Rugby coaching manual - Vitality Schools · PDF fileRugby coaching manual ... These drills and...
Transcript of Rugby coaching manual - Vitality Schools · PDF fileRugby coaching manual ... These drills and...
Rugby coaching manualHigh schools
Contents• Aimsofmanual ............................................................................................................................ 1
• MessagefromProfessorTimNoakes:Thevalueofsportsscienceinrugbycoaching ...................... 2
• Rugbyanalysis .............................................................................................................................. 4
• Pre-season ................................................................................................................................... 6
• Conditioning ................................................................................................................................. 7
• Nutrition.... ................................................................................................................................... 10
• Languageofrugby ........................................................................................................................ 12
• Developinganannualprogramme ................................................................................................ 14
- Coach’sphilosophy ................................................................................................................. 15
- Playermanagement ................................................................................................................ 15
• Philosophyofthegame ................................................................................................................ 16
- Backline .................................................................................................................................. 16
- Forwards ................................................................................................................................. 17
- Defence .................................................................................................................................. 17
- Attack ................................................................................................................................... 18
- Breakdown ............................................................................................................................. 19
• Patternsofplay ............................................................................................................................. 21
• Outcomesofmanual .................................................................................................................... 28
• U14checklistandpracticeschedule .............................................................................................. 29
• U15checklist ................................................................................................................................ 48
• U16checklist ................................................................................................................................ 50
• FirstXVchecklistandpracticeschedule ......................................................................................... 52
• Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 77
• AppendixA:Dailyschedule ........................................................................................................... 79
AimsoF tHe mAnUAL
Throughthiscoachingcurriculum,wehopetogive
coachesanunderstandingofthephilosophyofthe
game.Schoolscanbetheperfectexamplesofthe
progressionthataplayercanmakeifinthecorrect
system,anditshowswhysuchasystemissoimportant.
However,atmostschools,whenasidemovesfromU14
uptoU15(oracrossanyage-group)theyaregenerally
toldbythenewcoach,“Forgetwhatyouweretoldlast
year;thisiswhat’sgoingtohappenandwe’llstartfrom
scratch”.That’sthewrongwaytogoaboutitbecause
thereisnoforwardplanningfromtheonsetandthe
boysandcoacheswillfindthemselvesstartingoverand
overagain,goingaroundincircles.Norealdevelopment
cantakeplaceinthisscenario.Theidealscenariosees
theU14sdevelopingbasicskillsandmaximisingtheir
potentialastheyreachthesenioragegroups.
ForU14sespecially,theremustbegeneraltraining
sessionsacrosstheteamsforalltheplayers.Ifyouhave
asmallboyplayingU14C,youshouldspendthesame
amountoftimeonhimasaplayerintheU14Ateam.
Thisway,ifthisplayergrowsbythetimehereachesthe
openagegroups,hewillhavethesameskillsasthose
whoplayedfortheAteamallalong.
Thesedrillsandplayscanbeusedasabasisanda
guidelinetostimulatethecoach.Winningandplaying
goodrugbyarebi-productsofabroaderaimwhichisto
putstructuresinplacetoensurecoachesimprove.Thisin
turnproducesbetterandmoreskilfulplayers,whichwill
improvenotonlyschoolsrugby,butthecountry’srugby
ingeneral.
Itismostimportanttodevelopskillsandwewanta
boyfromaweakschool,oraweakerage-group,tobe
abletomakeacareeroutofrugby,evenifhehascome
throughtoughcircumstances.
FortheU14s,thefirstthreeweeksofpracticehave
beensetoutasaguideline,whilefortheFirstXV,asix-
weekprogrammehasbeenprovided.Fromtherethe
coachshouldplantherestoftheseasonbasedonthe
guidelinesandchecklistsprovidedforeachage-group
andaccordingtowhathefeelsisrequiredforhisteam.
Forexample,iftheteamishavingproblemsatthe
breakdown,workmoreonthat,butensureabalanceis
stillmaintainedsothatyou’renotspending95%ofyour
timeonattackwhileneglectingdefence.
Wehaveprovidedpracticeschedulesandchecklists
asthebasisfortheseason.Fortheremainderofthe
season,itisuptothecoachtodecideandplan–this
willrewardcoacheswhoplanbestandworkthe
hardest.Italsoencouragescoachestothink,whichwill
thenencourageplayerstothinkanddevelop.Ifyou’rea
defence-orientatedside,forexample,thiswillinfluence
yourplanningfortheremainderoftheseason,andyou
willthenhavetoworkouttheaspectsyouneedtowork
onandtailoryourownpracticescheduleaccordingly.
1
The value of sports science in rugby coaching
Scienceisbasedonaccuratemeasurementsothat
change,improvementandimpairmentcanbemeasured.
Ifthetestuseddoesn’tprovidethecorrectinformation
anddoesn’tpredictthechangeyouarelookingfor,
itmustbere-doneoranewtestfoundtoquantify
improvement.Scientificthinkingishypothesisdriven,
andthemeasurementaspectproveswhetherornot
therehasbeenimprovement,inthiscase,inthe
schoolboyrugbyplayer.Thekeyfunctionofthecoach
istoimprovetheabilitiesofeachoftheplayersthat
hecoaches.Coachesmustbeabletoshowthattheir
coachinghasproducedimprovement,andthiscanonly
bedonebymeasurement.
Rugbycoachescanmeasureimprovementfromgame
analysis,butalsofromtrainingandpracticeanalysis.In
BobWoolmer’sbook,theArtandScienceofCricket,he
talkedaboutthe“How”versusthe“Why”.Bobfocused
onasking“why”somethinghappensandnot“how”it
happens.Beingabletocoacharugbyplayeronhowto
practiseaskillisimportant,butit’sevenmoreimportant
toworkoutthe“why”.Onlywhenyouunderstandthe
“why”canyouexplainthe“how”.
AsaTestcricketerplayinginIndia,Bobwassuddenly
unabletohittheballoffthesquare.Heaskedthe
professionalcoachwhathecoulddotosortouthis
problem.Theanswerhegotbackwas:“Justhittheball
offthesquare.”Butifhehadbeenabletodothatinthe
firstplace,hewouldnothavehadtoaskthequestion.
Bobthenknewhehadtoworkitoutforhimself.That
waswhyhebecameoneofthegreatestcricketcoaches
ofalltime.Heslowlylearntthe“why”andinturnhe
couldteachthe“how”.
Rugbycoachesmustalsolearnfromthat:Diagnose
theproblemandthenworkouthowtosolveit.That’s
wheresciencecomesintotheequation,byproducing
thinkingcoacheswhomeasurechangeandlookfor
thecompetitiveadvantage.Wemustdevelopcoaches
whohavethatabilitytothinkbeyondtheroutine,
theordinary,ofwhattheyweretaught.Theymust
continuallybestrivingforthatcompetitiveadvantage.
AfewyearsagoinAustralia,theycameupwithasaying
thattheywanted“nomoredumbcoachesinAustralia”.
Thatwouldinturnleadtothinkingsportsmenand
women,includingrugbyplayers.Weneedtomove
beyondthebeliefthatsize,bruteforceandwillpower
willprovideteamswiththecompetitiveadvantage.
Thatisnotalwaysthecasecurrently.Thecompetitive
advantagecomesfromunderstandingthe“why”,
coachingthe“how”,andalwayslookingfornovelways
toimprovealltheplayersandtheteam’sskill.Thenyou
alsoneedtoout-thinktheopposition.
Iwouldsuggestthatcoachestrytofindadrillthat
givesameasurableoutcomeofwhethertheirplayers
areimprovinginalltheaspectsthecoachthinksare
important.Manycoachesrelyonamatchresultto
determine“improvement”,butthat’snotparticularly
helpfulbecausetherearesomanyvariablesthat
influencetheoutcome.
Coachescoulddeveloptheirowndrills,oruseaset
ofskillsdrillsatthestartoftheseason,andnotehow
theplayersimproveonaregularbasis.Measuring
performanceoutcomesofthatdrillincludethespeedof
completionandthenumberoferrors,forexample.That
wouldgiveameasurableoutcomeofhoweffectivethe
coachhasbeen.
messAgeFRom PRoFessoR tim noAKes
2
Coachesalsoneedtoworkoutwhatindividualskills
playersneedaccordingtoeachposition.Theyneedto
rateplayersaccordingtothatandhowtheyimprove
fromseasontoseason,andnotjustmeasuretheirsize
orphysicalattributes.Weover-valuethephysicalinthis
country,butwithanemphasisonmeasuringaccording
toskillsandtheimprovementthereof,wewilldevelop
bettercoachesandthereforebetterplayers.Ifcoaches
couldmeasurewhatthenormsarefortheirplayersin
termsofhowtheycankickorpass,thatwouldpromote
individualskills,andwouldhelptofindoutwhichskills
theyneedwhenputtingtheirteamtogether.Intermsof
sportsscience,itwouldrevolutioniserugbyifwecould
measureallthoseskills,andthatmustbetheaimofthe
modernrugbycoach.
Incoachingthe2007RugbyWorldCupwinningteam,
JakeWhiteshowedthatheisoneoftheworld’sgreat
rugbycoaches.Itwasmyprivilegetoworkwithhimand
tobeexposedtothedepthofhisrugbybrain.Jakehas
somuchtoofferSouthAfricanrugbycoachesandtheir
players.IbelievehisprogrammescanhelpdriveSouth
Africanrugbyforwardandtakeustowhereweshould
be–theundisputedbestrugbynationintheworld.
ProfessorTimNoakesOMS,MD,DSc
Discovery Health Professor of Exercise and Sports
Science at the University of Cape Town and Sports
Science Institute of South Africa
3
Message fromProfessor Tim Noakes
Analysisofyourownteamandtheoppositionteam
isvitallyimportant.AsProfessorNoakessays,“Ifyou
canmeasureit,youcanimproveit”.Analysisshould
bepositiveandnotnegative,althoughplayersshould
beawarethattheycannotcontinuetorepeatthe
samemistakes.
Mondayeveningscouldbeanalysisnightswherethe
U14A,U15A,U16AandFirstXVgettogethertowatch
theirgamesandhaveapizzainarelaxedenvironment.
Inthistechnologicalageeverythingisvisual,andthisisa
goodwaytogetkidstolearn.Somemaynottakekindly
tocriticism,soanalysingTestsandwatchingtheirheroes
makemistakesorexecuteproperlycanserveasagood
exampleandhelptoreinforceideas.Doingthiswithall
theteamstogethercreatesoneuniquelanguage,and
encouragesabrotherhoodandspiritacrosstheteams
andwithintheschool.
Why measure and how to do game analysis
Viathemanualandtheassociatedplanningofpractices,
coachescanseehowmuchtimetheirteamhasworked
onattack,defenceetc.Analysiscanbedonebythe
‘boffins’atschoolwhohavetheintellectualcapitalto
providerelevantinformation.Rugbyschoolscoulduse
thosekidswhodon’tplaythesportbutaregoodwith
numberstocountthenumberofpassespermatch,the
numberofscrums,whereyoursidescoresfromand
soon.Forexample,U14smaynotbeabletopassfar
totheirweakerside(right),andthat’swhythereare
moremistakesonthatside.It’suptoyoutoanalyseand
determinewhichaspectsneedtobeworkedon.Through
analysis,youcouldevenrealisehalfwaythroughthe
seasonthatyouscore80%ofyourtriesfromleft-hand
sidescrums,andthenattempttomanipulateplayto
thosesituations.Thiswillgiveyoumorechancestoscore.
Visit www.rugbyxv.co.za to learn more about
rugby analysis.
RUgbyANALYSIS
4
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7)
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8)R
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9)
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327
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Forthepurposeofthiscoachingmanual,alloff-and
pre-seasonworkshouldhavebeendonebythecoaches
withtheirplayers.(Detailedoff-andpre-season
programmeswillbeincludedforeachage-groupinthe
nexteditionofthismanual,whichwillcomeoutafter
thisseason.)However,EddieJoneshasprovidedsome
basicguidelinesandnormsthattheteamshouldhave
achievedbythetimetheseasonstarts.
Pre-season planning
Planningiscrucialtoaneffectivepre-season.
Inpre-seasonyouneedtogetfitforrugby–aerobic,
anaerobicrunningplusstrengthandbodyconditioningis
essential.Teamsneedtodeveloptheircore(forexample
catchandpass)andunitskills(forwardsandbacks).
Coachesneedtodeveloptheirteamattackanddefence
systems,aswellasteamethicandspirit.
