Under 11/13 – Contact – Getting Up – The Ruck

Attack Contact
This is an important time in each player’s development as if they are coached to use correct and safe technique in contact then they will be not only successful but will build the necessary confidence to partake fully in the game.
Some players will be ready for contact a lot sooner than others so it is important that any contact situations are planned per the size of players, matching the maturity of players and what degree of pace and intensity is best suited.
It is a good idea to use bags and shields in the early development of contact before moving in to player on player situations. When doing this the coach must make sure that correct technique is being applied.
Of course, contact is half the fun of playing but coaches should ensure that they are encouraging the players to run and pass and should teach evasive skills as the first option of attack.

Pre-Contact (carrying the ball in to contact)

• Carry the ball forward in two hands.
• Focus (look) at the contact zone. (one or other of the defenders shoulders)
• About a metre away from the tackler get in to a strong and balanced position: crouch by bending at the knees; start taking small steps and moving in to a position to the side of the tackler; stay low but keep the eyes up; move the ball under the arm away from the tackler; prepare to take a strong step forward and make contact with the leading shoulder.

Coaching phrases to use: chin off chest-crouch and balance-step and hit with shoulder-body before ball-spine in line (hitting and driving straight down the field)

Contact

• The player should have moved to a shoulder of the tackler and drive in with their leading shoulder (their inside shoulder against the tacklers outside shoulder. Left on left/right on right)
• The hard parts of the body are facing forward. Shoulder; elbow; hip; knee.
• The attacker stays low and drives their legs forward staying up if possible.

Coaching phrase: Fast-Balance-Explode (fast going forward carrying the ball / balance is the crouch and short steps and getting in to a good position / explode is the hit with the shoulder and drive with the legs)

Post-Contact
There are several options at contact. In the early stages, it is a good idea to teach the correct falling technique and body position on the ground as for a ruck.

• Going to ground twist and fall on the rounded shoulder/upper back.
• Position the body between the ball and the opposition.
• Place the ball back towards your team. (Alternatively: if there are no other defenders around hold the ball and pop a pass to a supporting team member)

ACTIVITIES
1- Body Position
Everyone takes up the correct body position for contact.
Crouched – straight back – eyes up – one foot leading – same shoulder forward – elbow out the front – ball tucked under back arm but still in two hands.
Coach calls ‘forward / backwards/left/right’ and players must shuffle their feet getting used to being in this position and their feet keeping them in balance using short steps. Make sure they alternate the front foot.
Call this out at any time during training and all the players must get in to this position.

2- Hit the Shield
This is to teach and monitor the pre-contact, contact and post-contact skills.
Have as many players on shields as possible.
Attackers line up 3metres away facing a shield.
They will then go through the ‘fast-balance-explode’ routine.
Run quickly with the ball in two hands for 2 metres – get in to a crouch, take small steps, shift slightly to the side of the shield, hit on the shield with the shoulder having stepped in close with the leading foot, have the ball under the back arm but still in two hands, stay up and drive forward, go to ground rolling on to a rounded shoulder/back, place the ball back.
Use the other shoulder next time.
Build up the intensity on the  shield as the players improve.
Introduce the support player – they should be at least 2 metres back at the contact point so that they can clean out or take a pop pass. They need time to get in to balance-make a decision- explode in to the ruck or explode on to the pass.
The technique in to the ruck is identical to the ball carrier except they are driving in and using their arms to bind on a player.

3- Fitness Fun
Using the same concept as above.
Have 3 players on shields in an 8 x 8 grid. As many grids as possible.
Everyone has one minute to hit, drive, go to ground and get up to go on to another shield as many times as possible.
Make sure they don’t lose their shape. Have the shields held just above the knees.
Get those watching to count the ‘hits’.

4- The Real Thing
When the players are confident introduce the tackler without the shield.
Start with very small grids about 4m long and 2m wide so that the actual contact takes place.
The tackler by this stage should have been through a few weeks of tackling drills.
Ideally the tackler can be asked to tackle above the hip and below the chest so that the ball carrying skill can be practiced a lot easier.
Make sure each step in learning the skill is continually repeated.
When the group are ready to move on, a support player on attack can be introduced.
The aim of the attacker is to get to the side of the tackler and drive straight, stay up as long as possible, and end in the space behind the tackler.

