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Handling
12The Roundabout
Four corners, two players each, one ball that never stops. Pass to your neighbour, take the instant pop back, fire the longer ball to the next corner — then follow your pass: the support run is what keeps it turning. Two minutes on the left hand, two on the right, and the hands are warm.
Sidestep and Deliver
A square, four yellow cones, two carriers facing each other and two pairs on the sides. Both blues advance into the middle with a ball; level with each other they step right and instantly send it left to their red pair. The rule that makes the drill: they must not collide in the middle. You are working your pass while someone runs at you, exactly like a defender shooting up. Head up, feet right, hands left — and the whole group is warm.
Piano Lessons
Forwards move the piano. Today they learn to play it. One ball, three lanes, everyone takes the trip.
Rapid Fire
One feeder, a rack of balls, and the next wave launches before yours is home. Three balls live. The rack doesn't wait.
Piccadilly Circus
Two queues, two feeders, two balls through one small box. Eyes up in the junction — nobody has right of way.
Next Ball
Same carousel, none of the patience. Three waves of four through the gate, but the clock's been cut in half — and the drill doesn't wait for anyone's lungs. Knock it on? Next ball. Score the world's greatest training-ground try? Next ball. The drill has no memory and neither should you.
Drill pass for the 9
One nine, one queue, five balls in the bank. Runners go one at a time: take the ball on the burst, hit the gap between the pads, swing round the cones and back in line. The nine never runs more than ten metres all drill — that's not laziness, that's the job description.
The Washing Machine
Six stations round the clock face, two pills on the move at once, chasing each other lap after lap. Take the catch, feed the next man, chase your pass round the ring. The rule is simple: the two balls never meet — the day they do, somebody's hands went to sleep.
Inside the Bags
Two feeders, four bags in a wall, four lines of players. The ball comes off a feeder, the player takes it on one step — no time to stand still — and gives it back inside the bag it came from. The rule that makes the whole drill: the ball never crosses the line of bags. Not one lazy pass over the top. Fast hands, fast feet, flat line — the way to open a backs session.
Single File to Attack
Five bags, so four gates, two feeders and a single file. Four players peel off and have to find an attacking shape in two seconds — up to speed before the ball reaches them, never flat-footed. Take it at pace and give it on one step, before the line of bags. The moment the pass leaves, the next four go: the flow never stops. Run it both sides to work both hands.
The Escalator
Three waves of three, three fixed feeders on the touchline, a ball each. Every wave works down the grid playing give-and-go at each line of cones; at the far end you wrap round the outside and climb back to the start. Three balls alive — nobody waits their turn.
Hands and Lungs
Two feeders facing each other, nineteen metres apart, a line of five in the middle and a bag planted behind. Nothing complicated: it is a handling drill, but you do it with your lungs. The first man steps out of the line, takes the feeder's pass and gives it straight back. Then he goes to the bag, touches it, and comes back. He has barely returned when the ball arrives again — and that is where the drill really starts. He has to fire a clean pass, behind the back, without looking, already short of breath. Then he loops round the cone and rejoins the back of the line. The next man has already gone. The ball shuttles from one feeder to the other without ever hitting the ground: five crossings in twenty-two seconds. What you work here is not the pass — everybody can pass standing still. It is the pass when the arms are heavy and the head wants to slow down. Hands up, pace held, and talk loud: that is the only way the ball never stops.
Decision making
4Decision-Making Passing Drill
Passing and decision drill in a coned channel: 2 defenders plus a cover defender. The blues run through 5 different combinations — the aim is to read the situation and pick the right option each time.
Cut or Back Door — Backs
Eight cones, four players, not a defender in sight. One normal pass, then it happens: one runner comes tight on a cut line, the other wraps outside on the back door. The carrier picks — short to pierce, wide to get round. Hands warm, eyes warm: the day the defenders show up, you're looking for holes instead of hunting for your team-mates.
Cut or Back Door — Forwards
The same choice the backs make, played in a phone box. Two defenders on the white dots, a relay man feeding, three forwards launching off the blue cones. The carrier reads the defence and calls it: they drift apart, hit the cut; they shoot up tight, play the back door. The spacing between the three has to become automatic — under pressure you stop hunting for your team-mates and only look for holes.
Three Gates, One Open
Four bags, three gates between them, two hidden defenders, three attacking lines. The ball comes off a feeder — and at the last second the defenders shut two gates. One is left, and the three of them have to read it fast and go together. No time to pick your line in advance: heads up, scan, talk, go as one. Exactly what a real defensive line does to you — you don't know where the space is until it opens.
Small-sided games
4Three Teams, No Ruck
Three teams: two attacking, one on each side, and one defending in the middle. Six to ten players per team, a fifteen-minute block. The middle team defends one side; try scored or ball turned over, they sprint back to the middle and it starts again on the other side at once, kick or instant restart. No dead time, ever. Two rules, and they do all the work: **full tackle, and no ruck**. The ball has to stay alive after contact, so the attack has nowhere to hide — punch, get up, offload, keep going. In defence you work line speed, the reload, and above all still talking when you have nothing left. For the last five minutes one attack team stays on to finish. Pure lungs and grit: it teaches you to defend when you are dead.
Use the Touchline
Three against two in a channel, with one constraint that changes everything: each team runs around its own white cone first, and then it is live. In defence you pick your system — rush up and smother it, or control, concede the ground and let the touchline do the third defender's job. Just never get beaten on the inside. In attack anything goes: cut lines, depth, a switch, a loop — find the two on one. High intensity, pure decision.