Youneedtolookatthenumberofweeksyouhave
available–itisrecommendedyouworkoveraperiodof
12weeks,butworkingoverthisamountoftimeisthe
idealscenario.
Inthefirstsixweeks,prioritisefitness,bodyconditioning
andstrengthdevelopment,thencoreandunitskills.The
coreskillsofcatch/pass,tackleandbreakdownskills
shouldbepractisedeverysession.Emphasismustbe
placedfirstlyonthecorrecttechniquesandthenonthe
useofthecoreskillsindecision-making.
Starteachsessionwithafundamentalssessionwhere
thecoreskillsarepractised.Thisshouldlastfor60
minutes.Therestofthesession(about20to30minutes)
shouldbedevotedtounitskills.Again,concentrateon
technique.Withtheforwards,forexample,concentrate
onlineouts,scrumandmaul,andforthebacks,running
lines,kickingandkick/catching.
Forthelastsixweeks,continuetopractisecoreskills
butreducetimeto20minutes.Unitskillsshouldbe
increasedto30to40minutes.Teamskills,interms
oftheattackanddefencesystems,shouldthenbe
practisedconsistentlyfor30to40minutesatleasttwice
aweek.
Devotetimeinthelastsixweekstobuildingtheteam
culture.Decideonthevaluesyouthinkareimportant
andorganiseteamactivitiestoreinforcethesevalues.
Inthelastthreeweeks,itisimportantthatyoumake
sureyouplayatleasttwotothreetrialgames.
Gamepracticeisvital!Decideinthepracticegames
whatyouwanttoachieveandsettheplayers’targetsto
achievethis.Practisewhatyouhavebeendoingin
thepre-season.
PRe-seAson
6
ProfessorDerikCoetzee(whowastheSpringboks’
conditioningcoachthroughoutJakeWhite’stenure,and
alsoworkedwithWhiteandtheSAU21teamin2002
whentheywontheJuniorWorldCup)providesthe
statisticsfortheconditiontheplayersshouldbeinifthey
hopetomakeacareeroutofrugby.Coetzeeprovides
thetestingnormsforU19’s,andwhereyourfirstteam
playersshouldstrivetobephysicallybytheirfinalyear
ofschool,andthenormsofthe2007Springbokswhen
theywontheWorldCup.
Evenifyoudon’thavethemosttalentedteams,if
they’rephysicallystrongandfit,theyalreadyhavean
advantageoverothersides.
Coetzee’s views on the importance of fitness and conditioning in rugby:
RugbyspecificfitnessisVITALtoeveryrugbyplayer
whowishestoplaywell.Physicalconditioningandthe
developmentofskillsareinterdependentrequirements
forrugbypreparation.Theplayercanonlyperformathis
geneticbestifheprepareshimselfwellintheseareas.
Significantadvanceshavebeenmadeintheprocessof
physicalconditioningforrugbyoverthepasttenyears.
Intheolddaysitwascommonforrugbyplayersto“play
themselves”intoshape.Gradually,coacheshavebegun
toattributethesuccessofcertainplayersandteamsto
theirintensephysicalconditioning;perhapsitwastrue
thatconditioningcouldprovideanedgeincompetition.
Whilethescientificunderpinningsformanyconditioning
methodsarestillintheirinfancy,thestrengthand
conditioningspecialisthasbecomeanimportantelement
ofthecoachingsupportstaff,takingaplacealongside
thephysiotherapist,theteamdoctor,sportnutritionist,
thesportpsychologist,massagetherapistandvision
specialist,tonameafew.
Thequestionarisesnow:“Howmuchbettercanwe
conditionarugbyplayer?”
Developingasport-fitnessbaseisimportantforboth
theperformanceandthehealthoftherugbyplayer.
Aneedsanalysisforarugbyconditioningprogramme
evaluatesthedemandsofrugby,whichincludesthe
rangeofmetabolicrequirements,theinjurypotential
fordifferentpartsofthebody,andthetypesofmuscle
actionorbiomechanicalcharacteristicsinvolvedinthe
sport.Rugby-fitnesscharacteristics,beyondphysical
sizeandinherentbiologicalcharacteristics,include
power,strength,speed,agility,co-ordination,quickness,
flexibility,localmuscularendurance,cardiovascular
aerobicandanaerobiccapacity.
Thedegreeofrelianceofeachcomponentiscompletely
dependentonthespecificityofeachpositioninrugby.
Thesecomponentscanbeanalogoustoapuzzlewhere
eachpiecerepresentsafitnesscomponent.However,
onlyafewconditioningcoacheswillbeabletoplace
thesecomponentsintoalogical,practicalandscientific
sequence.Nevertheless,thequalityandtypeofexercise
stimuliusedtopreparetherugbyplayer’sbodyfor
competitionwillplayasignificantroleinsuccess.
Conditioning
7
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8
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Pre-match
Thetiming,typeandvolumeoffoodintakeneedtobeconsidered.Theidealscenarioistohavealargerpre-matchmeal
richincarbohydratewithsomeleanprotein3-4hoursbeforethematch(seeTable1),followedbyasmallercarbohydrate-
richtop-up1-2hoursbeforethematch(seeTable2).Fatandfibreintakeshouldbekeptlow,andfluidintakeshouldbe
encouraged.Thisregimewilloptimisefuelstoresandwillpreventdehydrationandstomachupsets.
Pre-match meal ideas
• Fruit/fruitsalad/fruitjuicesandlow-fatyoghurt/milkandcerealorporridge
• Muffins/crumpets/pancakes/toastwithjamandreducedfatcheese
• Boiledorscrambledeggsorafrittata(egg/potato/sweetcorn)andtoastwithjam/honey/Marmite
• Noodles(egspaghetti/macaroni)withleanminceand/orvegetablesortomato-basedtopping(nocream)
• Chickena-la-kingandrice,andpeas/carrots
• Grilledfishfilletsorchickenbreastswithmashedpotato/sweetpotatoorstir-fryandrice
• Bakedpotatowithtunaorchickenorvegetable-basedtopping
• Extrabread,fruitandfruitsaladsandlow-fatyoghurt/lowfatdessertscanbeincludedwiththismeal,plussportsdrinks
Chooseoptionsaccordingtothetimeofthematchaswellasappetite.Whenplayingamorningmatch,breakfast-typefoods
maybepreferred.Iflackingappetiteorifeatingbreakfastwillmeansacrificingneededsleep,choose1-2optionsfromthe
Top-uplist(Table2).
Top-up ideas
• Sandwicheswithlow-fatcheese/ham/chicken/boiledegg/tuna/jamandpeanutbutter
• Muffinsorpancakesorcrumpetswithhoney/syruporsugarandcinnamonorraisin/hot-crossbun
• Freshfruitandlow-fatyoghurt
• Fruitsmoothies
• Sportsbarsorcereal/breakfastbarsandsportsdrinks
• Iflackingappetiteorunabletotoleratesolidfood,tryaliquidmealreplacement.
What your p layers put into the i r bodies before and af ter matches wi l l a ffect per formance and recovery. eat ing correct ly before matches wi l l prov ide p layers wi th suff ic ient energy leve ls, whi le eat ing wel l a f ter games wi l l ensure the muscles repai r adequate ly in t ime for the next pract ice.
A l though i t may at t imes be impossib le to monitor what each player eats, they should be encouraged to st ick to the below guidel ines so indiv iduals and the team have the best chance of per forming to the i r abi l i ty.
nUtRitionPre- and post-match nutrition
10
Playersareremindednottobetemptedtoeatanythingnewonamatchdaythathasnotbeentriedandtestedduring
training.Fluidstrategiesandchoiceshouldalsohavebeenrehearsedintraining.Itisadvisedtodrinkabout250-500ml
fluid(sportsdrinksofferbothfluidandcarbohydrate)justbeforethematchbeginsandthentouseopportunitiesduring
thematchtoquenchthirst.
Post-match
Foreffectiverecovery,within30-40minutesafterthematch,eat1-2oftheoptionsfromTable3andfluid(waterorsports
drink).Eachsnackprovides50gofcarbohydrateand>10gofprotein.
recovery snacks
• 350-400mllowfatflavouredmilkdrink
• 250mlfruityoghurt
• Sandwichwithreducedfatcheese/leancoldmeat/chicken/boiledegg/tunaorpilchards+1fruit
• 1½cupsofcerealwithlowfatmilk
• 2cupsmashedpotatowith2tablespoonsskimmilkpowder
• 1cupMaasmixedwithmaizeporridge(1cup)
• 30gleanbiltong(30g)+10sweets
• 750mlsportsdrink+30gleanbiltong.
11
Nutrition
Allphasesofthegamemustbecommunicatedquickly,
sonamesmustbeshortandhaveaspecificmeaning.
Therugbylanguageisusedtogetplayerstounderstand
andenacttheattackanddefencestrategies.Fromthe
firstphasethecallcomesfromaleader.Lineout,shape
ofattack,directionandthetempoareallcommunicated
inthecall.
Thesecallsmustbeuniformacrosstheschool,sothat
everyplayerusesthesamecallsforamove(iea10/12
switchor8-9-12offthebackofascrum).Thisshouldbe
decidedonbeforetheseasonbythedirectorofrugby
sothatifplayersarepromoted/dropped,theywillstill
knowallthecallswhenmovingacrossteams.Italso
helpsfromoneseasontothenextwhenthemoves
willbecomemoreadvanced(iethe8-9-12introduces
theblindsidewingeretc),butteamswillstillusethe
samecalls.
Onewaytoinstilthisrugbylanguageandcultureina
schoolistogettheU14A,U15A,U16AandFirstXV
togethereverysecondFridaytopractiseonthesame
fieldfor45minutes,andrunthesameplays.TheU14As
willgofirstandwillbemorebasic,andthelevelswill
improveaseachteamgoesaftertheother.Thisallows
thejuniorstowatchtheseniorsdoingthesamemove
withthesamecallsatanadvancedlevelsotheycan
learnfromthem.Forexample,U14Asrun8-9moveoff
scrum,playnextphaseandflyhalfclears.U15Asuse
8-9-12move,theyplayforthesetthreephases,andthe
flyhalfclears,andsoon.
Thiswillprovideunityandmentorshipbetweenthe
rugbyteamsacrossvariousage-groups,whileplayerscan
analyseandseewhatcertainteamsaredoingwelland
whatothersaren’tdoingwell.Thiswillformpart
oftheanalysisandself-evaluationinanenvironmentof
nopressure.
Inthematch,callsvarytocreatedoubtinthedefence.
ExamplesyoucanuseincludeKOR(kickorrun)calls/
rushplay/kickingcalls.
Thisiswhywehavealanguageofrugby,becauseyou
needacodetocommunicatethinkingsothatplayers
don’tveerfromthegameplananddotheirownthing.
Factors influencing the calls:(Theseareguidelines
andit’suptothecoachtodecidewhatworksbestfor
histeam)
• Typeofdefence:Ifyou’replayingagainstarush
defenceforexample,youplaybehindthem
usinggrubbersasoneoption.Ifyou’replaying
againstadriftdefence,youcouldalsoattack
wide
• Weather:Ifit’sraining,you’remorelikelytokick
moreoften,orifyou’replayinginastrongwind
thenplayersshouldstandclosertogether
• Timeinthematch:Ifyou’rewantingtokillthe
gameoff,thepickandgoaroundthefringesof
ruckscanbeused.Atthebeginningofamatch,
youmaywanttotestthedefencebygoingwide
onceortwiceearlyon
• Surpriseelement:Usingasplitkick-offatthe
beginning,forexample
• Tocreateconfidenceandgivemomentum
(bankermove):Thisisamovewhereeveryplayer
isinvolvedinthefirstthreephases,whether
that’sviacleaning,carryingorpassing
• Fieldposition:Teamscan’talwaysrunfromdeep
withintheirownhalf,otherwisetheybecome
predictable.
L A n g U A g e
rugbyof
12
Factors to consider when planning rugby patterns:
• Canwewinfirstphase?Isthescrumorlineout
strongenough?Ifnot,youcoulduse3-manor
4-manlineout,orfromscrumsusethechannel
oneball,wheretheballishookedbackas
quicklyaspossiblesothescrumhalfcanclear.