5- The King of Contact
Give a mark to each attacker in a 1 v 1 situation (make the grid narrow) who has the best technique and finishes up in the correct position in behind the tackler.
Ask the players how improvements could be made.

6- Options Post Contact
Setting a target for the ruck.
Holding the ball and making a Pop-Pass from the ground.
Hit and Go Forward (Stay up and keep driving)
Hit and pass (stay up and make a pass)
Hit and Spin (requires different technique at the hit)

a)    Setting the Ruck
Start with 2 v 2 in an 8 x 8 grid.
The attacker runs at the defender and sets the target for the ruck at post contact
The support player is in behind the ball carrier supporting at about 2m distance
The second tackler comes forward with a hit shield and attempts to clean out over the ball
The support attacker gets in to position to clean out the second tackler. (Skills are the same as approaching contact using the shoulder to hit and the arms to wrap the defender and keep driving)
When the players are confident take away the hit shield.

b)    Pop Pass
Set up the drill as above.
In this case the second defender is well back and the support player calls for a pop pass as there is no need for a clean out.
The attacker should be on the ground; listen for the call; look for their support player; make a two handed pop pass to the support player who is running a line towards the ball and not away from the ball.
The support player then needs to practice their sidestep/swerve to get around the second defender.
A second support player could be added so that support player 1 receives the pop pass and draws and passes.

c)    Hit and Go Forward
The ball carrier will attempt to stay up on the hit which will require a step and a square hit on the shoulder of the defender (bag). Get in to a crouch, take a big step and blast forward with another big step and lifting the shoulders upwards. Keep the feet pumping and the upper body strong.
The support player comes in from behind and drives the ball carrier forward.
Start with both defenders on hit shields; then one defender tackling; finally, both defenders tackling.
Use a small grid as if close to the tryline. See how many tries can be scored out of 10 attempts.

d)    Hit and Pass
This will require the ball carrier to either fend with one arm and lay it off with the other; or turn side on (45/55-degree angle) as the hit is made, keep the ball in two hands and make the short pass.
The techniques are the same on the approach with a slightly more upright hit if fending.
Set up some drills and games using this skill.

e)    Hit and Spin
This skill has the attacker hitting with their outside shoulder on the outside shoulder of the defender. A big step is taken in to the hit. The ball is held in two hands. The ball carrier turns away from the tackler with their body turning to face their own team.
After the hit the next step is the back foot stepping back and around so that halfway through the movement the body is fully facing the own team.
The far foot then swivels around and across so that a full turn has taken place.
The player is in balance; keeps their feet wide apart for stability; is in a crouch; then accelerates forward with short explosive steps.
Practice this skill 1 v 1 with the defender starting with a hit shield. Move on to 1 v 1 tackling; 2 v 1 with the support player driving on to the body and driving forward / the ball carrier laying off a pass / the ball carrier going forward and passing.
Introduce the second defender.

Getting Up (Off the ground)
The higher the level of rugby the more important it becomes to get up off the ground quickly and get back in to the play.
Once the skill has been taught the coach can continually remind the players during the trainings about the importance of this. Use the “3 second” rule with your team. Once the player goes to ground they have three seconds to get back to their feet.

Key Factors

1. Place the hands on the ground just wider than the shoulders.
2. Push the hips up quickly which brings the feet up.
3. At the same time push up hard with the arms
4. This will bring the feet and arms closer together and allow a fast-upward movement.
5. Jump to the feet and react to the next play.

ACTIVITIES
1- The Skill
Coach the skill by talking and practicing.
Start on the ground.
Have a competition to see who can get to their feet the fastest.

2- Getting up after contact
The players make a tackle and gets to their feet.
The players drive in to a ruck and gets to their feet. (use bags for the ruck) (Remember that rucks are on the feet but in this case, you can say the ruck collapsed)

3- Under Pressure
Relays. Run out. Go to ground. Get up. Run back.
In a large grid. Jogging around. On a whistle go to ground-get back up-sprint 5 metres without running in to anyone. Carry on so that players become slightly fatigued.

