4 JUNE 2021

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 008

BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

THIS WEEK
QUICK HANDS
WARM UP
UNDERS AND OVERS
RUNNING LINES
RELEASING THE
DANGER WINGERS
WHAT COMMUNICATION
MATTERS FOR PLAYERS
ALL WORK AND
NO PLAY AND
HOW TO HAVE FUN

KILLER BACKS' MOVES

CHOOSE AND COACH THE BEST ATTACKING PLAYS
 FROM THE EDITOR

Communication when
it matters to players
Generally, I ban the communication needed to move on.
Volume 2 Issue 008
as an answer to any question. I’m far Rightly or wrongly, I made a
4 June 2021
more interested in what’s been said condition of the game that it was
Rugby Coach and why. If it’s not urgent and useful, a turnover if I didn’t think they had
Weekly is part don’t bother. called to the ball carrier with their
of Rugby Coach Also, I’m interested in whether the name. Of course, since I didn’t know
Weekly website players were listening too. Not to me everyone’s name myself, they might
and weekly digital when I'm talking, though that’s always have used random calls.
a bonus of course. Instead, to each They didn’t and the game improved
magazine which
other when the game is going on or immediately, with loads more energy.
offers proven,
when they are gathered around in a
easy to use rugby huddle.
Which brings me onto the second
drills, coaching incident, which was from the club U18
I’m going to reflect on two incidents side I’ve been helping out with. They
sessions, practice from this week’s training. They will feel
plans, training did communicate, and loudly. But the
very familiar I suspect. ball carrier often failed to pass when
games, warm-ups,
First, in a Development Player they should and plenty of glaring
tips and advice. Programme (DPP) session, we were overlaps went missing.
The resources playing a touch game with several
CONTENTS
Since I was a roving coach during this
are created for constraints. There were more than 3 WARM UP
part of the session, I was able to quiz
the grassroots the normal number of errors and, to players individually. Their stock answer Quick hands and realignment
coach following a certain extent, the players lacked was that they didn’t hear the call. Now, 4 COMMUNITY
best practice from a little bit of focus. I knew they were my thought is that they are perhaps Developing better backs moves
around the world quiet, so when we gathered into a being a little economical with the truth 5 ACTIVITY
and insights from quick huddle, I asked an open question here, or they didn’t want to listen. Or,
about improvements.
Better running lines
the professional I reflected afterwards, the call wasn’t
6 ACTIVITY
game. Inevitably, the C word was specific enough for them to change
Releasing dangerous wingers
mentioned. Whereupon, and probably their minds.
Rugby Coach Weekly with some eye-rolling from some of
7 COACHING
I think the ball carrier has to learn
is published by Green Star the players, I delved into what that An exclusive extract from
Media Ltd to listen. That means, they should be
meant. Dale Sidebottom's new book
keen to rely on information coming in,
Immediately it was clear that if one so they can make better decisions.
"All Work and No Play"
Head of rugby
Dan Cottrell of the players was telling one of his But if that information is poor or just
team mates what to do, they needed selfish, then why bother. COACH THINKING
Contributors
nnnnnn to use their name to more effective. Therefore, it comes down to trust.
Pictures I then asked the group, "Who’s name This U18 group are a mix of U17s
Reuters Media Express do you know in your team?" As they and U18s. I wonder if, as the season
Production are from lots of different schools and progresses, they might feel more
Green Star Media Ltd clubs and had only been together as comfortable to react to what they

l
a group for about three sessions, the hear.

t t r e l
Sub editor

n C o
awareness was pretty thin.

a
Rufus Gane

Customer services
support@rugbycoachweekly.net

Managing Director
I noted to myself that I should have
encouraged more of this in earlier
sessions, but in the circumstances, we
D
Kevin Barrow

(c) Green Star Media Ltd. LINK OF THE WEEK All Blacks coach Ian Foster on
All rights reserved.