Somecoachescomplainthattheycan’tplayoff
aweakscrum,buttheAustralianswhohadthe
sameproblemadaptedandonlyplayedoffleft
shoulderscrums,turningbadballintogoodball
• Whoistheball-carrier?Theball-carrierhastobe
aspecificplayerchosenforthatroleasnotevery
playercanperformthattask.Hehastobeable
toproducequickcleanball.Insomeinstances
coachesusetheblindsideflankforamove
becausetheyseeitworkedfortheSpringboks
withJuanSmithinthatrole,butatlowerlevels
itmaybeanotherlooseforwardwhohastobe
used
• Howmanyphasesareneeded?Theanswerto
thisisthecoachworkingouthowhewantshis
sidetomanipulatethedefence.Sometimesyou
cancatchthemoutafteroneortwophases,but
onotheroccasionsyou’llneedtobepatientand
keeptheballlonger
• Whattempoisimportant?Thisisrelativeto
what’sneededatthatjunctionofthegame.No
teamcanplayatafastpacefortheentiregame,
sotheyhavetodecidewhentoincreasethe
tempoandwhentoslowitdown
• Whoisthesweeperintheplay?Everyteam
needsasafetyvalveforeachmove.Itcouldbe
thescrumhalforNo.8whocoversbehindthe
backline.Youdon’twantyourbackstodropthe
ballandtheoppositiontokickitthrough,soa
sweeperisvitalforthosesituations
• Howmanycleanersintheplayateach
breakdown?Possessionneedstoberetainedat
thebreakdownsandit’snotjustaboutproviding
numbers,butalsowhothedesignatedcleaners
areinthatparticularmove
• Canweoffloadbeforegoingtoground?Players
don’talwayshavetogotogroundandcreatea
ruck,andagoodvariationistheoffloadifthe
passispossible
• Whathappensiftheplayerbreaksthedefence?
Playersmustplaywhat’sinfrontofthemand
oncethelineisbrokentheymustusetheoption-
takinganddecision-makingskillslearntthrough
practicedrills
• Directversuslateralattack?Variationofplaysis
essentialandteamsshouldlooktobedirectand
goforwardasmuchaspossibleearlyon,and
thenplaywideorlaterallytotestthedefence
• Defenceversusattack(fieldposition):Teams
needtohavecallsonattackanddefence,
understandingwhodefendswhereaccordingto
wheretheyareonthefield.
Why do patterns of play not work?
• Notwinningyourfirstphaseorpoorqualityfirst
phasepossession
• Notrunningontotheball,orplayerstoodeep
• Ball-carrierisnotstrongenough
• Presentationisnotuptostandard
• Cleaners(first,secondetc)arenotinposition
orlackofnumberstobreakdownpoints
• No.9’slackofpositioning,orthetempo
tooslowwhentryingtoincreasethepace
• Ball-carrierwenttogroundtooquickly
• Attacktooupright,ordefencedominatingyou
• Shapeoftheattackistoopredictable
• Notallplayersabletopassfrombreakdown,
whichhampersmomentum
• Decision-makingoffirst/secondarrivingplayer
notuptostandard
• Attacknotaskingquestionsofthedefence.
Slow ball management:
• Howtominimiseslowball?Getmotionon
theballandrunnersrunningontotheballand
attackingthegain-line
• Teamsneedtobeorganisedintheshapeand
directionyouwanttoattack.Usethevarious
optionsatyourdisposal
• Teamsneedtopractiserealistically.Attraining,
thespeedofballoutofruckscan’talwaysbe
quickasitwon’tnecessarilyhappenthatwayin
amatch.
13
languageof rugby
deveLoPingA n A n n U A LprogrammeCoaching tips:
Teamsshouldtrainliketheyaregoingtoplaythe
match,ifnotharder.Coachesmusttrainliketheyare
goingtoplay–thatmeanssimulatinggamesituations.
AsEddieJonessays,ifyou’rereceiving60%ofyour
possessionfromturnoverballorfromkickreturns(and
coachesmustdetectthisandworkitout),60%ofyour
practiceshouldbeallocatedtoplayingfromkickreturns
orturnoverpossession.Mostcoachesrunofftothe
scrummingmachineandspend45minutesscrumming,
whenyouhaveeightscrumsinamatch.It’snottosay
scrummingisn’timportantasitdeterminestheflowof
thematch,it’sjustabouttimeallocationandusingit
wisely.Thisisexactlywhycoachesneedanalysis.
Matchsimulationmustalsobetougherthanwhatyou
wouldgetinthegame.Forexample,whenpractising
breakdowns,sendthreeorfourcleanerstotheplayer
tryingtoturnoverball.Hewillthenbeaccustomedto
theintensitywhenheactuallyhastwoplayersclearing
himoutinamatch.Formauling,tryandgetyourpack
tostop12players.Whentheyhavetostopthedrive
fromeightplayersduringthematch,itwon’tbeashock
andwillbeeasier.
Teamsshouldtrainatthesameintensityasmatches,
withpracticesresemblingmatchsituations.Theremust
beaclearplanfromthecoachastowhathewantsto
achievefromthepracticesothattheplayersfeelthereis
valuetothesession.
Teamsandagegroupsshouldpractisetogetherin
squads.Inotherwords,theU15AandBteamsshould
beasquad,andwhiletheBsideisrunningattack,the
Asideisworkingondefence.
Howtowarmupformatches?Pre-gamewarmups
shouldbethesameasthecaptain’spractice,sothereis
noelementofsurpriseandtheplayersarefamiliarwith
theroutine.
14
Coach’s philosophy
Selection:
Whenchoosingthecorrectpositionforatalented
individual,theremustbeemphasisonwhat’scorrectfor
theboy.Ifyouhaveabigboywhocouldplaycentreand
dominateatU14level,buthisrugbyfutureisathooker,
hemustplayhookerfromU14todevelopthenecessary
skillsfromayoungage.Makingthis‘sacrifice’forteam
resultswillactuallyhelptheU14team,theschool’s
rugbyandtheboyinthelongrun.
Player management
Whenmanagingplayers,coachesmustrealise
they’redealingwithhumanbeingsandnotrobotsor
professionalrugbyplayers.Whiledisciplineisvital,itis
alsoimportanttoknowwhatdrivesanindividual.
Rugbyislikelife–itrequiresperseverance,hardwork,
selfcontrol,dedicationandrespectforauthority.Ateam
shoulddoeverythingtoensurethattheskillsandtalents
ofeachplayerinthesquadaredeveloped,refinedand
enjoyedinanappropriateway.
Ateam’splayersareobviouslythebuildingblocksfora
successfulorganisation.Oneofthebestinvestmentsa
teamcanmakeinthosebuildingblocksistoestablish
asystematicplantodevelopitsplayerstotheirfull
potential.Todevelopplayers,it’scrucialtomanagethe
players.Arobustknowledgeofeachplayeriscrucial–
knowyourplayers,knowwhatmotivatesthem
andspendtimediscussingsolutionstoindividualand
teamproblems.
KnowledgeofplayersisKING!
15
developingan annual schedule
Thegameofrugbyisbecomingsoadvancedthatall15
playersintheteamarespecialistsintheirownpositions,
buttheymustalsoallbeabletomasterallskillsacross
bordersandbeabletoattackanddefend.Forexample,
youmusthavebackswhocancleanrucksandforwards
whocancatchandpassandrun.Intheolddays,you
wouldhavehadforwardswhowereinvolvedinset-
piecesandbackswhostayedawayfromthedirtywork,
butthat’schanged.
Thegameissocomplexthatallplayersmusthavea
biggerrangeofabilities.Thestrengthofyourteamis
dependantontheweakestplayerandthereforeeach
playermusthaveanarrayofskills.
Thefollowingguidelooksathowimportanteachpart
ofthegameis.Forexample,defenceisn’tjusttackling;
italsoincludesthedefensivesystem,thetechnique,and
whattheplayerdoesafterthetackle.
backline
Key points:
• Coachesneedtounderstandtheirplayers’
abilities.Whetheraplayercanbeatatacklerone
ononeandwhethertheyenjoycontactornot
meansthey’llbeusedinthoseparticularmoves
accordingly.Forexample,mostfullbacksenjoy
timeandspace,sothey’llbeusedinmoves
wherethey’reaffordedthat
• Knowyourrunnersandpassers.Thosewhoare
betterpassersmustbeusedassuchinmoves,
andotherswhoarebetter-equippedascarriers
orrunnersmustbeusedaccordingly
• Designattackingplaysthathavemany
optionsandvariations.Youcan’tjustrunfrom
everywhere,orhavepassingplaysallthetime.
Forexample,yourwingmaynotbeagood
passer,butbringyourblindsidewingintothe
gamebyusinghimintheinsidecentre’sposition
tocreatesecondphase.Thentherestofthe
backscanplayfromthereoffasolidplatform
• Designplaysthatmaximiseyourstrengthsand
minimiseyourweaknesses
• Haveaphilosophyonalignment(knowwhy
youbelieveitandhowitworks).Forexample,
whetheryouwanttoplayshort,flat,wideor
deep,youmustexplaintoyourplayerswhen
youwantthemtoplaythatwayandwhythey’re
playingthatway.Thereshouldbenogimmicks,
asthefancyelementsdon’tlast.Masteringthe
basicsdoes
• Coachesmustworkoutwaystogettheirbacks
runningattheoppositionforwardsinorderto
createmismatches.
PHiLosoPHy oF tHe
game
16
Forwards
Key points:
• Canyouwinfirstphase(scrumandlineout)?
• Theremustbeabalancebetweenheightand
weightofpack
• Knowtheball-carriersandcleaners.Notevery
playercanbeusedwithballinhand,androle
definitionsmustbeclearlysetsothatthereare
sufficientcleanerstosecurequickball
• Designplaysthatcomplimentthemake-upof
theplayers.NewZealand,forexample,have
BradThornastheirlock,andeventhoughhe’s
shortbyinternationalstandards,itworksfor
thembecausehe’smobileandtheydon’tusethe
lineoutasoftenasothersides,avoidingthatset-
piece.Hismobilitysuitsthestyleofrugbythey
play
• Forwardsmustunderstandtheirroleinthepack
(whetherthey’rearunnerorcleanerinparticular
moves)
• Donothavetoomanyrunnersbecause
therewillbenoonetosecuretheballatthe
breakdownsandtherewillbeanimbalancein
thecompositionoftheside
• Donothavetoomanypassers
• Astrongset-piece(scrumandlineout)
isessential.
defence
First-phase defence:
• First-phasedefenceisdefenceagainsttheset-
piece(scrum,lineoutandkick-off)
• It’sthefirstdefencecontactandissignificant
inthatifyoucandenytheoppositiongain-line
advantageorquicksecondphasepossession,
youareinapositiontotakeadvantageinthat
particularsequence
• Winningthesetpieceisfirstprize.It’smore
difficulttodefendfromthescrumthancontest
thelineout.But,asBalieSwartsays,atscrum-
time“thefirsttackleindefenceistheactual
scrum”
• Youmustgivetheoppositionbadballatthe
scrumbydisruptingit.Wheelingisalsoan
option,allowingyourforwardstobecloserto
theoppositionbackline
• Thedefendingscrumhalfneedstocommunicate
withhislooseforwardssoasnottobe‘sucked’
in.The9canstayorleavethesideofthescrum,
whichhasamassiveinfluenceonhisteam’s
defenceandthesystem
• Theshoulderyoumanipulateduringthescrum,
relatedtotheleftandright-shoulderwheel,can
assistthedefenceline
• Thelineoutisalsousedtostartyourdefensive
system.Nowadays,becauseteamsrunattacks
tothreeorfourphases,it’struetosaythatby
winningtheoppositionlineoutineffectyoutake
awaythreerucks.Therefore,contestinginthe
lineoutsisvitalingettingthedefenceinorder
• Puttingyourlooseforwardonthe15mline
isalsoareallyeffectivewaytodefendfroma
lineout,especiallyifapropissupportingatthe
backofyourlineout.
Non-negotiables:
• Haveadefencesystemforeachsetpiecein
everyfieldposition.Makesureyoupractiseit
andeachplayerisawareofhisrole
• Knowtheopposition’skeyplaysineach
importantfieldpositionandpractiseyour
defenceagainstit
• Makesurethereissynergybetweentheset-piece
contestandthefirst-phasedefence
• Doesyourteamcoverthefieldondefence?
• Seedefencenotesperage-group.
17
Philosophyof the game
attack
Shape of attack:
• Same-sideattack:Keepmovingtowardsthe
touchline
• Onephase:Onestrikemovefromtheset-piece.