The Ruck
By now the players will be understanding the purpose of rucking and need to be coached in the skills so that they can effectively carry it out. The aim of the ruck is to clear out the tackled ball area and recycle ball on the ground as quickly as possible.
All team members will be required to perform these skills at some stage in a game so all players need to be coached in rucking techniques.

Key Factors
Ball carrier roles are described in the section on ‘Contact’.
Support player roles include:

1. Approach from behind the ball carrier in a crouched and balanced position. (short steps, bend at knees, eyes up, fingers up, elbows in close)
2. Sight the target area and decide. (Options include: cleaning out the tackler if they are still standing; cleaning out the next defender who is targeting the ball if the first tackler is on the ground; straddling over the ball in a strong crouched position with the front foot forward of the ball and the back foot securing the ball in the ruck waiting for the halfback. In this last role, be ready for a defender cleaning out. There is the option of this player picking up the ball and running or passing but for this scenario we want to set a ruck))
3. To ‘clean out’ bind on to the player that is being driven back after making contact with the shoulder.

The second and subsequent support players should also:

1. Look and decide what to do, arriving in the strong low, driving position.
2. The options are: binding on to the side of their own player and continuing the drive.
3. Cleaning out a defender who is targeting the ball. Their shoulder must be lower than the defenders shoulder to have an effective clean out.

The players cleaning out and driving forward will stay on their feet by binding on their own team mate or on the opposition and need to keep their bottoms down and head up which requires a big knee bend. As well, the feet must be far enough apart so that they don’t topple forward.

ACTIVITIES
1 – The Clean Out
Practice this on a bag to begin with.
Hit from a low crouched position with the head up and the body driving straight through. Coaching phrase: “Spine-in-Line”
Bind on the bag and drive it forward without falling over.
The coach should look for a straight back, the eyes up so that the target area is hit and a good bind.
Move on to a moving bag. (Player holding the bag moves left or right by half a metre when the attacker is about 2 metres away so that the player cleaning out must adjust before the hit.)
Coaching phrase: “Bend-Bind-Blast”.

2 - Building the Ruck
Start in a grid no bigger than 3m wide x 5 metres long.
4 attackers v 3 defenders.
The attackers start by lying on the ground at various spots outside the grid.
On ‘go’ they get up and run through the line where the ball is placed, entering it from outside the grid. No short cuts through the grid.
The first player to arrive at the ball will pick it up and run forward to set the ruck.
As they pick it up the first defender will go forward to make the tackle.
The other two defenders will move forward when the tackle starts.
The first support player will follow directly behind the ball carrier by 1 ½ to 2 metres identifying what they are going to do.
As the 1st support player moves in to action the remaining two support players move forward from the line and start making some decisions as to what they are going to do.
The object of the exercise is to drive forward past the ball or use feet to ruck the ball if it is stuck.
The coach should ‘coach on the run’.
To increase the intensity and working under pressure the coach could set up 4 of these grids one after the other so that as soon as the ball is won the coach will blow their whistle and the players will return outside their grid and move on to the next grid. (attackers and defenders)
Carry out the same drill 4 times. Swap the players and go again.

3- Fitting the Ruck in to the Game
At this level the team shouldn’t be encouraged to set a ruck just for the sake of it, the first objective should be to run and pass and use agility skills but no doubt the players will want to hit up just like they see on television so practicing the ruck close to the phase just completed can be part of the game.
‘To re-establish momentum after the tackle’ -
The centre has been tackled in midfield and the ball has arrived back slowly.
This is a chance to set a ruck close to this tackle zone, get some forward momentum, and produce quick ball to attack with.
In most cases plan for three or four at the ruck. If it is carried out well that will be sufficient.
Three players set up close to the ruck. The halfback passes to one of these players who runs forward.
They move to the side of the defender and drives forward.
The two support players identify what they must do. One of these players needs to be directly behind the ball carrier. (There are many options as you have practiced)
The players set and start the ruck process. The next player arriving will decide whether to act as the halfback or pick and run or clean out.
The aim is to get the ball back quickly, the players on their feet to regroup in to good positions using the space available, and then create a running-passing attack.
During the team run the coach can call out “slow ball” which will require this scenario to be set up.