Rugby: round the corner

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

Cones Ball 3 channels of different widths are lined up next to eachother 3 attackers and 2 defender run around opposing cones before attacking each other. Defenders must put pressure on but be passive as will ruin the drill if they disrupt the play. Running around the corner will encourage the attackers to realign, and adapt to the different space requirements.

Players work in groups of six, with 1 ball per group and set up in the following way: 4 attackers vs 1 defender (between the first cones) and another defender between the second set of cones. Defenders can only move sideways in an attempt to stop the attackers getting through the area.

This game is designed to teach the players about retiring to an onside position when a tackle is made. Set-up a field approximately 10m wide and 15 m long. Place all the rugby balls at one end. Split the players into 2 teams and send them to opposite ends of the field. The attackers are the players with the ball and the defenders without. Explain to the players with the ball and defenders without. Explain to the players that the attackers are to try and get the ball to the defenders line to score a try. The defenders are to try and stop them. After a successful tackle both the defender and the attacker must return to their line by running out and around the corner marker. To begin with few attackers will get the ball over the line, however, as the players start to rounding the markers - more space opens up and defenders become less organized.

Groups 10+ Balls Cones Sausages. 1. Chanel Fix Groups of 5. Attack sausages lined up one behind eachother. They must use footwork to step to a side of the sausage and then give a pass before running into/past it. 2. Passing Grid - Static Defenders Normal 3 man passing grid, however with sausages placed in the middle. Players run forward use footwork to beat the bag and give the pass back inside. (pass before the sausage). 3. Passing Grid - Moving defenders. Same as above but instead of sausages, use moving defenders with bags. 4. Passing Grid - Starting on corners. Groups of 4 start on each corner with 2 defenders in the middle. The attacking line must get around the corner and square up to beat the 2 defenders. At other end give to next group and start again. Continuous. 5. Final Game Groups of 3 on all sides of the grid, with 2 defenders in the middle. Continuous drill to score as many tries as possibel in 1 min. Focus on all skills above.

To vary the exercise, you can call out 1 and 2. This means that 2 players come from the ball carrier side and one from the other side. To change again, you can get one player from ball carrier side and 2 from the opposite cone.

Start out with a grid of 10 x 10 Passing progressions are based upon the ability of players to fix defenders - ensure the exercise reflects match situations Start with three groups of three or four, each on a corner of the square leaving one corner free Players need to come around the corner, bending their runs before straightening up before popping the ball off to the next group The ball needs to travel through hands of all the players in the group

Set up a rectangle (roughly 5m x 2m) with three attackers (blue) and three defenders (red) on opposite sides. The attacker in the middle has the ball and runs towards one of the gaps between the three defenders. The middle defender makes the tackle, with the assistance of the defender on the side towards which the attacker ran. The attacker who has been tackled presents the ball back towards the attackers. After the tackle the two defenders involved get back to their feet to contest the ruck against the other two attackers. The third defender works round to the far side of the ruck from them, to simulate defending round the corner after a ruck

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. Use a tackle bag to simulate where the ruck and offside line would be. The players line up as if they were going to come "around the corner" to receive the ball. 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 For the first receiver the drill is exactly the same in terms of the running line. Then there is a second player on his outside shoulder who uses the same running line to beat the second defender. 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.

The aim of the drill is to develop kickers side on round the corner kick.

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

Tell your players the following...... There will be one ball to each group, any player can be the ball carrier. On GO, the group moves towards the closest cone.At the cone, the players spread out and attack the line at pace and with width. They should realign following the attack left, to attack again right. When the second groups sees the first group complete their first set of passes, they should begin without waiting.

Groups 10+ Balls Cones Sausages.1. Chanel Fix Groups of 5. Attack sausages lined up one behind eachother. They must use footwork to step to a side of the sausage and then give a pass before running into/past it.2. Passing Grid - Static Defenders Normal 3 man passing grid, however with sausages placed in the middle.Players run forward use footwork to beat the bag and give the pass back inside. (pass before the sausage).3. Passing Grid - Moving defenders. Same as above but instead of sausages, use moving defenders with bags.4. Passing Grid - Starting on corners.Groups of 4 start on each corner with 2 defenders in the middle. The attacking line must get around the corner and square up to beat the 2 defenders. At other end give to next group and start again. Continuous. 5. Final Game Groups of 3 on all sides of the grid, with 2 defenders in the middle.Continuous drill to score as many tries as possibel in 1 min. Focus on all skills above.