Thiscreatesashockfactorforthedefencewhen
theyhavebeenthinkingyouarecontinually
tryingtotakeitthroughthephases
• Threephase:Mostcommonlyusedto
manipulateandweardownthedefence
• Multi-phase:Keepingpossessionthroughas
manyphasesaspossibletocreatepressureor
winapenalty
• Rushvsnormalattack(manipulationofdefence):
Thisislinkedtothepaceortempoofthegame
youwanttoplayataccordingtothetimeand
situationinthematch
• Fallingtogroundtooquickly:Thisistheworst
thingthatcanhappenbecauseitallows
defendersthechancetostayontheirfeetand
contestforballontheground
• Areplayersforcingthemove?Teamsmustn’tdo
amoveifitisn’tonandtheyhavetoreadthe
situation.Oftenseniorplayerswillcallamove
becauseitinvolvesthemandtheywantthe
limelight,buttheymustuseamoveforthe
rightreasons
• Firstwinthefirstphase:Forexample,sometimes
looseforwardsaresoworriedaboutthe
impendingmovethattheyforgettopushinthe
scrumanditgoesbackwards,hamperingthe
efficiencyofthemove.
Fundamentals of attack:
• Whereareyougoingtoattack?
• Howwilldefenceinfluenceyourattack?
• Attackingweaknesses(innumbersandinsize):
Teamsshouldlooktofirstattackthesidewhere
therearelessnumbers(ifyouhaveafiveon
threeoverlap,forexample),andthenwherethe
smallerplayersarelocated
• Attackingtheopposition’sstrengths?Thisis
thelastresortafterattackinginnumbersand
size,butisdonetotaketheopposition’sbest
defenderoutofthegameandputhimonthe
ground.Oncethat’sdone,youcanthenattack
theweakness
• Conditions?Weatheralwaysinfluencesthecalls
madeandyoucan’texpecttomaketoomany
passesinwetconditions.Ifthewindisblowing,
playersshouldstandclosertogether
• Influenceofteampersonnel?Whattypeof
playersyouhaveatyourdisposalwillaffect
themovesyouuse.Forexample,youcan’tuse
intricatepassingmovesifyoudon’thavemany
goodpassersinyourteam
• Timeofgame(firstminuteor80thminute)and
score(5-3or50-3)?Boththesefactorswill
influenceyourattackandthecallmade.Ifit’s
thelastminuteandyou’releadingbytwopoints,
you’renotgoingtouseariskymovedeepin
yourownhalf.
18
breakdown
Checklist:
• Ball-carrierdominant?
• Firstmaninoverball?
• Secondmanintomakeadecision
• Thirdmaninasanoption
• IsNo.9clearing?
• Usingtheleagueoption(whereplayersother
thanNo.9clearball)
• Ballpocketminus?Whencoachingthe
breakdown,it’seasierforthecoachtoreferto
thethreemainroleplayersas‘ball’,‘pocket’
and‘minus’.Eachplayermusthavedesignated
rolesinstructuredmoves,buttheremustbe
contingencyplansforplayerstoplayoffthe
cuffifsomethinggoeswrongandaplayerwho
wasn’tsupposedtogettheballendsupbeing
theball-carrier.Therefore,everyonepractises
beingthe‘ball’,‘pocket’and‘minus’.
Attack off 9 – ball, pocket and minus:
‘Ball’istheball-carrier.Hemustuseleg-driveinorder
togetovertheadvantageline.Ballpresentationis
importantsothatthemomentumcontinuesandit’svital
theball-carrierplacestheballfarfromhisbodysoit’s
easierfortheNo.9toclear.Theball-carriermustrunas
ifhe’sgoingtoscore,whichistheidealsituationandthe
firstoption,orhemusttryhisutmosttoatleastbeatthe
defence.
Thefirstcleanerisknownasthe‘pocket’.Hemust
getovertheballtoprotectitandbeinastrongbody
position.Thelowerhegetstosealitoff,themore
difficultitwillbeforanopponenttogethishands
ontheball.Healsocan’tflopontheballashe’llget
penalisedandhemustkeephisheaduptomakea
decision!
Thesecondcleanerisknownasthe‘minus’.Hemust
attackthecorrectsideandlookwherethesecond
defenderis,andthengotothatsideandclearhimout.
Attimeshewon’thavetogoinastherewon’tbea
seconddefender,andit’suptohimtomakeadecision.
Atthejuniorlevels,playersmaystruggletomakethese
decisions,soit’sanideathatattheseage-groupsthey
alwaysgointoaddnumbers,andfromtheseniorage-
groupstheymustmakedecisions.
Principles to remember about the breakdown:
• Ifyouareplanningtokickfromyour22marea,
youcanneverhavetoomanyplayersoverthe
ball.Thisguaranteesthatyouwillwintheball
backandtherewillbenothreatofthecounter-
ruckfromtheopposition
• Ifyou’reagainstthetouchlineorareusingone-
offrunners,playerspresentatthepreviousruck
mustdoubleupandgotothenextruck,which
iscloseby.Thiswillhelpthequalityoftheattack
asyouwon’trequireextracleaners
• No.9mustruntokeeppillardefendershonest.
19
Philosophyof the game
Playerkeepingheadupatbreakdown tomakeadecision
20
PAtteRns oF
playPatternsofplayallowplayerstoknowwheretheballis
movingtoonattack.Itallowsthecoachtomanipulate
thedefence,tocontrolthetempoofthegameand,
moreimportantly,positionballrunnersorpassersinto
positionsthey’rebestsuitedforinthesequence.U14s
shouldtrytogettotwophasesinonesetplayand,as
theplayersgetmoreskilful,increasethesettoamulti-
phaseattack(U15sthree-phase,U16sfour-phaseand
soon).
For the benefit of this manual:
• OneruckandchangedirectionisaTIGERplay
• Tworucksandchangeofdirectionisan
OPTUSplay
• ThreerucksandchangedirectionisaBLACKplay
• Fourrucksorgoingtoexhaustthetouchlineisa
SHARKSplay
• Goingwideandwidebackagainisa
STORMERSplay.
Example:
Callingtheplaywillbeasfollows:
U14:5-manlineout:Tigerplay:Wellington/Red
U19:5-manlineout:Tigerplay:Wellington/Red,Snap
/default.
Thisindicatestheprogression.
Whenbuildingthesets,thecoachmustunderstandhe
needstopickrunnersinthesettocarrytheballand
passerstogettheballtotherunners.
Everyactioninthegameneedstobecommunicated
fromthecoachorbetweenplayersand,therefore,each
action/phaseisgivenaname.Whenplayershaverun
asetplayfromU14supuntilU19sitcanbeusedasa
banker call.Usuallyasetthatbringsplayersbackinto
thegame:aconfidencecall.
Thephasesputintoasetaredeterminedbytheskill
leveloftheplayers.Thebettertheskilllevel,themore
flashytheplays.Theplaysmustbearrangedtoputthe
defenceunderpressure,andthereforevariationiskey.
Forexample,numbersinlineout,usingdecoy-runners,
surpriseelement,8-9optionfromscrums,variationin
whereyouattackoppositiondefence,variationintempo
ofattack(rushvsnormalmanipulation).
Thedirect optionisalwayspartoftheattackstrategy
andisusedtoholdthedefenceandkeepithonest.
Abankerplayisusuallyarushplaythatisdirectand
involvesthewholeteam.
21
Fromscrums
Swivelwith9
8 9
PUM
A
1312
2/3
(Drop pass)
12 13 14
CRAB
94
RED
6 10 12
BOZO
(Skip)
10 11 12
BLAC
K
(Double switch)
10 129
11
OFS
22
Patternsof play
2Options
Insidepass
Doubleinsidepass
9 10 12
13
ACT
9 10 13
12ROCK
ET
9
4 10 6
APPL
E
9
15 6 10PINE
APPL
E
9
11/1410
COW
BOY
(Tail of Line-out)
910
12
CANT
ERBU
RY
(Flat)
109 12ALL
BLAC
K
(Flat)
23
9 10 12BASK
ET
Pick & goBULL
Ball to be released immediately
to backs
FLAS
H
S
BOK
FLAG
S 1/
5 1 2 3 4 5
Ball to backs
COKE
BAL
L
10
12 13CAST
LE -
10
Throughthemiddle
Overridesallcalls
Fromthebaseofscrum-8pick&go
WiperkicktoLeft(1)&Right(5)
From1stphase
13over12
24
Patternsof play
13under12
2options,passto12isinfrontof13
Receivingplayerbehindpasserasanoption
Toexhaustion
Skippasses8to15insideholds
defenders
Passesto8
10
12 13
UnderOve
r
LAGE
R -
10
1112 13
10
AMST
EL -
10
1112 13
10
AMST
EL -
10
9
6 8
10
15CLOW
N ( S
HO
RT)
Drive!
WAR
ATAH
/TAN
KEYPass
Running Line
Support run
KickB
S Scrum
PlayerAttacker
PlayerDefender
Ruck or Maul
Contact Shield Tackle bag
BeaconFlag
Quick feet ladder
Ball HoopnBreakdow
25
Tiger plays
R1
S
9
10 12
13
9
9
1514211
74
7 64
Option1
ACT
If 15 gets he must be behind 4 & 7Burger
Dog PieRedTuks 9-15
9
9 10
S
R1
74
13
12
11
15142
Option 2
Basket/Sniper
BurgerDogPieRedTuks 9-15
Isolated upperbody passing
OFS
10 129
11
S
R1
9
1513
11
74
BurgerDogPie
Red Tuks
Option 3
S
8 9
UnderOve
r
141310 12
R1
979
Option 4
Puma Baby 2/3 Lager
Red AceAce +
Castle 9Castle 10
S
13
10
11 15
9
14
12
R2
9 13
7R1
6 9
Baby 2/3 Amstel
Red X / Ace
R/m scrum
Ace +
Ace
KEYPass
Running Line
Support run
KickB
S Scrum
PlayerAttacker
PlayerDefender
Ruck or Maul
Contact Shield Tackle bag
BeaconFlag
Quick feet ladder
Ball HoopnBreakdow
26
Patternsof play
optus plays
black plays
R1
R2
R3
F39 10
11
9 1012
13
15 14
F1 F2
9
9
Rocket
Clown mac
NB: 9 runs
Burger
Default playsDummy2/3Ace +
Option 3
7 4
R1
R2
9
S
13 12 10
10
1513
96
10
14
15 4
9Baby 2/3 Ace
Clown (wide)
Bozo (10)
R1
R2
S
9
10/15
1411
109
812
13Bok 2/3
Option 2Option 1
8
S9
10 12
R1
R2101211
Pie
9
Ace + Dog BurgerBurgerDogPiePie ace+Red
S
R1
R2
R3
9
12
1213
10
10
9
9
9Wide play(default op-tion)
Look at numbers & players out
Crab
BurgerDogPie +
Option 1 Option 2
2/3 Burger Pepsi Crab
27
OutcOmesof manual • Basedonthedrillsinthemanualandthe
relevantratingsgivenforthosedrillsandallthe
dataandplanningfromtheseason,coachescan
gaugewhattypeofteamtheyhave(ieateam
filledwithrunners).Thatwillimpactonwhat
typeofgametheyplaythefollowingseason
andwhattheyneedtoworkontobecomea
betterall-roundside.Forexample,ifyouhavea
smallsidewhoaregoodpassers,youknowwhat
styleofrugbytoplayandwhatmovesyoucan
use.Ifyouhaveabigsidewithlotsofrunners,
youwon’thavemanymovesthatrequiremany
passesuntiltherequiredworkhasbeendoneon
catchingandpassing.
• Allrankingsandassessmentofdrills(see
‘Evaluation’sectioninpracticesheets),skillsand
practicesmustbedonewithhonestyinorderto
planaccordinglyforthefollowingseasonwith
regardstowhatareasneedimprovement.
• Advicefordoingdrills:AsProfNoakessays,it
isimportanttoexplaintochildrenthereason
fordoingthedrill(the‘why’firstandthenthe
‘how’).Thatwill‘sell’thedrilltothemandthey
willknowthey’redoingitforareason(the
biggerpicture),andnotjustdoingsomethingto
takeuptimeuntiltheendofpractice.
• Onceallthechecklistsarecomplete,youcanadd
variationsifyouhaveagiftedgroup,butonly
onceallthebasicshavebeendone.
• Fromallthis,nextyear’scoachwillbeableto
planaccordinglydependingonwhattheteam’s
strengthsandweaknessesare,whichhavebeen
measuredthroughouttheseason.