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released from a professional soccer team's academy group.
full disclaimer "We've got a principle called
Cover picture brutal honesty... We've learnt the
Joe Marchant, Harlequins and
England centre power as coaches in our team to
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RugbyCoachWeekly.net Volume 2 Issue 008 2

 WARM UP

Quick hands warm up

Develop quick realignment skills, spacing and then the ability to run straight onto the pass
with this simple warm up. You can set up lots of boxes or run one group after another,
perhaps adding some chasing elements to incentivise the players act more quickly.

WHY USE IT SET UP TECHNIQUE

As the players move into position they
have to work extra hard to be in a
position to take the ball going forward.
It also focuses them on good handling
habits so they don't end up running
into the box, which in match terms
would mean being on the tackle line.
A 6-12m square and ball.
You can adjust the size of the square
to suit your players' skillset.
> Hands up ready to receive.
> Look at the receiver’s hands when passing.
> Look at the ball when receiving.
> Pass in front of the player.
> To realign: Run into position quickly by
looping around after passing. This promotes
“pass and support” - where the passer
follows the receiver to provide close support
if needed.

HOW TO DO IT ΠLine up four

players facing
into the square
Play starts with the scrum half 6m
6m
on one corner. Players pass the
ball to each other down the line

The end player (4) places

1  Have a scrum
half (1) pass
the ball to the first
the ball on the cone in front receiver (2) who
2
of them and all four players then passes it on,
run around to realign. 3 until it reaches the

Players realign to form a new

backline starting at the cone
Ž Player 4
puts the
ball down on the
4 last player (4)

where the ball was placed and corner and then

repeat the passing sequence runs into position
down the line. at the end of the
line
Do this around the entire square,
starting with passing to the left.

Most players are right-handed  After passing

the ball the
players run around
and they will find this easiest.
Make the square larger to make to the next side of
the players pass further and use the box
passing to the right as well. 4 3
2

 Repeat the passing

process again, for
each side of the box

‘ Look for:
Holding enough depth so
they don’t overrun the last cone.
Hands towards the ball. 4
3
2 1

Pass Ground covered Direction of run

RugbyCoachWeekly.net Volume 2 Issue 008 3

 COMMUNITY

Q "We've got plenty of backs

moves but we don't seem to
know which ones to use when"
GOT YOUR OWN
SOLUTION?
We'd love to hear from you.

A
You need to learn the ones that best work for Drop me a line at
your team and their skillset. Adapt ones you editor@rugbycoachweekly.net
already know, but also think how you could
make them more efficient.

For a backs move to succeed your players

need the correct set of skills and the right
alignment. For instance, the move might
need a miss pass. Can that be achieved off
both hands?
It might rely on a player entering the line
at pace at the right moment. Do you have a
winger or full back who can time their run
to do this?
So you can only really copy backs moves
which suit the skillset of your team. Work
to improve their weaknesses and increase
the number of moves they can use.

HOW TO LEARN PLAYS

Once you have worked out which moves suit
your team, follow these five steps:

1 BUY IN
The team has to believe in the move and
want to use it. A good backs move finds that all-elusive gap between defenders to make a linebreak

2 USE A TACKLE LINE
Walk through the drill and then run it with
a tackle line. That means a line of cones
across the pitch where defenders might
meet an advancing back line. This helps
players get their timing right.
3 A DEFENCE
Get defenders in front of the backline.
support for the next pass or next point of
contact.
On the next two pages, we have
concentrated on back's plays which use a
change of angle from the centres. They are
one pass plays, so retain some simplicity
and therefore rely more on timing of runs.
On page 5 we look at "hard" lines, also
known as "unders and overs".
The activity on page 6 builds up the skills
of using a "blocka" type pass which goes
behind one runner to another who is running
into the space. This type of pass and run
needs all the players to understand the
angles to attack the right spaces.

