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attack line DRILLS
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Wave After Wave

Keep your player briefing, brief! Tell the players the following or have a demonstration group..... We have 1 scrum half, 4 runners and 3 defenders with tackle/ruck shields. The scrum half starts the attacking line by passing a ball from the ground at the first cone, to the first receiver in the attacking line. The defenders start 10 meters back and press up on the first 3 attackers, leaving the 4th attacker free. The attackers use quick hands to move the ball down the line, before the next cone. The last receiver sets the ball down, the attack line will have realigned, and the scrum half will now be on the second cone of the opposite side of the grid ready to restart the attack. The defenders rush 10 meters back and and once again press up on the first 3 attackers, leaving the 4th attacker free. They keep going until the end of the grid, turn around - and do the same working down the grid. Don't forget to change the defenders.

Passing

Wide Passing Lines Sevens - Ru...

The two feeders should be 15 meters apart and will........ Feed the left most attacking unit with a ball, they will move forward at pace passing down the line and setting the ball down when it hits the last receiver. The first feeder will without delay pass the ball onto the right attacking unit, they will do the same as the left attacking unit, on their side of the pitch. Both attacking lines should realign and take a ball from the second feeder, before turning and working their way up the pitch, running the same exercise. Players should change their position in the line.

General

Switch Drill Passing - Rugby D...

Drill to practice inside running lines (switches) in attack.Set up a 10m x 10m square (green cones) with two attackers (blue) on one side of the square, and one defender (red) on the other side of the square on the left hand side (see diagram).The attacker with the ball runs forward, then diagonally across the square towards the diagonally opposite cone, to get the defender to chase him.The second attacker also runs forward, then switches back across the square towards where the defender has come form.The ball carrier turns towards his outside and passes to the other attacker who is running a switch. They then score over the try-line marked by the green cones.If the defender holds for the switching player, the ball carrier should continue running and score over the try-line marked by the green cones.

General

Tri-Attack Passing - Rugby Dri...

Tell your players the following...... The first line of attackers move forward, passing the ball down the line. The entire group switches position to the right side of the grid, and attacks as a line. They then attack down the grid through the top of the grid, facing the next line of attack.

General

5 Attacks 3 Sevens - Rugby Dri...

Using cones mark out the four corners and the midways points of each side of a 20 x 20 meter training area. Divide your players into groups of 8, and allocate one group of 8 to each training area. Have one coach at each training area, and one ball. Each player should have their own cone to stand on, as shown in the diagram. Have more than one training area in order to keep your players as busy as possible. Tell your players the following...... This will be a 5 v 3 attacking opportunity for the 5 players given the ball. There are 4 players on the midpoint positions, one on each side of the training area. The coach will give the ball to one of those players. The 4 closest players will join the ball carrier in attack, the opposite 3 players will become defenders. The try line is just across the defenders starting line. The defenders operate within the laws of the game and should try to stop the attack by turning the ball, forcing a mistake, or pushing the attack out of the playing area. The attack should aim to score a try, but should play within the laws of the game. When the attack is over the coach will take the ball and players should return to their starting positions for the next attack. Don't forget to give every player the opportunity to play in attack and defence by changing the starting position of the ball.

General

Attack The Space Tag Rugby - R...

The pitch is divided into two halves The defenders must start at opposite corners of the pitch The attacker must have at least one player in either half. The middle player starts with the ball.

General

Switch Over Attack Passing - R...

Drill to practice attacking organisational skillsSet up a grid roughly 20m wide and 20m long, with different coloured cones at one end and 5m away from that end (see diagram).3 defending players line up at one end (blue players between white cones) and 5m infront of them 4 attacking players line up (red players between green cones). One further defender waits at the opposite end of the grid.On the coaches command the three defending players run to the green cones and turn to defend. Meanwhile the four attacking players run to the white cones and turn to attack, receiveing the ball from the coach (grey). They are trying to score at the far end of the grid (red cones).Once the attack have beaten the defensive line the final defender may move forward off the try line (red cones) and try and defend.

General

The Trinity Sevens - Rugby Dri...