28
ThefollowingisaguidelineofthebasicsthatU14s
shouldhaveachievedafterthecompletionoftheirfirst
yearinhighschool.ThekeyaspectsinU14aremore
structure-orientatedandgeneral-skillorientatedthan
individualskills.Ifyouhavethesefivetenetsofdefence,
buildinguptackleconfidenceandconfidenceincontact,
liftinginlineouts,scrumming,andstructuretoyour
team,thebasestonesaretheretoaddtothegamein
U15,whereyoucanworkonaspectssuchastactical
kickingetc.
General:
U14smustbeintroducedtotheschool’srugbylanguage
(seepage12).Theyoungerboysshouldalsobe
introducedtotheschool’srugbyhistoryandethosto
ensurethereisaprideintheFirstXVjerseyandthat
theywillwanttorunoutfortheschoolatthatlevelin
afewyears’time.Aswithallteams–butevenmoreso
atthislevel,inordertoinstildisciplineandthestandards
expectedfortherestoftheirrugbycareersattheschool
–theremustbeanemphasisonworkethicandintensity
fromU14level.
defence checklist for u14
Tacklebothshoulders;defenceinthrees;pillarandtwo
outside(structure);notloadingblindside,tackleand
jackaltechnique.
Defenceskillspointsforjuniorcoaches:
Pre-contact positioning:
• Splitfeetwithoneslightlyinfrontoftheother
• Bodyweightforward–chestoverfeetandbent
atknees
• Handsupinordertogetthehandsforwardand
onthetoes.
Key cues:
• Handsup
• Pickatargetareaandaimthroughthearea,1m
pasttheplayer
• Takethespaceindefence
• Hit,stickandsqueeze–thesqueezewillfling
theplayertotheirfeetandputtheminajackal
position(challengeforballonfeet)
• Leg-drive–chasethroughthehit
• Headup,dipatthehipsandkneesslightly–
contactiswiththeshoulder
• Legsloadthegun,shouldersfirethegun.
Tracking (subject to defensive pattern):
• Insideshoulder(attackerisontheoutsideof
defenderinrelationtowheretheballiscoming
from)
• Takethespaceforward
• Steadyonceatargetareaischosenwithshorter
steps(noplant)
• Bodyweightslightlyforward,eyesonthetarget
throughtothehit
• Staytallanddipfromthekneesandhips
• Re-accelerateoncetheattackerhasbeenfixed
intoazone
• Shouldercontact
• Hit,stickandsqueeze–finishwithlegdrive.
Key reads and decision-making on defence:
• Carrierhasballinonehand=linespeedandhit
• Ballintwohands=takethespaceandforcethe
playontheball-carrier
• Poorpass=linespeedandhit.
u14 PRACtiCe sCHedULe
CHeCKList
and
29
attack checklist for u14:
• Catchandpass(beforeandincontact)
• Runningskills/evasiveskills
• Scrumhalfpass(leftandright)
• VeryNB-9passingto10asmuchaspossible,
whothenplaystoforwardsoffinsideand
outsideshoulder(encourages10tomake
decisionsashehasballinhishandsasoften
aspossibleandnotinthehandsofrandom
forwards)
• Scrumhalfrightboxkick
• Two-phaseattack(scrumandlineout)
• Scrumbodyposition/technique
• Lineout–support,catch,deliverytoNo.9.Short
lineoutsarealsosimpleinthejuniorage-groups
• Workingongetting4-ball(middleball)atthe
lineout.
U14sshouldhavefivebaseplays,whichisthebaselevel.
Addsomethingnewthehigheryougo.InU15youcan
addtwovariationstoeach,U16afurthertwovariations,
andanothertwoinopen.Forthesefiveplays,you’ll
needcertaintypesofplayerstoexecutethemproperly.
However,there’snothingtostopyoufromusingyour13
torunthe12linesforcertainmoves,forexample,ifthe
12isn’tasabrasiveasthe13andthat’swhatyourequire
forthatmove.
AtU14level,theteamshouldhavemoveslasting
twophases.
Skillscoachingpointsforjuniorcoaches:
Catching skills
• Fingersspread
• Handsfacingtheball/bentelbows
• Elbowsinandupforahighball
• Fingersspreadaftertheballiscaughtforquick
transfer.
30
u14checklist
31
Passing skills
Clearing pass:
• Backfootintighttotheball
• Bentkneesandbacksidedownwithweight
transferredfromthebacklegthroughtothe
frontleguponsweepingthepass
• Balltobepassedoffthedeck
• Fingerstopointtothetarget(pointandshoot!)
• Afterthepassthesupportlineistofollowthe
lineoftheball(NB).
Short pass:
• Elbowsbent
• Fingersspreadaroundtheballforcontrol
• Handsfollowtheballafterpass
• Mustnotbeaspiralorspinpass
• Sequence:lookattheball,catchit,turnhead
andlookattarget,pointandshoot.
Long pass:
• Elbowsbentandmovetofullextension
• Outsidelegbackwhenpassinginordertoavoid
passingacrossbody
• Fingersspreadaroundtheballtoensurecontrol
• Sequence–importanttopointandshoot
• Spiralpassisthefastestball–bottomhand
providesdirectionandtopgivesthepower
• Upperbodyovertheball.
Press pass:
• Elbowsbent
• Fingersspreadacrosstheball
• Ballispassedtoaplayerafterbeingtackled–
thepressingmotionwillgivetheballcontrol
andpowerasopposedtopoppingtheballup
• Fingerswilldictatethetrajectory/positioningof
theball(pointandshoot).
general tips for selection in u14
• Paceoutwideinbackthree
• Flyhalfpassingandkickingskills,andabilityto
takeballflat
• Hookerwhocanthrowfourball
• Talllocks
• Looseforwards(combinationofpace,
sizeandskill).
breakdown skills
Withthenewlawinterpretationsfavouringattacking
sides,thelongeryoucankeeptheballandcontrol
possession,themorestructureyourteamwillhave.
Forsafety,nosqueezeballmustbetaughttoyoung
age-group!
Breakdowncoachingpointsforjuniorcoaches:
Generalprinciplesinattackanddefence:
• Gettotheplayerasheisgoingtoground
(timing)
• Cominginsquareandattackingthebreakdown
withgoodbodyheightOVERtheball.
Defence:
• Decision-makingskillsthroughgamesimulation
onwhethertocommitorstayoutatbreakdown
• Enterfromthebackwithheadup
• Beaggressiveinhittingthebreakdownor
contestingtheball
• Ifcontestingtheball,stayinalowbodyposition
onthefeetwithchinupandNOTonchest
• Twoschoolsofthoughtwithstealingtheball:
eitheronelegoverandgrabtheballORreach
overinalowpositionbehindthetackledplayer
• Matchbodyheightwithattackingplayers/get
inlow
• Ifattackingsupportplayercomesinatspeed
thereisthepossibilityofpullingthemthrough
andsteppingtotheside
• Oncecontactismadewithanoppositionplayer,
thedefendershoulduselegdriveandhitthe
playerthesameasindefence,lowtohigh,pick
apointandstick.
32
u14checklist
Attack:
• Firstplayersecurestheball–goinhardtoget
handsontheballandpivottopresentafter
winningtheball
• Ontheclean-outplayersenterfromthebackin
alowbodypositionanduselegdrivetowinthe
breakdowncontest(decisionwhethertoholdor
continuethedriveisateamphilosophy)
• Ifadefenderhashishandsontheball,the
attackermatchesbodyheightandhitswiththe
shoulderwhilegettingthearmthroughtoattack
theoppositionplayer’sbase(legs)
• Ontheclean-out,playersmusthitandstickin
ordertobeeffective
• Steadybeforeenteringinordertogetbalance
andthenhitthebreakdownandlegdrivewith
aggression
• Theballiswherethegameis–thisisthezone
tofocusonwhencleaningout.
Conclusion for u14
Ensuringyourteamtakesthecorrectoptionsinmatch
situationsisthemostimportantconsiderationhere,
becausethisshowstheirskillsaredevelopingandthey
areabletothinkonthefieldandtransfermateriallearnt
inpracticestogamesituations.Thiscombinedwiththe
sidebeingphysicallyconditionedandhavingtheethicof
playingforoneanotherfromanearlyage,willhelpthe
sideachievethebestpossibleresults.
33
34
u14practice schedule
Week 1: Practice 1, session 1 (Training template 1)
Equipmentrequirements(tickboxes):balls,shields,cones,bibs
Session’sfocus:passing/catching/basicskills
Volume:low;Intensity:high
Session Coaching points:
3.00–3.15pm: Warmup
Visualawareness/hand-eyeco-ordination
Quickshortpasses(drill1–3mins)
Longerpasses(drill2–3mins)
Combination(drill3–3mins)
Addpressurebyintroducingdefencedrillfor3min
Handsout
Quickshortpasses(drill1–3mins)
Runstraight,eyesopen
3.15–3.40: Phasecallsintroduction
2/3
Bozo
Crab
Apple
Run‘S’shape
Decoytodohisjob
Runhard
3.40–3.45: Waterbreak
3.45–4.00: Breakdownskills(contactskills)
Recoilandballplacement:
1vs1(falllongways)
1vs2(secondmaninonfeet)
2vs2(strongposition)
4.00–4.30: Structure:scrumattack/lineoutattack
OneTigerplay/oneOptusplay/oneBlackplay
AvsBteam,50%defence
4.30–5.00: Scrumsessiontogettiming
Backstodoindividualskillsandfirst-phasedefence
u14 sCHedULe
PRACtiCe
Complete the t ra in ing templates in the format of the ’dai ly Programme’ spreadsheet, which can be found in Appendix A on page 79.
35
Tackledplayerfallinglongwaysandplacingball, secondmaninandmakingdecision
36
u14practice schedule
KEYPass
Running Line
Support run
KickB
S Scrum
PlayerAttacker
PlayerDefender
Ruck or Maul
Contact Shield Tackle bag
BeaconFlag
Quick feet ladder
Ball HoopnBreakdow
u14 s1 Week 1
Groups of 5
Drill 1 3 mins
5m
Passing left and right
Drill 2 3 mins
Same as drill 1
Stand further apart
9
Drill 3 3 mins
Right hand side (Long)
9
Drill 4 3 mins
2 vs 3 3 vs 4Add defenders
Left hand side (Short)
37
9
1210 13 14
12 610
Phase calls
Bozo
2/3
Breakdown
Attacker
Long place
Run to beat player
Place ball in contact
Defender
9
9
Crab
Hands option
Phase calls
9
4 10 6
Apple
Phase calls
9
1210 13 14 15
S
8
R8 12 6
2/3
910
13 14 1511
Example of plays
2/3 Hands
u14 s1 Week 1
38
u14practice schedule
Week 1: Practice 2, session 2
Equipmentrequirements:balls,shields,cones,bibs
Session’sfocus:unitskills,basiccatchingandpassing
Volume:high;Intensity:low/high
Session Coaching points:
3.00–3.15pm: Warmup
Sameassessionone
3-15–3.30: Phasecalls
Sameassessionone
3.30–3.35: Waterbreak
3.35–4.05: Unitskills–thelineout(forwards)
Supportingthejumper
Jumpingtechnique
Throwto2withoptionsandvariations
Deliveryto9
Backs:Playsfromlineout
Gettingoutoftheirownhalf
Onthetoes
Explosive
Hookertothrow
Deliveryontherun
4.05–4.30: Structure
RunthethreeplaysneededfortheSaturdaymatchuntil
twophases(AvsBteam,50%defence)
4.30–4:50: Kick-offs(receivingandown)
Comments/evaluation
39
Captain’s practice template
Week 1: Practice 3, session 3
Thetemplateforthecaptain’srunisthatitmustbeshort,sharpandtothepointwithspecificgoalsinmindforthatspecific
match.Thewarmupdoneheremustbeexactlythesameasthewarmuptheplayerswilldoonmatchday,sothattheyare
familiarandcomfortablewithit.
Thecaptain’spracticeshouldbeofhighintensityforashortperiodandshouldn’tbetoolong,sotheplayerssavetheirlegsfor
thenextday.
Thecoachmustdecideontheformatand,asadressrehearsalforthegame,theplaysshouldbedonequicklywithnomistakes.
Thecoachandcaptainmustdiscussandcometoagreementonissuessuchasdisciplineandtherefereebeforethegame.
1 4 3 5 6 7 8Throw on 4 or 5 only to the front option
Forwards
10 12 13 1410 12 13 14
9
9
Backs Coach serves as the line-outBacks vs no defence then build it upBoth sides are important
Coach
Coach
u14 s2 Week 1
Explanation:
Twocoachestobeinvolvedwiththesessiontomakeitproductivefortheplayers–onetooverseethelineoutandonetooversee
thebacks’runningandpassingoptions.