Groups 10+ Balls Cones Sausages.1. Chanel Fix Groups of 5. Attack sausages lined up one behind eachother. They must use footwork to step to a side of the sausage and then give a pass before running into/past it.2. Passing Grid - Static Defenders Normal 3 man passing grid, however with sausages placed in the middle.Players run forward use footwork to beat the bag and give the pass back inside. (pass before the sausage).3. Passing Grid - Moving defenders. Same as above but instead of sausages, use moving defenders with bags.4. Passing Grid - Starting on corners.Groups of 4 start on each corner with 2 defenders in the middle. The attacking line must get around the corner and square up to beat the 2 defenders. At other end give to next group and start again. Continuous. 5. Final Game Groups of 3 on all sides of the grid, with 2 defenders in the middle.Continuous drill to score as many tries as possibel in 1 min. Focus on all skills above.

Set up a rectangle (roughly 5m x 2m) with three attackers (blue) and three defenders (red) on opposite sides.The attacker in the middle has the ball and runs towards one of the gaps between the three defenders. The middle defender makes the tackle, with the assistance of the defender on the side towards which the attacker ran. The attacker who has been tackled presents the ball back towards the attackers. After the tackle the two defenders involved get back to their feet to contest the ruck against the other two attackers. The third defender works round to the far side of the ruck from them, to simulate defending round the corner after a ruck

Tell your players the following..... The first player picks the ball up at the cone passes the ball to the next player, they then run around the back to receive the ball from the last player who puts the ball down by the cone and picks it up and stars the passing again. Each player runs around the back to the next side of the grid to receive and pass the ball on. The players attack all the sides of the grid. Players loop around the back, not in front of the attack.

<li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>1 vs 1 in a small pitch<li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>All players line up on the same line on one side of the pitch in the middle.<li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>On the coaches signal, a player with a ball goes around a cone in one corner and another player goes around the other corner of the same sideline. <li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>Then it is a simple 1 vs 1 with the player with the ball using footwork to beat the defender.<li dir=&quot;ltr&quot;>You can vary the level of contact at your discretion.

Set up a wide pitch, with cones on the half way line plus an extra box on two opposite corners. These corner boxes are the prisons for tackled/tagged players.The aim of the game is for players to run into the opposing team's area and grab a ball to bring back into their ball area in their half.However, if a player is tackled/tagged while in the other team's half they must go and stand in the prison square.Players can be released from prison by being tagged by a team-mate. Once released they must walk around the outside of the pitch back to their own half before rejoining the game.

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. Break your players into two teams, giving each team their own colour of bibs if necessary. One team goes to attack, and one to defense. Nominate a Scrum Half for each team. 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 go to ground, present the ball, two of their teammates ruck over (staying over the ball), and the Scrum Half moves the ball for the next phase of attack.The defence must commit three players to every ruck, or risk an infringement which will see tem pushed back ten meters. The ball must be moved from the ruck within 5 seconds. Make sure that the defense is employing your defensive pattern around the ruck.  Throughout the game the coach call the point of attack e,g, attack RED ZONE or Zone 2. The coach can also call the scoring zone, Score At Zone Yellow or Zone 3. As the game progresses have the players call the point of attack, and the scoring zones - but they must do this early and they must committ to that attack for a period of time. Have attacking players do what they normally would at the ruck. 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! On a mistake or after a period of time, turn the ball over so that both teams get time in attack and defence. Don't hesitate to shape the game to focus on your session goals, and let us and other coaches know what worked for you!

1) Run out to a cone - round cone back to the team 2) Run out to a different cone but back to your own team. 3) Dribble ball with your feet up to the line - dive on ball - pick up ball and run back.

In fours, each group with a ball. On front players' command, all players fan out to receive a pass. No one is to cross the grid line - stay within touch line - preserve the space. Now move to next corner and move round grid. Progression: 1) Go clockwise and anticlockwise. 2) First player who passes ball then defends the try line. All other players must draw defender towards them before releasing pass. 3) First player goes for 2 handed touch on ball carrier shorts. 4) Change order so that another player defends.

The attacker goes when ready, and must round either the top or bottom cone. The defender must mirror the movements of the attacker on the opposite side. They then compete in a 1 v 1, the attacker looking to score, and the defender seeking to stop them. This is full contact. When the first two have finished, the next attacker should go right away, followed by the defender. Swap the attackers and the defenders around when you feel it appropriate.

Tell your players the following...... The first attacking unit will go, at the same time 2 of the defenders will round the top of the grid and defend. It is effectively a 3 v 2 situation. When the attack is complete the defence should return to their starting position behind the next group of defenders. The attackers should also return to their starting position, behind the next attack. The next attack and defence should now go. This activity should be at pace, and it is full contact. Don't forget to change the defenders with attackers.

Start out with a grid of 10 x 10Passing progressions are based upon the ability of players to fix defenders - ensure the exercise reflects match situationsStart with three groups of three or four, each on a corner of the square leaving one corner freePlayers need to come around the corner, bending their runs before straightening up before popping the ball off to the next groupThe ball needs to travel through hands of all the players in the group

Drill to practice attacking from different positions.Set up a grid roughly 20m wide and 15m long with three defenders (yellow) and four attackers (blue). Within the grid place a number of different coloured cones.The attack start with the ball and the coach will shout the colour of a cone, the attack must touch the ball on that cone before they can attack. Once the attack have touched the ball on the cone the defence can start to defend.PROGRESSION:To start with the defence can only move laterally along the try line, then are allowed to move off the try line.

