start with 2 (add balls depending on age and ability of players).

<...

Offloading Touch Game.

category: School

• Develops lines of support, vision, footwork and offloading.
• If a player is touched, he must go to the floor and off load.&nbs...

Pressure Ball

category: Warm-Up

Make sure your warm-up area is marked out before the players arrive.

• Depending on the number of players you have at training, mark out...

Ram Raid

category: Maul

This game is designed to teach the players to work together to drive a maul forward and keep control of the ball.

• Set Up a field appro...

React To Space And Attack

category: Backs-Moves

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 ...

Ruck - Coming Through The Gate 1.

category: Ruck

4 blue players must try and defend with shields two gates from the attacking red team.

The ball carrying player must meet the defending play...

Ruck, Ruck, And Ruck Again

category: Sevens

Tell your players the following.....

1. Both the pad and attacking units will jog within the grid, the players in the attacking units don...

Rugby Gaelic Football

category: Sevens

Tell the players the following laws.......

1. One team will be attacking, the ball carrying team. The other will be a defending team.

Space Invaders

category: Warm-Up

Keep your playing briefing, brief and tell the players the following laws.

• Both teams are in attack and both teams are in defence, at ...

Structure Defence

category: Defensive-Patterns

5 attackers - 10 defenders (or 2 to 1 ratio dependent on numbers)

Start slowly with ruck ball

Defenders cannot steal ball

Tackle Practice

category: Tackling

Teams of 3 one team with ball.

Start with both teams on their own goal line.
Team with ball attempts to score
Defending team allowed...

The Trinity

category: Sevens

• 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 t...

Waterfall Attack

category: Match-Related

The drill starts with 2 attackers in blue, standing behind one another, 5m from the 1st defender/attacker in red.

1. The blue players att...

Zoom - Cruse - Zoom

category: Sevens

• It's important that the defence does the following......

1. They have numbers, so press up fast but.....
2. Slow down ...

Shotgun fends and the art of the handoff

The Big Don't Argue. The game of rugby presents a myriad of ways to beat a defending player -- sidestep past them, swerve around them or kick over the...

Rugby coach evasion 3 - fend off

rugby coaching.

How to cope Pressure

Defence System Blitz/Drift

. What actions are available to the referee?

1v1 side defence drill ideas

Dropped catches from kicks at U11

(U11 Rugby) - How to referee the 'big lad'

How many tacklers are allowed in U10s rugby?

Interpretation of the maul - for U10s?

Over confident players not offloading

Looking for day 0 skills to teach children?

Phase Play and Continuity

Continue your play and get your team working as an unit, with this session!

Edge play and Defence Organisation

Get your defence organised with this session, making sure your players are communicating with one another

Defensive Skills: Contest Possession

Improve your side’s defensive skills with this session, applying pressure on the opposition

Second line of defence - Sweeper system

Introduce the sweeper system to protect your rugby team's defence from opportunistic high ball and save your team time and energy - while also forcing...

Defensive Line Speed, Organisation and Ruck Defence

Improve your team's understanding and performance when defending at the ruck - teaching them to defend as an aggressive, loud and confident unit

Decision Making and Recognising Space

Find and exploit the space! Teach your players to look up, make the right decisions to find the space and avoid the contact!

Man-Marking - Defensive Alignment

Practice defending against overlapping players and get your back line communicating, taking responsibility for their man

Starting to coach the Drift Defence

Teach your players how to defend when they're on the receiving end of an overload and get them drifting like a pro!

Passing Drills 3Defending Drill

Players get into pairs10 by 10m cones are set up into a square The players start at opposite cones (one player has a ball) they then run to the centre...

Kicking

StrategiesRed zone Not as a first option.-Kick high to the wing as variety. -Chip or grubber if there is a >50 chance of scoring.Orange zone Kick, not...

3 on 2

set up the areatheres an attacking and defending teamteams line up behind each otheron whistle 3 attackers run down toward their cones going around th...

Session Part Three: Conditioning Game

Tag Game -Each team 7/8mins each defending(a) Defenders have to run back to try line and touch before rejoining gameProgression(b) Defenders have to r...

Modified Game Week 2

Red team is the attacking team and blue team is defending. The red players (attackers) will be seperated into groups of 2 and will be given a ball. On...

Modified Game Week 3

Red team is the attacking team and blue team is defending. The red players (attackers) will be seperated into groups of 3 and will be given a ball. Tw...

Modified Game Week 4

Red team is the attacking team and blue team is defending. The red players (attackers) will be seperated into groups of 3 and will be given a ball. Tw...

The Gauntlet

Set up a channel 5m wide by 15 m long.Place balls along both sides of the “Gauntlet”.Start with 1 or 2 player around the side of the “Gauntlet”On the ...

Raffut

Split into groups of four with one group the attack and the other the defence. Give each attacker a ball and he has to run across the box, fending off...

3 on 2 Defending

Three people will be lined up behind cones with one person holding a ball. Two other people will be standing about 10m infornt of them, these people a...