4 A DYNAMIC DEFENCE
Move the 9 around before they pass so the
backline has to realign.

5 AND MIX UP THE PLAYERS

Keep changing the backline because you
won’t always have the same players in
position on match day.

Concentrate on running a few backs

moves well. Each move should have “get
out” variations if the defence does not
do what you expect. Every player should
expect the pass.
And think about what happens next. If
you breakthrough or not, who will be in

RugbyCoachWeekly.net Volume 2 Issue 008 4

 EVASIVE SKILLS

Unders and overs decoy play

Get defenders off balance and less effective by making them commit to one tackling
line while attacking another. You can do this by varying your angle of attack.
A tackler is at their strongest
when they are “on square”
DRAG DEFENDERS “OFF SQUARE”
– front-on to the defender
and able to exert maximum
force in contact. For this
Œ An “unders”
line runs
towards the pass
reason, you should find
ways to drag a defender
s
Under
or a line of defenders “off
square”(see picture 1). As
soon as a defender begins to
favour one side of his body Ruck
and turn either out or in, he
creates a vulnerable shoulder
Overs
to attack.
The best teams use a
 An
“overs”
line runs away
combination of “overs” from the pass
(running away from the
pass) and “unders” (running
towards the pass) lines
to get their opponents to
commit one way or the
other (see picture 2).
Ž Defenders
prefer to
Ž A change in angle
can force a defender
to expose a weak shoulder
remain “on square”, because they are “off
> THE DOUBLE UNDERS so they can tackle square” to the attacker
DECOY LINE with either shoulder
The first objective is to
prevent the 12 from moving
too far across field towards
the point of attack. The
unders angles from the
attacking backline forces
the 12 to stop and square up
on them. It is likely that the
defending 12 and 13 will be
disconnected. The gap has
been created (see picture 3
for lines of run).

> THE OVERS ATTACKING

DOUBLE UNDERS TO CREATE A GAP
LINE FROM THE WINGER
If both of your centres are
running this line, your winger
ΠExpose a
defence by
having two players
can arrive through the gap. run “unders” lines

> THE EXPLOITATION

With the opposition 13
now disconnected from 12,
the blindside winger has a
chance to inside or outside Ruck
the 13.

 Defenders have to
hold their original
lines, allowing a player who
is running an “overs” line to
Ž The 10 can pass across
their two centres to a
blindside winger running an
expose a weak shoulder
“overs” line

Direction of run Ground covered Pass

RugbyCoachWeekly.net Volume 2 Issue 008 5

 ATTACK SKILLS

Unleash your quick winger

Use the “block pass” to a player coming through from behind the front line of attackers.
By Tosh Askew, former Leicester Tigers Academy coach

WHY USE IT  The first receiver passes at a 45-degree angle to the next receiver who runs through
the cones to square up as if to run through a gap in the defence. The angle means the

1
A ”block pass” is a miss pass pass will be behind a front line player and allow this receiver to run or pass
that goes behind one player
to another. The “in” angle
running line of the front
player holds the defence
while the pass behind to
the outside player gives
the chance to go for a gap 45o
or pass to team mates. 9

HOW TO DO IT
> A feeder passes to the first
receiver who goes through
the coned gate in front of ΠThe first receiver
takes the ball from
the feeder and straightens
him. They then pass back to
up through the cones
the next receiver who runs
through the other gate. Set
up the cones to create a
45-degree pass for realism.
> Remove the gates and
Ž 12 attacks between the
gap
replace with two defenders v
ΠAdd two
three attackers (10, 11, 12).

2
defenders
The outside defender decides
whether they go in or out.
The attacker at the back (11)
calls whether the 10 should
45o
pass to them or 12 dependent
on the defender’s decision. 9
> Add another two defenders
and the rest of the backline.
Use a dummy switch
 10 passes
to 12 or 11
10


depending on the 12 The second
between 10 and 12, with the call from 11 defender can go
11
13 coming in to hold their in or out. 11 shouts if they
defender. Now 10 passes to want the pass or not
11. The outside players can
now take a pass from 11 and
exploit the blitz defence.