Players line up at least 2 or 3 behind a cone. The ball starts at one end with the player running up to the cone in front of him and passing to the next player waiting on the cone. As a player has passed he must quickly run around the grid and fall back into position. The Ball is constantly within the grid moving from right to left.

Give each training area one ball to start with and tell the players the following...... Lets just get the ball moving down the line. Give the player at the start of one of the lines a ball, tell the line to advance using lateral passing - with the last player in each line passing the ball to the first player in the opposite line. Players should change positions in the line following each attack. Focus on the coaching points - the drill is only a means to an end. When you feel that the players are executing the short pass to your satisfaction - add in more pressure by having two opposite lines run at once.

The players in their groups of 3 stand between the lines of the inner square with the working group stood inside the other players. The first group of 3 begins by running across the grid passing the ball. When they reach the centre the ball is put down an they then run at the players with the pads (on their left) each pushing their player to the outer square. The players then swap. The pad players run across to the tackle bags and push and tackle the bags to the outer square. Players swap again now the new 3 players (third group) run to the ball pick it up and take the ball turn right to face the 3 players on the 12 o'clock side of the square and run into contact for the ball carrier to present the ball. This ball is then picked up by the 3 players being pushed back and the drill starts again. Keep the tempo of this exercise high. <em>Note:</em> You can change the position of each activity within the training area - but that will impact on the instructions to coaches. Players can basically go in any direction, but they do need to communicate and work as a unit. Don't get to hung up on where players should be going, or in what order.

Set-up a 10 meter grid with a player on each corner. Player 1 starts with the ball. Player 1 passes the ball to player 2 and then quickly moves off their cone and runs to the cone where player 2 is and back to their cone. Player 2 then passes to player 3, follows the pass to the position of player 3 and back to their starting position. The aim is to for the players to be back in their starting position before the ball returns back.

Players in pairs with a ball between them. The player on the left starts with the ball and passes the ball to the player to the right. The player with the ball then runs diagonally across the grid to the next cone while the player without the ball crosses over behind the ball carrier, ready to receive the ball at the next cone. They continue passing left to right and crossing over in each grid until they reach the end. Once at the end they run back to the start to the right of the grid, practising the same skill on the way back but without cones to guide them.

Split the group into two teams. One player from each team goes to the oppositions end and starts in the end zone. The aim of the game is for each team to kick a grubber kick through to their team mate the other end of the grid in the end zone. When a ball gets through to a player in the end zone the player that kicks the ball goes to join them. The winner is the first team to get all their players in the end zone.

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 BPlayer B - Player CPlayer D - Player BPlayer B - Player DPlayer C - Player BPlayer B - Player APlayer D - Player BPlayer B - Player DThe 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.

Groups of 10+ Balls Bibs Cones 4 player with a 1 ball must run around trying to touch the other players without a ball.If tagged the player must stand like a scarecrow still. The other players must try and rescue him by running under his arms or going through his legs. The tagger wins if all other players are stuck.

Set up a wide pitch, with cones on the half way line plus an extra box on two opposite corners. These corner boxes are the prisons for tackled/tagged players.The aim of the game is for players to run into the opposing team's area and grab a ball to bring back into their ball area in their half.However, if a player is tackled/tagged while in the other team's half they must go and stand in the prison square.Players can be released from prison by being tagged by a team-mate. Once released they must walk around the outside of the pitch back to their own half before rejoining the game.

The aim of the drill is to develop the spiral kick.

The aim of this game is to increase player defence and decision making. Set up a field about 15m long by 10m wide. Keep it narrow to give he defenders a better chance at catching the runners. Tell all the players to line up at one end facing back down the playing field. Choose 2 players to stand in the middle and tell them they are the defenders who have to tag any runners before they reach the other side. Explain to the runners they have to run from one end to the other without getting tagged by the defenders. If a runner gets tagged they must stop exactly where they were tagged and stand on that spot. They are called octopuses and cannot move until the game is finished. The octopuses can, however, tag runners if the come close enough to reach. This continues until there are no more runners and the last runner wins. The key is to make sure the octopuses stand still while trying to tag runners.<div id=miniAd>R1</div>

Partners Work in 1 min setsThis game is to increace heart rate, reaction times and footwork. The aim of the game is to tap/slap either the soulder, knee, or foot of your partner. Shoulder - 2 points Knee - 3 pointsFoot - 5 pointsGood for contact warm up - essential to stay light on feet, and foot in close (2 skills you work on in tackling)