Comments/evaluation
Comments/evaluation
40
u14practice schedule
41
Week 2: Practice 1, session 4
Equipment:balls,poles
Session’sfocus:ballskills/breakdown/defencesystems
Volume:high;Intensity:high
Session Coaching points:
3.00–3.15pm: Warmup
Re-cappassingandcatchingdrills,andaddoneoption
3.15–3.30: Defencestructure:Mappingdrill
Startingroupsof3,buildto5
Up/down/calledbycoachtogetthreetoworkinunison
(7min)
Builduptoshapeatrucks(formPXYshapequickly–8min)
Keepdistance
Keepline
Communicate
3.30–3.35: Waterbreak
3.35–3.50: Drawingyourman
2vs1drills
3vs2drills
3.50–4.20: Unitskills
Thelineout(forwards);counter-attack(backs)
4.40–4:45: Gametoworkondefencestructure/breakdownandkick
withcounter-attack
4.45–5.00: Kickingoutoftheirownhalf
Scrumplays
42
u14practice schedule
u14 s4 Week 2
Drill 1
Pass through poles for added pressureIn groups of 3 from channel to channel
Drill 2 Defensive mapping drill
Shape drill for defence 1
2nd attacker protects the ball
2 Attackers
Shape drill for defence 2
4 Attackers
Defenders on both sides of tacklePX Y shape quickly
Comments/evaluation
43
Week 2: Practice 2, session 5
Equipment:balls
Session’sfocus:teamstructure/tackletechnique
Session Coaching points:
3.00–3.15pm: Warmup
Touchrugby(3touch)–concentrateonthe
presentation/2nd
manintosecuretheball
DefencetogetPXYshape
Longlayback
Secondmanstrongposition
3.15–3.30: 1-on-1tackletechnique(bothshoulders)
Firstonknees,thenwalking,thenjogging Headbehindhips
Eyesopen
Legdrive
Pullwitharms
3.30–3.35: Waterbreak
3.35–4.15: Structure:phaseplaysincluded
Runtomulti-phase(ownhalfandattack)
Scrumandlineout
4.15–4.40: Scrumsession
Backs–individualskills(9sand10spassingandkicking
pressure)
Comments/evaluation
44
u14practice schedule
Captain’s practice: session 6
Seecaptain’spracticetemplate,U14Week1:Session3
Week 3: Practice 1, session 7
Equipment:balls
Session’sfocus:fitness
Volume:high;Intensity:high
Session Coaching points:
3.00–4.00pm: Fitnesssessionisneededasitisalongseasonandthe
playersneedtobepushedfor45mins
Last15minutes–Aerobicfitnesssession,recovery
4.00–4.30: Teamstructure
30minutesat50%effort,scrumandlineoutstructure Nodroppedballs!
Concentration
Comments/evaluation
Comments/evaluation
45
Week 3: Practice 2, session 8
Equipment:balls
Session’sfocus:individualskill/unitskills/teamstructure
Session Coaching points:
3.00–3.15pm: Warmup
Individualskills(drill1)
Passing:quickhandsingroupsof5,twogroupsrunning
towardeachother
Beatingyourman
Footwork,handsout
3.15–3.30: Cleaningout:Breakdownskill(drill3)
Addvariations(2passesetc)
Phasecalls
9topassaccurately
3.30–3.35: Waterbreak
3.35–4.00: Defence–2ndmanintocontest
1attacker:defendertacklesankles,secondmanontoball Aggressive
Technique
Evasiverunning
4.00–4.25: Unitskills–thelineout
5-manoptions
Optionstowinballinmiddle
Technique
Throwersaccurate
4.45–5.00: Individualskills
4.25–4.45: Structure–Matchsituations
AvsBteam(50%defence)
Drill 1
u14 s8 Week 3
46
u14practice schedule
Comments/evaluation
Comments/evaluation
u14 s8 Week 3
Captain’s practice, session 9
Seecaptain’spracticetemplate,U14Week1:Session3
9
Drill 2
Beating the defence Beating the defence
9
Drill 3Do drill both sides
Secure the ball9 pass from each ruck
Present the ball
Contact shields fold
the f i rst three weeks of pract ice have been set out as a guidel ine here. you can plan the rest of the season based on the guidel ines and checkl ists prov ided and what you fee l wi l l meet your team’s speci f ic requi rements.
47
breakdown
Clean-out technique:
Theabilitytocleaneffectivelyisessential.Inresponse
tothedifferenttypesofcontestandbodyposition
employedbythedefendersatthetackle,weneedtwo
distincttechniquesforcleaningoutplayers.Weneedto
targetovertheball(lowclean-outposition)andinside
forsniperthreats.
Situation 1
Thedefender,whetherattheruckorenteringit,is
mostlyuprightandthereisasignificantpieceoftorso
thatcanbetargeted.
Snipercleanout:shouldcontactbemadeunderthe
defender’sshoulderarea(torso),hookthelegand
driveinatraditionaltacklingmotion.Theentrymust
bedirectlyattheplayeranddrivehimawayfromthe
ballandoffhisfeet.Thistypeofclean-outcanbe
doneatspeed.
Situation 2
Thedefenderiscrouched/proneovertheballoris
attackingitwithhisshoulderslowerthanhishipsand
thetorsocannotbetargeted(Dogoorlowclean-out
position).Atspeedanormalclean-outapproachwould
likelymissorcompressthedefenderontotheball,
furthertrappingit.
Tackler/peeltechnique:getinclosetothedefender,
balance(adjustspeed)andpreparetouseajumpsquat
anddrivetechniquetoremovethedefender.Targeting
mustbespecificallyundertheplayerorbetweenthe
arm.Driveoffusingbothfeetandthenimmediately
keepthedrivegoingwithbothfeetuntilyouhavedriven
himbackofftheballandyouarepasttheball.Ifyou
enduponthegroundaftertheclean-out,somustthe
defender.
Counter-rucking Pre-conditions:Superiornumberofdefenders;‘Numbers’
nearbreakdown;poorbodyheightbyattacker’s
position;slow/contestedball.
u15 CHeCKList
if al l the basics of U14 leve l haven’t been mastered, the U15s must go back and complete these with the coaches assessing the i r sk i l l leve ls and then planning f rom there accordingly. the rev iew of the U14 season and planning for the next must be handed to the d i rector of rugby by the prev ious year’s U14 coach, g iven to the U15 coach, and analysed and discussed by a l l three indiv iduals ( th is should be the same when moving across a l l age-groups) .
U15s should have a l l the U14’s basics, but they must be more accurate in execut ion. examples of th is inc lude work ing on body posi t ion at the breakdowns, running l ines etc.
the dr i l ls for the breakdown below are examples of how players can be more accurate in execut ion at th is leve l .
48
Technique:
• Comethroughthegate
• Targetdefendernearesttheballwithhigh/
clean-outtechnique
• Drivethedefenderovertheballtodisrupt
No.9’saccessandgetbodiespasttheball
• Mustmakecontactwithoppositionplayeronly.
lineout
InU14andU15,thisset-pieceisallaboutball-winning,
withsecuringballatthetailvitalinthelatterage-group.
Lineoutcoachingpointsforjuniorcoaches
Throwing skills:
• Stanceshouldallowthrowertobebalanced
/stableyetthereshouldbenolowerbody
movementasthiswillprovideacueforthe
opposition
• Throwershouldbeabletothrow5-8mfromhis
startingposition(tailball)
• Elbowsshouldbeatshoulderwidthinorder
tominimisethemarginoferrorasopposedto
splayedelbows
• Elbowsshouldbelockedoutpost-throw
• Fingersoutpost-throw
• Thumbs-downpost-throwtoensurefull
extension/follow-through
• Gripontheballshouldhavefingersspreadand
slightlyonthebacksideoftheball’scentre.
Jumping skills:
• Abilitytoreactfromastaticjump/dynamicjump
• Startwiththeoutsidelegupinasplitposition
–theoutsidelegshouldfaceintowardsthe
lineout
• Armsbentatchestlevelwiththehandsopen
• Kneesslightlybent
• Weightforwardonthetoesandballsofthefeet.
Lifting skills:
• Startinasplitpositiononballsoffeetinorderto
react/getintightquickly
• Handsopenandup–fingersspread
• Kneesslightlybentandtheupperbodyleaning
forward
• Liftergetsinastightaspossibleonthejumper
andgetstofullextension
• Legsareatshoulderwidthandslightlysplitto
ensurebalanceduringandafterthelift
• Lifterpicksthetargetareaonthejumperand
focusesongettingagrip,andthenliftinginthe
samewayasdoingasquat.
Our ball:
• Variations
• Callstocomequickly
• Getexcitedaboutthecall
• Speed:reaction;jumpandsupport,speedonthe
ground,balldelivery,firsttotheruck
• Drives:preventsacking,packquickly,body
positionandtightness,legdriver,staytogether
orre-join
• Execution
• Blockerstopreventoppositionfromcoming
through
• Dummiestoholdopponents.
Competing:
• Countnumbersquickly
• Communicateandorganise
• Speedongroundandcontestaggressively(goup!)
• Sweeperstobeawake
• Ifturnover2passesto12
• Ifnone:recoverquickly,sackorstopdrives,
pressurecontactsituation,goforturnovers.
AtU15leveltheremustalsobetheintroductionof
playersworkinginpartnershipsandcombinations.
Thetraditional8-9moveoffascrumcanbeusedinU14,
andfromU15,the8-9-14blindsidemoveand8-9-12
ingeneralmovecanbeused.InU15,thehalfbacksand
backthreeshouldbetaughttoworkincombinations.
U15sshouldaimtousethree-phasemoves.
the U15 and U16 programmes can be developed us ing the checkl ist above and adjusted to su i t the requirements of your team.
49
u15 checklist
Shapeoff9attackmuststartatthisage-group.
Shapeoff9,byEddieJones–forvideoexamplessee
www.rugbyxv.co.zasite(http://www.rugbyxv.co.za/
coaches-corner/trends/111-are-scrumhalves-allowed-to-
run-with-the-ball)
In2010thescrumhalfbecamethemostinfluential
playerinthegame.
Withtherefbeinginsistentonthetacklerrollingaway,
theamountofquickruckballhasincreasedconsiderably
–theareahardesttodefendnowisthefirstthree
defendersaroundtheruck.Defendersarescrambling
–tendingtocomeoffthelinelaterally–allowingthe
9morelatitudetopickupandrun.
Thegood9slikeFourieduPreezandWillGeniaattack
theoutsideshoulderoftheseconddefenderand
thenhavetwoorthreerunnersattackingthefringe
defenders.
Iftheballisslowerandthefirsttheedefendersareset,
the9swillnotrunbutpassinthemoretraditionalway–
offthedecktoarunningforwardorthestandoff.
Good9spicktheiropportunitytoattackonthespeed
oftheruckball,asthespeedoftheruckballdictates
theabilityofthefirstthreeruckdefenderstotakespace
square.Assoonasadefenderturnshisshoulders,the
good9slightup!
u16 lineout
Ballusageisimportant,whichincludestacticsofwhere
andhowyou’llusepossessionaccordingtohowyou
wanttoplay.Atthisage-group,theuseofmaulingand
peelsoffthelineoutshouldcommence.
Individual maul skills:
• Correctlockingprocedure:Iftheball-carrierhas
theballintheleftarm,thenextplayerbindson
themwiththeirleftshoulder
• Incontactkeepthefeetwithalowerbaseof
supportandcontinuelegdriveifpossible
• Ballpresentation:Halfturntoofferatargeton
thechestandalsotokeepthelegdrive
• Supportplayer’sshoulderistightontheball-
carrierinordertoprovidegreaterleverageon
therip.
Senior coaches:
• Importanceofcreatingtheplatform
• Patience
• Theballmustbemovedquicklytothefirst
supporter
• Releasingtheballwhentheformationisgoing
forward.
u16 general
Decision-makingandgameappreciationmustbetaught,
aslongasthebasics(fromU14)andaccuracy(fromU15)
areapparent.