TECHNIQUE
> The cones keep the
3
attackers square as they
reach the tackle line.
> The pass must be at
45 degrees to the tackle
line. This allows the player 45o
9 14
to either hit a gap or fix
12 13 15
a defender and put his
outside runners away. Π10 dummy
switches with
10
12 and passes to 11
(or 13) depending
11
 The pass should be
deep enough to allow
11 to go through the gap or
on the movement of
the defender in front link up with 15 and 14
of 13

Direction of run Ground covered Pass

RugbyCoachWeekly.net Volume 2 Issue 008 6

 THE ART OF COACHING
All work and no play
An extract from motivational fitness guru Dale Sidebottom's new book, "a surprising
guide to feeling more mindful, grateful and cheerful".
If I don’t know people I’m in a social
setting with, I will try to bring a touch of
unexpected fun and play into the situation.
The reason for this is simple. As soon
as those awkward barriers have been
broken down (and it may take me doing
something silly — or slightly embarrassing
— for this to happen) the remaining
people in the room, or in the situation,
feel safer about being themselves without
judgement.
A great example of this in action is when
I was in Kenya. This was some years ago
when I ran a two-day African conference for
teachers from all over the continent along
with a couple of international teachers. I
was pretty nervous.
One thing I am always starkly aware of
when I hold any international conference is
how thick my Australian accent can sound
— especially when I get excited and begin
to talk extremely fast. I still remember on
the first day (which was a Saturday) at the
International School of Kenya, around 30
teachers attended and when we finished I
was desperate for feedback before the next
day rolled around.
So, as the first session wrapped up, Mark,
who was a British teacher working in Kenya,
confirmed my suspicions when I asked
how he thought the day had gone. Great,
RugbyCoachWeekly.net
Playing fun
games to break
down barriers
and create fun
and energy
but … ‘two teachers from different African begin playing. I call this game ‘Bok Bok’
countries didn’t speak fantastic English … (although I’m sure it goes by a completely
and neither do you’. Ha! Although he had different name elsewhere).
told me they had all had a blast, it got me I started off as the ‘Chicken Master’ by
thinking about how I could make sure I using both my hands to make a chicken-
built connections with the whole room and looking face. I used my thumbs and index
avoided isolating anyone. fingers to make two circles before using my
Later that evening, two of the Kenyan remaining fingers as feathers. I then had to
teachers organised a meet-up in the middle say ‘bok’ and signal using either my left or
of Nairobi for drinks and dinner. This is right hand to indicate the direction I wanted
where I noticed that the two ladies who the ‘bok’ to go.
didn’t understand me well during our session
were also having trouble joining in on the
conversation around the table. I identified
this as my chance to try something different
within a new setting. So, I decided to test an
array of different games with the group.
The first game I tried was ‘Buzz’, which
is a popular one many will be familiar with.
The essence of the game is to have everyone
form a circle and take turns counting
upwards from 1 aloud. If your number has a
7 in it or is a multiple of 7 (14, 21, 28, 35 and
so on), you replace the number with ‘buzz’.
This game didn’t land so well with the group
because it required too much ‘thinking’ and
not enough freedom, so I quickly changed
it up.
The second game I tried didn’t need
any instructions. The game’s ‘rules’ or
‘instructions’ become really clear once you
[continued on the next page]
Volume 2 Issue 008 7
 THE ART OF COACHING