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 top of the grid. The first defender run up to defend in line with the first cone, the second defender in line with the middle cone, and the last defender is at the end of the grid. Therefore the attack will aim to beat the 3 defenders, in three 3 v 1 situations. When the attack finishes, they pass the ball to the next attacking unit, and the exercise starts again with the new attacking and defending unit. The last two attacking and defending units, switch sides returning to starting positions, ready to go again.

General

2 on 1 Attack and Defence Dril...

Set a narrow grid to attack. Defenders and attackers begin on the touchline in the centre. Both leave at the same time and run around appointed cones, ball carrier should accelerate up towards inside shoulder of defender to draw in and then pass to the support runner coming from depth who can run in and score.

General

Attacking Kick On The Move Kic...

Practice short kicks while attacking forward (not standing still).The attackers are aiming to land their kick in the target area (yellow cones). Adapt the size based on their ability (e.g. senior players 5m x 5m, junior players 10m x 10m).Set up two cones (red) to simulate the area of a ruck/scrum/line out and give a defensive offside line. Two defenders (red) position themselves on the offside line opposite two attackers (blue).One attacker (1) acts a scrum half and passes the ball to the first receiver (2). The first receiver (2) catches the ball and tries to perform a chip or grubber kick into the target area . The second attacker (3) chases the kick and tries to regather it.The two defenders aim to put pressure on the kicker.Once the attack have gathered the kick they should return it to the feeder and join the back of the line to start again.PROGRESSION:Defenders to start passive and increase pressure as attackers gain confidenceStart with a chip kick and progress to grubber or vice versa.

General

Attacking Lines: Unders and Ov...

Attackers react to the defensive line in a 3 v 2 situationIf defence is compressed - overs - an outside line should be exploited. Can use two or three attackers to attack into the wide spaceIf defence is wide - unders - a tight inside line should be hit by the middle player into the gap between two defenders.

General

Depth and Quick Hands Handling...

Highlights the importance of attacking from depth and letting the ball do the work in attack.Team of four attackers versus three defenders.The teams line up opposite each other face to face.On the shout of GO, each team retreats a few yards and the ball is passed to the nearest attacking player.The attackers then quickly pass the ball along to the next teammate in the line as they step up.The defenders try to get close down the attackers.

General

Quick Passing To Space Sevens ...

Give each training area one ball and tell the players the following...... One of the attacking lines takes the ball. They simply attack, moving the ball through the hands - lateral passing only. The defenders (there will be three), mark the first three attacks, they leave the forth free. Defenders can move up and down, left and right, but must leave channel 4 open. Defender start 10 meters back. The ball must go through all four attacking hands. Don't forget to switch the attackers and defenders.

General

Passing Box Passing - Rugby Dr...

Tell your players the following....... There should be one group of 4 players between each cone on the four sides of the grid. The ball carrying group will advance - passing the ball down the line. When the ball gets to the last receiver in the attacking line, they will pass the ball to the first receiver in the next attacking line. Simple as that - they should keep going. All four groups must go, in any one cycle of attacks - a cycle is 4 attacks. Progression: Add in one or two defenders, have them work from side to side - rather than closing down space and - don't forget to change the defenders into attack after some time in defence.

General

Realign To Attack A Broken Def...

Three attacker start on their fronts with three defenders lying opposite them. On go the attackers backtrack and realign into an attacking line. Two defenders come up to defender with one handing back. The attackers try and beat the first two defenders and then try to beat the final defender at the back.<br><br>

General

3 on 2 Attack and Defence Dril...

Set an area with two different coloured cones on the touch line in the middle, one for defenders and one for attackers. At the prompt of the coach the players run around designated cones and attack the defenders to score. Ball carrier should initiate the attack by attacking the inside shoulder of the first defender to stop a drift defence. Draw the first defender and make the pass to your next support runner who should do the same to pass to the outside runner who can go and score. Once attacked three or four times players should swap to defence but not every single time to create continuity and positive development.

General

Wave After Wave Passing - Rugb...