U16smustaimtouse four-phasemoves.
u16 CHeCKList
50
Shapeoff9attack:Scrumhalftrying togettoshoulderofseconddefender
51
u16checklist
• Gamestructureandplanfordifferentpartsof
thefield
• Basicskill
• Breakdownaccuracy(appreciationofnumbers
intocontact)
• Decision-makingonattackanddefence
• Patternsofplay
• Firstphaseandphasedefence,defencepatterns
(outsideinvsoutsideout,drifthard/soft,rush)
• Kickstructure
• Gameunderstanding(teamstructure).
attack
• Accuraterunninglines
• Passingskills(bothsides)
• Beatingyouropposition1vs1,2on2,3on3
• Acquisitionofindividualskills,positionspecific
• Multi-phaseattack
• Scrumunderstanding(controlthetempo),
combinationsofplays/players(8-9plays)
• Thelineout(basics),andpeeloptions,themaul,
variationofattackofflineout
• Sixteamplays(thatshouldhavebeenlearnt
throughoutfromU14level)withvariations.One
onleft-handside,oneonright,oneinmiddle,
andthreelineoutmoves
• Threeplaysonhowtogetoutofyourownhalf
• Linkagebetween9and10(gamemanagement,
understandingmomentumofwhentoplay
directandwhentogowider)
• Slowballmanagement.
defence
• Shapeofdefence
• Linespeed
• Communication(numbersandattackstructure)
• Variations
• Pocketdefence.
FiRstXV PRACtiCe sCHedULe
CHeCKList
and
52
New art of kicking
(Forvideoclips,clickhttp://www.rugbyxv.co.za/coaches-
corner/trends/146-the-new-art-of-kicking)
Gamesin2009couldhavehadupto90kicksagame
–morethanoneaminute.In2010,underthe‘new’
tackle/rucklawinterpretations,teamswerekickingfar
lessandintheTri-Nationslastyear,gameshadlessthan
40kicksagame.Whataretheimplications?
Firstly a couple of questions:
A)WhatTri-Nationsstand-offaveragedthemostnumber
ofkickspergame?
B)Secondly,whichteamwasthebestattackingteamin
theTri-Nations?
If your answers were:
a)DanCarter
b)NewZealand
You are right.
Theimplicationsarethatgoodkickinghasbecomeeven
moreimportant.Kickingtore-arrangethebackfieldand
howthewingersdefendiscrucialtokeepingtheball
andattackingwithpurpose.InitiallyintheTri-Nations,
theKiwisbasicallyraneverything.Then,tactically,they
introducedtheshortkick–grubberandchipkickbehind
topushthewingersbackandmakethe9defendout
oftheline.Thisreducedthefrontlineto11defenders,
creatingspace.
Then,theystartedkickinglong–forcingthewingers
furtherback–andthereforetakingtwodefendersright
outofthelinewhichmeantthenexttimetheyreceived
theballtheycouldexplorethisspacebyrunningand
passing.Theykeptthedefenceguessing,allowingthe
AllBlackstohavevariousattackingoptions–run,pass
orkickplays.
Akickorrunphilosophyinattackisnowvital.Lookat
howthedefenceposition,thenusekicksorrunning,
passingplaystomanipulatethedefence.
Lastyear’steamsjustkicked,nowteamsjustrun;the
bestteamsdobothtocontrolthedefence.Kickingwell,
shortandlongiscrucialforthis.
53
First XVchecklist
kicking trends
(Forvideoexamples,seesite:http://www.rugbyxv.co.za/
coaches-corner/trends/147-kicking-trends-in-the-game)
Philosophies of kicking:
• Everykickmusthaveapurpose
• Maximisefieldposition
• Theabilitytogetoutofyourhalfandplayinthe
opposition’shalf
• Manipulatedefensivesystems.
Kicking trends in the game:
• Withthe‘new’lawinterpretationsfavouringthe
attackingteamthereislesskicking.
Accurate kicking with effective chase lines:
• Lookingtoturntheballoveroncetheopposition
teamiscaughtinpossessionorcontest
possession.
Kicking is used more and more as an attacking
weapon (to create or attack space):
• Theabilityoftheoppositiontocounterattack
hasbecomeabigweapon
- Refereesareverystrictonplayersnottaking
upthespacebeforetheyareputonsideby
thekicker
• Withthisinmindyouneedtopickplayersthat
havetheabilityto:
- Makefieldkicks
- Counter(eitherbyrunningoraccuratekicking)
- Turnpoorkicksintopoints
• Itisimportanttohaveleft&rightfootkickers–
givesyoumoreoptionsespeciallyondefence
• Byaccuratekickingyouhavetheabilityto
dictatethepaceofthegame
• Aqualitygoalkickerisnon-debatable.
linkage between 9 & 10 must also be used at First XV level
by eddie Jones
(Forvideoexamplesseesite:http://www.rugbyxv.
co.za/coaches-corner/trends/131-linkage-between-the-
scrumhalf-a-flyhalf)
Whileattackoff9isveryimportantthesedays,the
linkagebetween9and10isequallyasimportant.
Thetermlinkagemeansthattheattackshapeoff9
andtheattackshapeoff10arelinked,andthedefence
havetodefendbothareasoftheline–theruckandthe
nexttransitionline.
Theclassicexampleiswhenyouhavetworunnersoff
9with10thenbeingflatenoughtoreceivetheball
havingbothinsideandoutsideoptionsavailable.
Thedefenceneedstojamontherunnersoff9and
thatleavesspaceforthe10.Iftheydon’tjamthenthe
optionisonforthe9.TheSpringboksin2007were
terrificatthis.
breakdown
Key to modern breakdown:
• Howtogetoptimalballspeed
• Ballcarryoptions(teachthem)
• Roleofsecond/thirdman
• King’sspace–theneedtowinit
• Howtopractisethebreakdown
• Defendingbreakdown(roleoftackler,second
andthirdman)
• Wayforward.
54
Slow ball management (key issues):
• Howtominimiseslowball
• Slowballusagevsvariousdefencepatterns
rushdefence,highcounter-ruckingteam,soft
defence
• Needtobeorganised(shapeandformation)
• Variousoptionstouse
• Needtorealisepracticespeedofball–how?
• Otherissues.
Tackle contest principles:
Inallcasestheballrunnerwillattempttowinthe
contestthrough:
• Carryingballintwohands
• Usingevasionandfootworktotargetthe
defender’sshoulderandbeatthetackle
• Transferringtheballawayfromcontactbefore
tackle
• Usingsuperiorbodypositionandlegspeedto
gainmaximumyardage
• Off-loadingtoasupportplayerifhehaswonthe
contest
• Presenttheballefficientlyforsecureandswift
recycling(‘Gadget’placement*).
*Principlesofgadget:twistbodytoensurechestfaces
ourgoalline,lookforextra10degrees.Reachbackto
fullarmdistancetoplaceballinastationaryposition.
KeephandonballuntilNo.9calls.
Inallcasesthesecondmanwill,wherepossible:
• Positionhimselfontheinsideofhipoftheball
runner(pocket)
• Reacttotherunninglineoftherunner,
remainingtightonhimsohecan:
- adjusttoreceiveanoffloadinspace
OR
- targettheballandballrunner(usingthe
oppositeshoulderpositiontotheball
runner).
Ifripispossible,secondmanripstheball
OR
- targetanythreatstoposition.
55
First XVchecklist
Week 1: Practice 1, session 1
Equipmentrequirements:balls,bags,suits,poles,cones,shields,hoops,ladders
Session’sfocus:handling,Phasecalls,breakdown,structure
Volume:high;Intensity:high
Session Coaching points:
3.00–3.15pm: Warmup
Visualawareness
Reaction&accuracy
Peripheralawareness
Passingaccuracy
3.15–3.50: Phasecalls:
i)Simpleones–2/3;bozo,Crab
Apple,10/12
Castle/Lager
Amstel
(ii)Builduptwophasesto:
Snap,playtotouchline
Tuks–15comesintoplay
Flash–quickhands
Showtarget&spotonball
Runninglinesandcomm.
Re-alignment,paceonball
3.50–3.55: Waterbreak
3.35–4.15: Breakdown:recoilandjackal
Builditupfrom1v1to2v2(sideontackle,front-on
tackle–recoil)
4.10–4.45: Structure:Shape,Burger/Dog/Pie
3playsi)Canterbury/Red(tiger)
ii)Apple10/Burger(Optus)
ii)Crab/Burger(Black)
sCHedULeXV
sCHedULe
PRACtiCeFiRstXV
56
Isolated upperbody passing
3 BallsSizes 1,3 & 5
Players on knees
Reaction & accuracy
Quick feet
Step
Step
Step
Pass
To left and right side
99
F F
F
Structure9 Runs to hold defenders
“F shape” run straightOptions: Burger/Pie/Dog
1 vs 1
2 vs 2
Tackler up quickly and contest
Tackled player recoils
2nd player to contestHACK OPTION!
Breakdown
Tackler go into space
u19 s1 Week 1
Comments/evaluation
57
First XVpractice schedule
Week 1: Practice 2, session 2
Equipment:balls,suits,shields
Session’sfocus:Unitskills/recapphasecalls/structure
Session Coaching points:
3.00–3.15pm: Warmup-Recaponphase-calls
2/3/Crab/Bozo
Castle/Lager
Amstel
50%effort
Communication
3.15–3.50: Breakdown–ballpresentation/clean-out
Slowballmanagement Longplace
Basicsofslowball
3.50–3.55: Waterbreak
3.35–4.10: UnitSkills:Forwards–scrum;Backs–scrumattack/
counter-attack
Backstodowideclean-outs
4.10–4.45: Structure–Lineoutattack
Lineoutdefence
4.40–5.00: Kick-offandpenaltyandshort-armoptions
Lineoutstructure:
Five-manlineout:vacuumattack(Blackplay).Cowboy/Burger/Hands
Fulllineout:Dummybasket/Dog/Bozo10(Optus)
Six-man:Wellington/Red(Tigerplay)
Fulllineout:Castle10/Apple10/Burger/Snap(Sharksplay)
u19 s2 Week 1
9 9
Scrumhalf passes from both sides
Phase calls
Do phase calls off 1st or 2nd receiver
58
u19 s2 Week 1
Attacker
Breakdown
Defender
Long place
R
9
10
FF
F1
F3
F4
F2
Slow ball management
Options:Krywa - Pick & goKick or slow ball optionsAll forwards must be in
F3 can pass to 10 as position to receive ball
surprise element
Comments/evaluation
59
First XVpractice schedule
Comments/evaluation
Week 1: Practice 3, session 3
15minwarm-up:sameasonmatch-day
15min:Structure–Bothattackanddefence,scrumandlineout.
15min:Kick-offsandpenaltyorganisation.