Then, the person on either my left or right

side (depending on my instruction) had to
do the same thing: one ‘bok’ with the same
hand signal, unless they wanted to switch
the direction of the ‘boks’, in which case
they would have to say ‘bok bok’ while lifting
both hands to the sky! (This probably sounds
ridiculous and confusing if you have never
played it before.) While doing one action
and saying one or two syllables might sound
easy, it isn’t. It gets tricky to say the right
thing, at the right time and with the correct
actions. Although it’s sometimes challenging,
it’s incredibly entertaining. And at this point
of the evening, it was a huge hit and I was
elated to see that the two women who hadn’t
felt connected in our first session were joining
in and having a ball.
Our ‘Bok Bok’ game was so successful
and engaging that the following morning
(day 2 of the conference) the two attendees
whose English was limited took the lead by
unexpectedly saying ‘bok bok’ and starting
the game all over! To this day, I’m still in close contact with chance of connecting and forming a bond
Now, no doubt their understanding of my many of those teachers, whose greatest through a game or playful exercise than by
Australian accent/English didn’t improve memory (of a 12-hour session) was that silly relying on you understanding my Aussie
during that weekend, but our connection game. Occasions like this prove to me the slang!
improved noticeably. Every time I looked at importance of adult play. It allows us licence Because I see the power of play so vividly
them, smiling, they would put both hands to be ourselves. It helps demolish ‘walls’ in through what I do, it often leads me to
on their eyes and say ‘bok bok’ as loudly as the most tense and serious of environments. wonder why, as a society, we seem to think
possible. Everyone would laugh and smile. And most importantly, it helps unite us more we need to ‘grow up’ or ‘grow out of’ play.
And it was those play-based moments that than any language can. No matter what
allowed us to transcend language, without When I discussed this with Richard
country of the world you’re from, you can
judgement, and form a really good bond. Cheetham MBE, he seemed to grapple with
bet your bottom dollar we’ll have a better
the same questions and pondered why we
don’t seek the enjoyment of play in adult life
WE DON’T GROW OUT OF PLAY as much as we did throughout our childhood.
THIS EXTRACT was taken from Dale's book,
Richard Cheetham, MBE, Senior Fellow in Sports Coaching
All Work No Play. To buy the book, go to
To ‘grow up’ and take on board the trappings and opportunities Amazon or any other good online bookstore.
that accompany being an adult, should we succumb to the
gradual abandonment of play as an integral, be it less frequent,
part of daily life? DALE SIDEBOTTOM is the creator and
I question whether the nourishment that play provided before founder of Energetic Education and Jugar
is no longer needed and the freedom, imagination, joy and Life, a movement that helps people bring play
creativity are confined to memories of our younger days. back into their lives. A top-rated podcaster
Adults are used to conforming to rules and regulations. In play, and popular TEDx speaker, Dale empowers
rules are not set in stone — they can change from play to play, individuals to move and learn in a fun way.
and from player to player. With ‘busy’ seemingly being the latest
status symbol and feeling overwhelmed the new ‘normal’, has
there now become a clear separation where we regard play as
connected only to childhood and responsibility associated with adulthood?
There’s an increasing belief that a shift in formal education from a curriculum focused
on accomplishment, attainment and ‘hard work’ is valued at the expense of play, which
is pushed to the fringes and the bottom of adult agendas. It doesn’t count towards our
grades and it is not easily measurable. Academic competence in literacy and numeracy is
given priority over the powerful influence of play and the significant contribution it makes
to young children’s lives and their development.
Managed playtimes and supervised playgrounds where adults and adult rules are
the imposters should be replaced with a ‘Keep out — children at play’ sign on the
playground’s fence.
There is enough time for all that ‘order’ later in life when children become adults. This
time is precious for adults too as they remember their childhood — a memory that lifts the
corners of their mouths and lights up their eyes as they enjoy recollecting those moments.
Play should not be deemed a luxury available only to a few. Moreover, if children do not
learn to play as children, they are not likely to discover its value as adults.
Yet play needs adults. Children need adults as co-creators, as protectors of time, sharing
knowledge and experiences with children through play. The strength of connection that
comes through unstructured play is so important.

RugbyCoachWeekly.net Volume 2 Issue 008 8