Keep your player briefing, brief! Tell the players the following or have a demonstration group..... We have 1 scrum half, 4 runners and 3 defenders with tackle/ruck shields. The scrum half starts the attacking line by passing a ball from the ground at the first cone, to the first receiver in the attacking line. The defenders start 10 meters back and press up on the first 3 attackers, leaving the 4th attacker free. The attackers use quick hands to move the ball down the line, before the next cone. The last receiver sets the ball down, the attack line will have realigned, and the scrum half will now be on the second cone of the opposite side of the grid ready to restart the attack. The defenders rush 10 meters back and and once again press up on the first 3 attackers, leaving the 4th attacker free. They keep going until the end of the grid, turn around - and do the same working down the grid. Don't forget to change the defenders.

General

Colour Cone Attack Decision ma...

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.

General

React to space and attack Back...

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 middle cone is orange. The player on the orange cone never defends, he always attacks and always starts with the ball in hand.The coach shouts a colour and the players who are standing on those cones must run forward and touch the cone 10m away from them. It will always be 2 defenders, but their positions will slightly vary. Once the first defending player has touched the furthest cone across from where he started the orange player can initiate attack. The orange player will have 2 supporters, one either side of him.The ball carrier should look to attack the &quot;Mid-Space&quot; i.e. the space between the 2 defenders, as hard as he possibly can. This will cause at least one of the defenders to move in towards him, and therefore open up space for the supporter.You will notice as the drill goes on, if the ball carrier runs at this space hard enough, the defenders are sometimes caught in two minds of &quot;its your man&quot; and the attacker will glide straight through the gap, but only if he is explosive from the word go!!

General

Attack until youre tackled Off...

Playing area of 25m in length - adjust width to suit numbers- equal numbers in both teams Full LEG tackles ONLY - ball carrier when tackled can off load immediately or IF no support present when support arrives - game continues until knock or forward pass occurs. When a try is scored the try scorer turns to attack the other try line game continues playing the opposite way. No rucks or mauls.

General

Running Lines To Break The Gai...

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

General

Passing Along The Line Passing...

Simple hand drill that can be progressed onto many simple backline movements. 1 ball, 4 players, area of 20-30m by 20m 1st player starts with the ball who commences the sequence by running, 2nd player run from depth and receive the ball then pass to 3rd player who will do the same to the 4th. From this point the order will reverse to get another repetition through everyone's hands so you can score at the end of the grid.

General

Fan Out and Pass Passing - Rug...

Keep your player briefing, brief! You may decide to have a demonstration grid. On your call, all players fan out to receive a pass. Players initially attack half the space in the grid, that way the lines do not cross into each others space, as you can see in the animation. Players should then attack the full width of the grid, there will be intersection and some confusion. Players stay within the grid. When they finish an attack (the ball is moved down the line), the last player to recieve the ball should score a try just outside the grid - and the line should get set in their new location to go again. Player initially rotate in a clockwise direction. Change this after a period of time. Make sure that players change position in the attacking line.

General

Attack the catch Catching - Ru...

3 players, 1 ball, 1 pad. Player with the ball throws up the ball for the player without the pad to run up to jump and catch while the player with the pad puts on the pressure.

General

Mid-Space attack Decision maki...

There are 4 cones in a rectangle , 2 red and 2 blue. The 2 defenders stand within the square, and on the coach's call, they must go and touch the called colour cone.As the coach calls it the attackers can go.The ball starts with the attacker in the middle.His aim is to attack the space in between the two players, and execute the first opportunity that presents itself. either one of the players will move in on him, therefore opening up space for the support runner on that side, or both will commit to him, or none in which case he is through!

General

L-Shaped Passing Sevens - Rugb...

Lets get the ball and the players moving with lateral passing through the hands. Each training area only needs one ball, and that ball should start with the any of the two players at the very ends of the L. Tell players to move forward, passing the ball down the line. When the ball gets to the last receiver, that player will pass it to the first receiver in the next line that is waiting to go. They should advance right away. Allow the players to simply move the ball down the line.

General

Defense vs attack drill School...

