Sportplan rugby has played a large role in my team's love for the game!
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!!!
What is an umberella defensive system? also I would like some tips on offloading and poaching the ball after making a tackle?
positional skill - how can i improve a props defence / decision making off the side of a ruck / maul?
unit skill - how can i develop play from a catch and drive 2 a line out
Ask a question and have it answered by Coaches from around the world and IRB Educators.
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.
I'm coaching and reffing U11 rugby and one of my players is the definitive 'big lad'. His 'strength' is his size and his power, but last weekend he didn't seem to get reffed fairly. The opposition couldn't tackle him down, one on one and when another two joined in to make a mini maul, that didn't slow him down much either. The ref then let other people join in the (one sided) struggle to tackle him down, which seemed very unfair as A) it's outside the laws of U11 rugby,, B) it makes it nigh on impossible for him to offload, C) when he is brought to ground, he has 4-5 players all over him and he got pinged for 'holding on'. He is a recent arrival to rugby and it was our first game for a couple of months, so the situation hadn't reared his head before. We are keen that he learns all of the core skills of rugby and doesn't get used as a battering ram, but after seeing a pack of hyenas trying to pull down the big fella, something just didn't seem right to me.I'd be grateful for any thoughts and opinions.
I did the level 1 and have bought into the philosophy - small sided, conditioned games rather than drills with boys standing in lines and being told where to run. I think it would be good to share ideas of variations that coaches use to focus on specific areas, and how to keep it fresh week in week out.Simply, I award points for good application of the skill we're focusing on. 3 points for good body position in the ruck or driving an opponent back. Only 3 points for a try motivates them to execute the skills.
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?
Lòoking for tips on jackling at breakdown ruck Asked using Sportplan Mobile App
Hi. How do you manage the intensity that some players want to bring to the tackling and rucking sessions while other players want to not be at the same intensity either because of coming back from injuries or because they don't have the same experience/confidence in their skills. Currently trying to split players into new/lacking confidence and experienced/confident, but even then it seems some players I would put into the experienced players, are not comfortable with working with high intensity players. Even though they all have played full competition level matches.
I coach under 8's and next season they will start contact. When am I allowed to start teaching them tackling skills? I sit january during their under 8 season or at the start of the under 9 season ?
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.
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'm a new player trying to learn to play Scrum half. I have a general idea of how the game works having played back positions a few times. However, I'm confused about one thing (and this might be dumb but bear with me). The thing is, I'm pretty quick. I can usually make it to a ruck before the forwards have fully formed it. When this happens I don't really have a good sense of where to stand in order ot have good access to the ball but also avoid blocking other forwards coming in to ruck. Usually I've already surveyed the field (to my newbie abilities anyway) and made a decision as to what I want to do with the ball, yelled the call on my way to the ruck, etc, so that puts me in a mindset that I REALLY want to be close to the ball so I can make it happen. Should I just keep my distance instead until the ruck is fully formed? Where specifically should I be standing and how quickly should I get there? Thanks!
I am looking for a Day 0 type of session for American children who may have never held a rugby ball. If I move forward with a rugby exhibition/team creation in the neighborhood, I want to make sure I know how/what to teach Day 0. I'm hoping that interest is growing for touch and flag rugby due to the recent in Philadelphia between the USA Eagles and the Maori All Blacks. I was there. It was fantastic. Tickets sold out so fast, I think there will be more of these in the area. Thanks.
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 ?
I'm coaching and reffing U11 rugby and one of my players is the definitive 'big lad'. His 'strength' is his size and his power, but last weekend he didn't seem to get reffed fairly. The opposition couldn't tackle him down, one on one and when another two joined in to make a mini maul, that didn't slow him down much either. The ref then let other people join in the (one sided) struggle to tackle him down, which seemed very unfair as A) it's outside the laws of U11 rugby,, B) it makes it nigh on impossible for him to offload, C) when he is brought to ground, he has 4-5 players all over him and he got pinged for 'holding on'. He is a recent arrival to rugby and it was our first game for a couple of months, so the situation hadn't reared his head before. We are keen that he learns all of the core skills of rugby and doesn't get used as a battering ram, but after seeing a pack of hyenas trying to pull down the big fella, something just didn't seem right to me.I'd be grateful for any thoughts and opinions.
in more ways than one
The isolated ball carrier is rugby's spookiest turnover. Here is the five-step fix, plus drills that rebuild support lines fast.
Tacklers are aiming lower, so carriers who dip late put heads at risk. Teach footwork, a strong early body height and leg drive to win the collision safely.
The hooker's brake foot moved from trial into full law in July 2026. Here is how to coach it so your front row stays stable, legal and safe.
Coaches from around the world look to Sportplan for coaching confidence.