Week 2: Practice 1, session 4
Equipment:balls,bags,suits,poles,shields,cones
Session’sfocus:visualawareness/Phasecalls/Lineouts
Volume:high;Intensity:high
Session Coaching points:
3.00–3.15pm: Warmup
i)Visualawareness:Isolatedupperbodypassing–3balls
sizes1,3&5
ii)Swerverunningandpassingattarget
50%effort
Communication
3.15–3.40: Phasecallsintocontactshields
3.40–3.45: Waterbreak
3.45–4.15: Unitskills–forwardslineout
Backs:i)rhythmandanglerunning(10minutesofBasket/
Rocket/Castle/Amstel/Lager)
ii)Decision-making4v2(10minsof4v2,5v3)
iii)Vacuumattack(10minsofRocky7/12)
4.15–4.30: Structure3playsoffattackinglineouts
(Cowboy/Canterbury)
4.30–4.40: Skillsextras
Tight5–lineouts
Loosies–Recoil/JackalandBodypositioning
andclean-outsBacks–Blindsideattack
60
Accuracy & timing
Target passing
9
B
910
122/3
Phase calls into poles
2 poles burger shape, 1 pole any other phase
Another burger
Burger
3 BallsSizes 1,3 & 5
Players on knees
Isolated upperbody passing
u19 s4 Week 2
Comments/evaluation
61
First XVpractice schedule
Week 2: Practice 2, session 5
Equipment:balls,suits,shields,cones
Session’sfocus:fitness/defence
Volume:high,Intensity:high
Session Coaching points:
3.00–3.45pm: Anaerobicsession
3.45–3.50: Waterbreak
3-50–4.05: Alignment(defenceinchannels)
Spacing,communication
4.05–4.15: Organisationdefence/shape
PXY
4.15–4.30: Bothaboveprinciplesincontact
80%effort
2Acceleration
10m
Start
Stop
Stop
Start
Lateral Quick feet
Plyometric jumps
Quick feet
1
40mSprint
15sec rest
40m Sprint40m Stride x 10 REPS = 1 Set
Stride
x2 Sets
u19 s5 Week 2
62
u19 s5 Week 2
15m
3
15m
Tackle point
Keep space and alignment in defensive line
Stay in channels on open and blindside
9
10121311
PXY
9
4
2 Phases
5Contact with body suits
Chukkers of 3 min
1 2 3 4Coach to call number of bag and defenders
react accordingly
Keep space and alignment in defensive line and defensive shape (including PX Y)
Stay in channels on open and blindside
4 Bag drill
Comments/evaluation
63
First XVpractice schedule
Comments/evaluation
Week 2: Practice 3, session 6
Captain’s practice – 60% effort
Plays from lineouts:
Fox:DummyBasket/Dog/Vodka8(O)
Fox:Sokkies/Red/Lager10(S)
Vix:Rocky7/Dog/ClownWide(B)
Spok:Wellington/Red(T)
Spok:TripleC/+1/Vodka/Flash(SH)
Fox:Castle10/Apple10/Burger/Snap(SH)
Spok:Rocky12/Burger/Compass(O)
Defensive:
Tetra:Barney/Wellington/Flags1or5
Vix:Canterbury/Flags1or5
Vix:Sokkies/Veters/Ice9
Week 3: Practice 1, session 7
Equipment:balls,suits,shields,cones
Session’sfocus:defaultplays/dolley&latch/vacuumattack
Volume:medium,Intensity:medium
Session Coaching points:
3.00–3.15pm: Warmup–Eyevisiondrills
Accuracyandtiming
3.15–3.20: Waterbreak
3.45–4.15: Defaultplays
i)Ace9
ii)Babycare/Ace+
iii)Baby/Amstel
iv)Latch10
Runhard
Cleanersover&pastball
4.45–4.15: Vacuumattack
i)Canterbury
ii)Cowboy
iii)TripleC
iv)Rocky7/12
v)Rambo
Allto1stbreakdown
4.15–4.40: Structure–VacuumattackandDogorBurger
64
Isolated upperbody passing
3 BallsSizes 1,3 & 5
Players on knees
Passing accuracy
Through hoops
Accuracy & timing
Target passing
B
9
9
9
10
10
1
Default plays
u19 s7 Week 3
Comments/evaluation
65
First XVpractice schedule
Week 3: Practice 2, session 8
Equipment:balls,bags,suits,cones
Session’sfocus:dolley&latch/lineoutstructure
Volume:medium,Intensity:high
Session Coaching points:
3.00–3.15pm: Warmup–Hand/eyeco-ordinationdrill EvasiveRunning
QuickHandsdrill,3v2 Accuracyandtiming
3.15–3.30: Waterbreak
3.45–4.15: Dolley&Latch
Anticipation
4.45–4.15: Maulingtechnique(mini-maul/toexhaustion)
Bodypositioning&timing:leg-drive
4.00–4.20: Lineoutstructure
i)Castle10/Apple10/Burger/Snap(SH)
ii)Rocky7/Dog/ClownWide(B)
iii)Rocky12/Burger/Compass(O)
iv)Wellington/Red(T)
4.20–4.45: Scrumsession
66
u19 s8 Week 3
P X
2 Fold
Quick hands 3 vs 2
Dolly & latch
Dolly
Left to right & right to left
9 9
Mauling tecnique
Build it up into 3 groups of 8-10
Groups of 3
Pop Pop
Pop
Pop
Warm up
Ball size 1& 3Evasive runningEye hand co-ordination
A
BlindB
Mauling technique
Comments/evaluation
67
First XVpractice schedule
Week 3: Practice 3, session 9
Captain’s practice
Equipment:balls,suits,shields,cones,bibs
Session’sfocus:defence
Volume:high,Intensity:high
15mins:Six-touch
20mins:Structure:Lineoutandscrums
10mins:Kick-offreceiving
5mins:Counter-attackandturnoverattack.
Week 4: Practice 1, session 10
Equipment:balls,suits,shields,cones,bibs
Session’sfocus:defence
Volume:high;Intensity:high
Session Coaching points:
3.00–3.20pm: Individualwarmup:
3.20–3.30: Alignmentdrill
Spacing/VWC/communication
3.30–3.50: Adjustmentdrill
Double-hit/reaction
3.50–4.05: Defenceintoshields
Shape/straightline
4.05–4.20: BodysuitsvsBodySuits
Attackfromlineoutsandscrums
Setplaysandmulti-phaseattack
Shape/pillardefence
2ndmanmakedecision
Comments/evaluation
68
i
15m
15m
Tackle point
Keep space and alignment in defensive line
Stay in channels on open and blindside
ii
20min
22m
50m
iii
Body suitsvs
Contact shields
u19 s10 Week 4
Comments/evaluation
69
First XVpractice schedule
Week 4: Practice 2, session 11
Equipment:balls,suits,shields
Session’sfocus:phasecalls/defence/structure
Volume:medium,Intensity:high
Session Coaching points:
3.00–3.20pm: Warmup–phasecallsintobags
Communication&runninglines
3.20–3.35: Defence:consolidation
Shape/alignment
3.40–4.00: Waterbreak
4.00–4.20: Lineoutstructure
Wellington/Red(T)
Castle10/Apple10/Burger/Snap(SH)
Sokkies/Red(S)
Rocky7/Dog/Clownwide(B)
Rocky12/Burger/Compass(O)
9
10121311
PXY
9
Phase calls 2
2 Phases
Try and beat the defence
u19 s11 Week 4
Comments/evaluation
70
Captain’s practice, session 12
Seecaptain’spracticetemplate,U14Week1,Session3.
Week 5: Practice 1, session 13
Equipment:balls,bags,suits,poles,shields,cones
Session’sfocus:breakdown,mauling,playsfrommauls.Cleaningwide
Volume:medium,Intensity:high
Session Coaching points:
3.00–3.20pm: Warmup–phasecallsintobags
i)Alignmentdrill
ii)Offloadincontact
handsthrough&pop(depth,timingandanticipation)
offloadincontactDollyandTurbo(Driveoncarrier)
Discipline/VWC
Waterbreak
3.20–3.35: Breakdown:
Re-coil/Jackal&Hack,1v1,2v2 Bodyposition,reaction
3.50–4.30: UnitSkills–
Forwards:kick-offs&mauling,lineoutpeels
Backs:Wideclean-outs,playsfromdrives,linebreaks(4v2,
4v3,5v4),Vacuumattack(accuracyandtiming)
Comments/evaluation
71
First XVpractice schedule
22m
50m
Alignment
Shows different colour cones so players are looking up in defence.Player to call out colour.
Coach calls: Forward shift left or right
Coach
Bind on ball carrier & run
Spin out & run
Turbo (stay on feet & drive)
Dolly
3
Hands through & pop fend & pop
2
Tackler up quickly and contest
Tackled player recoils
1 vs 1
2 vs 2
Tackler go into space2nd player to contest
HACK OPTION!
Breakdown recoil/Jackal & hack
9
14131012
Left to right & right to left
If ball goes wide outside backs must
be clean
Backs drill
u19 s13 Week 5
Comments/evaluation
72
Week 5: Practice 2, session 14
Equipment:balls,shields,suits,cones
Session’sfocus:phasecall,scrumattack,scrummaging
Volume:medium,Intensity:high
Session Coaching points:
3.20–3.35pm: Warmup
3.20–3.35: Phasecalls–intopoles
(Communication/VWC)
Waterbreak
3.40–4.00: Unitskills
Forwards–scrumming
Backs–scrumattackwithopposition
Timing&leanprinciple
Executionandaccuracy
4.00–4.10: Tight5and10s–kick-offs
ii)Loosiesand9and12s–rollouts
iii)Back3and13–highballmanagement
Comments/evaluation
Comments/evaluation
Week 6: Practice 1, session 16
Equipment:balls,suits,bags,poles,shields,cones
Session’sfocus:cleanouts,contacting,Tuksoptions,lineoutstructure
Volume:medium,Intensity:high
Session Coaching points:
3.00–3.20pm: Warmup
Eye–co-ordination/passingaccuracy
Reaction&timing&communication
Timing,accuracy
3.20–3.45: Clean-outs/flop/jackal
Bodyposition
Waterbreak
3.50–4.00: Off-loadingoncontact Ballprotection,depth,timing,comm.
4.00–4.15 Unitskills
Forwards–lineouts
Backs–lineoutplays(attackingvariousareas)
4.15–4.30 Lineoutstructure(timing/delivery–9to10,2to9to12)
Notes:Liftintensity
Captain’s practice, session 15
Seecaptain’spracticetemplate,U14Week1,Session3
73
First XVpractice schedule
Make passes at the same time while pairs move forward and backwards
Pop - left or right or over head
A
B
2 Balls
Off load in tackles
Left or right
Keep ball aliveOff load in tackles
i) In threesii) Individually through all stationsiii) Bring in 3 players to attack
- Defenders to fall down then press
Flop/Clean out/Jackal
9
PXYTUKS option-
u19 s16 Week 6
Comments/evaluation
74
Week 6: Practice 2, session 17
Equipment:balls,bags,suits,poles,shields,cones,bibs,medicineballs
Session’sfocus:breakdown/defaults/scrumstructure
Volume:medium,Intensity:high
Session Coaching points:
3.00–3.20pm: Warmup
i)Peripheralawarenessdrill
ii)Rhythmreactionaccuracy
iii)4v2v2
Reaction&vision
Handling
Waterbreak
Breakdown:Re-coilandJackal Presentationandbodyposition
3.35–3.45: Defaults:
i)BabyAce
ii)BabyAce
iii)Turbo
iv)Ace/Ace+
Communication
Runninglines&timing
Timing
3.45–4.05: Structure:Scrumattackanddefensivekickingoptions Timing&organisation
4.05–4.15: ‘Sex’
i)Scrumming–forwards
ii)9s,10sand15s–Pressureonkickers
iii)Outsidebacks–passingatpace
Notes:
Breakdown:recoilandjackal–medicineballs,andbodysuits
Defaultplays:hitshields,balls
75
First XVpractice schedule
1 Peripheral awareness drill
Show numbers with hand (1/2)
edis thgir ro tfel morf ssap evieceR
(2) (1)
4 vs 2 vs 2
2 Rhythm/ swerve running/ target passing
u19 s17 Week 6
Captain’s Practice, session 18
Seecaptain’spracticetemplate,U14Week1,Session3.
Comments/evaluation
A s ix-week programme has been set out as a guidel ine for coaching the F i rst Xv, but you wi l l need to p lan the rest of the season based on the guidel ines and checkl ists and what you fee l wi l l meet your team’s speci f ic requi rements.
Comments/evaluation
76
Thismanualshouldencouragecoachesandmasters-in-
chargeofrugbyatallschoolstocreateastreamlined
systemsothatthereisdefiniteandnoticeable
progressionfromage-grouptoage-group.Ifthecorrect
planningisadoptedandimplementedfromU14,all
playersshouldhavebeenexposedtosimilardrillsbythe
timetheyreachmatric,andshouldthereforebeafforded
thebestpossibleopportunitytodeveloptheirskills.
Individualswillhaveexpandedtheirskills-baseand
achievedtherequiredlevelfromtheco-ordinatedand
structuredpracticescheduleprovided,andthenfrom
theircoacheswhodevelopedthepracticeschedule
furthertosuittheneedsoftheteam.Itisimperative
thatthecorrectplanningisinplace,andthatallcoaches
acrosstheschoolareinagreementonwhattheschool’s
rugbyaimsare,soastopromotecohesionbetweenthe
coachesandplayersacrossdifferentage-groupsandthe
variousteamsinthoseage-groups.Thiswillensurethat
thepotentialofplayersandcoachesismaximised.
To find out more information on rugby analysis, coaching techniques and workshops, visit www.rugbyxv.co.za
ConCLUsion
77
DiscoveryVitalitywouldliketothankthefollowingpeopleandinstitutionsfortheircontributionstothismanual,withoutwhichitwouldneverhavebeenpossible:
RoryRossPhotographyforhispreciseandeasy-to-followdiagramsandpictures,theSouthAfricanCollegeHighSchool(SACS)forprovidingalovelylocationandvenueforthephotoshoot,andGrantBallforhisdedicationandhardworkinwritingthismanualwithJakeWhite.
78
acknowlegdement
Week: Practiceno: Equipmentrequirements
Sessionno: Balls Bags
Sessionsfocus: Suits Poles
Coach: Duration: Shields Cones
Sessionrating: Volume: Intensity: Tyres Bibs
Other:
Time Activity / explanation Coaching points
APPendiX adAiLy sCHedULe
79
diagrams
Comments/evaluation
80
diagrams/Conclusion
VitalityHealthStyle(Pty)Ltdisanauthorisedfinancialservicesprovider