The aim is to the defensive situation to keep changing the defence gets used to drifting or pressing. The aim of the attack is to realign using the full width, get the ball out of the breakdown quickly (no matter what position you play), seeing space, communicating options and reading the defence. Can be done with any number of players but best suited to around 7. You will need 7 cones, 1 ball, a 40 m area, attack of line and try line. Players passed the ball quickly down the line. When the ball gets halfway, the coach shouts out a number. Number reflects the number of defenders. The end player puts down the ball by pad, then the 2 defenders get onside (beyond defensive line) and defend against the other attackers. The defenders need to work together. Stay tight and use the sideline extra defender. Drifting from the inside and pushing up and out. Attack looks to use, player pace and beat the drift. Important defence talks and understand what they are doing in the changing circumstances. With 4 attackers and 3 defenders, defenders might look for a blitz defence or up then drift. Scrum-half can break so defence must defend at guard. Attack should be looking up and reading the situation. If we have an overlap then as a unit we must understand how to fix defenders. You must start to add a kicking option to advance the drill. 8 players, you can have a forward runner offering a shadow line of 10. He is involved in the passing down the line but is on a separate cone in the front of the 7. This fits in with the patterns and philosophy of attack. You might get the forward to press ups or other exercise to replicate fatigue.

General

attack line ANSWERS
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switch pass in rugby union

switch pass in rugby union

maria Coach, England

Touch Rugby

I need some drills to attack the zone between the opposing try line to 5m dotted line (in the game of touch rugby?). any advice will be much appreciated.

Archived User Coach

What is the easiest defence system to use?

What is the easiest defence system to use? I have a team of 18 year olds who know very little about the game but are very fit and enthusiastic and I need a simple defence system to use.

Archived User Coach

Please supply me with the positional play for a No8 at the maul,defence,and attack

Ask a question and have it answered by Coaches from around the world and Sportplan's team of Experts.

Buddy Walker Coach, New Zealand

Any view on counter attacking a full back entering?

Any view on counter attacking a full back entering the line against a man to man marking system?

David Coach, England

Does anyone have a really good drill to encourage backs to stay steep?

Does anyone have a really good drill to encourage backs to hold their steepness when attacking - my team of dreams are Under 11's

Archived User Coach

how do you coach back line defence against attack from?

how do you coach back line defence against attack from midfield scrum

Mike Taylor Coach, England

Hi Guys Though we all fully enjoyed it, We have just?

Hi Guys Though we all fully enjoyed it, We have just lost a tournament - mainly because the forwards were not offloading in contact and were getting turned over. Does anyone have a forwards type game I can use with the boys to play instead of drills, to strengthen their skills in this area? The team is a under 12 group. And I have 14 forwards. Thanks for you help in advance. Cheers Iain

Iain Hughes Coach, England

Scoring tries - habit?

Why is it important to get players to score the try when completing a handling/running drill?

Archived User Coach

Drill to help to teach backs how to check their line?

Drill to help to teach backs how to check their line up from defensive to attacking

Archived User Coach

Looking for varations for touch rugby games.

Looking for varations for touch rugby games. Using as a bit of preseason want to freshen the game up.

Jack Redfern Coach, England

key factors of a miss pass

plaese tell me the key factors of a miss pass

Archived User Coach

Position discipline!

I am a coach with an under 10 rugby side. Last season the team found it hard to stay in their positions (acting like a swarm of bees). Can anyone suggest how i can get them to stay in positions, particulary our backs.

Lindsay james Coach, England

how to keep a defensive line for u7+u8

i currently help out with the coaching of the u7+u8 tag rugby but we are struggling to keep a defensive line can have anybody got any drills

jason halse Coach, Wales

U9 Positional Play Advice

What options are there for positional play in the U9s game? What formations are recommended in attack or defence? What's a good place to start teaching this? No scrums at this level so that's out of the question. Greatful for any advice. Thank you. Matt Asked using Sportplan Mobile App

Matt Potter Coach, England

Improve Attack Depth

My players often line-up too flat on attack, especially in later phases. How can I work on improving their depth?

Shaun F Coach, Canada

lateral pass coaching games | ...

lateral pass coaching games

Archived User Coach

How can I improve my team's li...

How can I improve my team's line speed in defence? Are there any drills which can help me?

michael klieve Coach, England

How to coach using counter att...

I need to coach a progressive session of 20 minutes for how to establish the principles of counter attack from turnover ball in contact coaching the palyers to counter attack. Any ideas please?

Trevor Brice Coach, England

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