Rugby: no 8 pick and go

Any tips / drills as to what rest of team can do to support so No 8 doesn't charge ahead and get isolated.

My fowards seem afraid to ruck and stand around the ruck while in the way of the scrum half trying to get the ball out to the backs. They also don't support the ball carrier while he is being tackled. Please help me with any suggestions!!!

I have just started helping our head coach with under12's team. He wants to retire and has put me forward to be head coach next season. I am a little worried on how i should aproach training with the boys, going to a full 15 a side team on a full pitch. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

rugby forwards , pick and go from rug

My forwards constantly pick and go from the rucks in games and this is starving the backs from any ball. Is there anything I can do, drills etc, which would help them realise there is a time and a place for pick and go, but to do it every time narrows the game and it becomes ineffective and not good teamwork.

As well as coaching U10 rugby, I also get to referee U10 games, under the New Rules Of Play. I feel that my refereeing of the ruck isn't as good as it could/should be. Has anyone got an easy to follow system to help them referee U10 rucks ?

Is it legal for a flanker to unbind and pick up the ball from a scrum if the ball comes to his channel?

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.

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 !

Positional rotation at U9 level... I originally posted this as answer to a question about squad rotation, but thought I might get a better response if I posted it as a question in its own right... I have an 8 year old at the age level you are talking about - he isn't the best player at the club by any means, but has his good moments. He loves watching the game, he has a good understanding of the way it is played (to the extent that he has often shouted at the telly over recent weeks at some of our illustrious stars when they're out of position) and he has good handling skills - to be honest he's just not brave enough in the tackle yet, but I know it'll come so I'm not making a big thing of it. However, he and a couple of others are constantly stuck on the wing, and are getting fed up with the fact that they don't get the opportunity to get involved much. The coaches seem to have their "big names" and as you say seem more interested in the short term aims of winning each game rather than trying to keep the lads interested and challenged each week. I know my son's aware that I think they should move them all around, although I have made a point of not criticising the coaches at all - I think he heard me talking about it to someone else. The coaches have talked about moving players to different positions, but haven't done it, and aren't really receptive when they are asked about it. There are two coaches, and the one that seems to have the "casting vote" is pretty autocratic and doesn't seem to accept criticism or suggestions. My son has mentioned about moving to another club, where he may or may not get more of a chance to shine, but I am not sure this is the right move as it may teach him to give up rather than sticking with something. Any thoughts please?

I need ideas for fun team building activities and any fun games to help towards team building. Has anyone got any ideas on what to do? Anything to spice up rugby training sessions in the dark, cold winter nights.

My sons plays for the U9 team, his position is number ten, he was put there due to his kicking power, drop kicking accuracy, etc - I have been teaching him over time to tackle this has helped him build his confidence - what I have been noticing is the fact that when he gets the ball, he wont run - he just refuses to do anything with it...I need to find a way to encourage him the move forward with it, but nothing ever happens, now his own team mates are starting to look down at him, since he has giving the game away far to many time. Help!

Getting quite frustrated that my u10's are not using the space on the pitch and tend to bunch up. Despite various drills and game scenarios to force them to spread out and pass to someone in space they revert in any game to bunching up around the ball and taking it back into the thick of the opposition rather than looking left or right! Any ideas how to change their ways?

Hi there, I was wondering thoughts on forward positions at the kickoff. Do you have the catchers deep so the are coming forward to meet the ball or have one deep and one short? For the pods do you have a "quick" pod made up of all three loosies and a lock and a "slow" pod made up of the front row and the lock or do you split them in two pods made up of a prop, a lock and two loosies and the other pod of a prop, a lock, the hooker and a loosie? Who would you tell to be the ball carrier, body movers and bridger? All thoughts welcome. CheersDave

What would be the likely outcome of a scrum fed from the thrower's tighthead side? Who would more likely win possession and what quality of possession could be expected? What if the law was that most scrums were required to be fed from the thrower's tighthead with the non offender determining who was to feed? The remainder, such as penalty scrums, would stay as is. Could this encourage a more constructive approach to scrummaging?

Tackling nerves - I coach 10 year old boys. Some are very nervous about being hurt when tackling opponents although the same guys are like lions with the ball in hand. As a result our defence suffers. We have tried hammering home the correct technique to give confidence but to no avail. Can anyone suggest any psychology or drills I might try?

an RFU directive states that coaches should not hold pads/shields for juniors to run into during sessions, or even juniors holding pads for each other!!! I notice a lot of drills utilise pads as this was something we always used when I trained years ago! I personally think they are a good thing (especially since some of the juniors I coach are 'not small'!) BUT wondered what the general thoughts were out there in SportPlan world....

What drills would anybody reccomend to encourage forward running in an u8s side,whilst keeping it fun?Some players tend to crab along the pitch.

Offside confusion - I have been coaching mini rugby in Scotland for just over a year and had just got used to the idea that the ball is the off side line. Now under the new SRU law variations it is the same as the adult game. Can someone assist with the follwing scenario - A defender comes forward to tackle the ball carrier. The ball carrier side steps the defender and carries on going forward. The defender turns to give chase only to find that the ball carrier has passed the ball backwards across his path in attempt to reach his team-mates. If the defender catches the ball is he off-side? Would the answer to this question change if the defender was on the right side of the ball at the time the interception was made even though he was beyond the ball carrier at the time which the pass was made?

I coach under 9`s rugby and a lot of the kids have a bad fear of tackling, they lack the confidence to get stuck in. What is the best thing to help them overcome this?