Rapid 3v2
Every player starts on his yellow cone, and the rule is one word long: the pass goes BEFORE the white gate. The moment a blue has given it, he sprints around the blue cone and comes back to defend. The reds go round the red cone but keep the ball: they attack. The 3v2 builds itself, and nobody gets time to settle. The reds have to organise their attack while running, the blues have to get back and realign before contact. Both sides are working the same thing: read fast, talk fast, get in position fast. High tempo, non-stop reps.
One Step, Then the 3v1
A drill that stacks two skills with no breather between them. Along a line of cones, three chains of three players take turns, each with a ball. The instruction has two parts and neither is negotiable: the pass goes BEFORE the cone, never level with it and never after, and it goes off one step — not three little steps to feel safe, one step and the ball is already with the next man. That is where the rest is decided, because at the end of the line the three who come out go straight into a 3v1 against the red defender. And the 3v1 tells the truth: if the hands were slow before the cones, the wave arrives ragged and the defender takes all three. If they were clean and off one step, the overlap is won before they even get there. High reps, and a tempo that never drops.
Contact & support
5The Gauntlet
Small-sided drill in a coned channel: the ball-carrying pod advances through the gate, fixes defenders and frees support to finish at the line. Builds close-quarter carry and support timing.
The Production Line
Two shields planted in a square and a queue that never stops feeding it. The carrier steps in, takes the shield, stays on his feet and gives it to the support; the ball is already on its way back to the next group. Twenty-five beats of contact and offload back to back — the whole station, not one isolated rep.
Read the Hips
Two mats shape the channel, one carrier with a shield, one tackler. The carrier picks his side at the last second — left or right, nothing decided in advance. The tackler reads the hips, waits for the decision, then wins the collision: head on the right side, inside shoulder, a strong ring. The shield takes the impact, so the reps come cheap — technique under pressure without burning bodies.
Two Threats, One Shoulder
Two tacklers with shields, two attackers on the white cones. Both attackers come forward together, side by side. Then one stops dead on his cone and the other keeps going. The tackler has to make the call — and he has to make it late, because nothing tells him in advance which one will carry. That is exactly the match situation: two threats in front of you and a pass that leaves at the last second. Hips don't lie, but they try to. You read the hips, not the shoulders and not the ball, and you pick your side. Right shoulder, right choice, tackle sticks. Wrong shoulder and you are beaten on the inside without having touched anybody. Double contact, and above all brain work under pressure.
Four Stations, Seven Hits
Four stations in a line, twelve metres apart, a cone and a shield holder at each. Thirteen players in groups of three behind the stations, and a single 9 to keep the whole thing turning. The ball goes up the four stations and comes back down: seven contacts in twenty-one seconds, never stopping. At every station the sequence is the same and it comes down to three actions. The carrier goes into the shield — and the holder steps forward to meet him, so you have to go and find him, not wait for him. A second man arrives right behind, drives through and pushes the shield back to where it started, sometimes past it. A third secures the ball on the ground. The 9 picks it up and takes it to the next station. He covers ninety-four metres over the drill; the others cover far less, but in contact. That imbalance is the whole point: the 9 learns to clear the ball cleanly with his lungs burning, the groups learn to set up fast because the ball always comes back. On the way back the same groups go again, the other way, on legs that no longer answer the same.
Finishing & 1v1
2Winger 1v1 — Finish the Try
The last fifteen metres, one-on-one in the corner. The defender waits in the middle; the coach calls "yellow" or "red", and he has to touch that cone before the 10 is allowed to feed the winger. The delay and the recovery angle change with every call: the attacker has two try zones to hunt, the defender has a try to save from a bad position. Call the colour late — that's when it looks like the game.
Beat the Gate
A genuine one-on-one race to the corner, with a gate to get through. Both players go on the coach's call and have to pass between the red cone and the blue one. The blue man has the ball: he has to cross the white line on the right without running out past the discs at the top. No rules on how — step inside, show and go outside, or simply burn him. The defender has to shut the door, the attacker has to choose in a split second. One for your back three.
Kicking
2Catch Blind
A high ball under pressure, and a receiver who has to take it without seeing the chaser bearing down behind him. All he has is the sound of the footsteps. He secures first — body strong, ball protected — then plays immediately with the plus one left in behind, to break the pressure and launch the counter. Work both sides and rotate the chaser. In a match you never take a clean ball: this recreates exactly that stress. One for your back three.
Grubber Kick Contest
A drill that takes seconds to set up and gives back far more than it looks. One player puts a grubber through between two lines of cones, and two players go after it: an attacker and a defender, released together on the same ball. From there nobody controls anything. A grubber never bounces the same way twice — it skids, it sits up, it kicks off sideways — and that is exactly what makes the drill honest. You work defence and attack in the same movement: one has to secure it, go to ground, protect; the other has to contest, jackal, rip. Both have to read the bounce before the other does. Run the reps back to back, swap the roles, vary the length of the kick. This is the kind of situation you get dragged into in a match and almost never rehearse at training.
Fitness
2Bronco test
The Bronco: 20, 40, 60, out and back — five rounds, no rest, 1.2 km. The clock is the only opponent. Under five, hold your head up.
Cardio Contact Loop
Twelve cones, two stations, and a loop that never stops. Six players go up together: three hit the shields, the other three sprint to the cone and reset. Option if you want to make it bite: push-ups for the three who did not hit — the runners. Then it rotates, and that is the whole point. The three who sprinted replace the hitters. The three who were waiting go for the sprint. The three who just hit move into the waiting line. Nobody really recovers, nobody stops, and the cardio goes through the roof after three rounds. Perfect as a pre-match activation: it gets the heart going and puts shoulders back into contact without ever breaking the rhythm.
Scrum strike
8Blindside Scissors 9-14
Off a tight right-side scrum in the 22: the 8 picks to fix the flanker, 9 attacks the covering winger and scissors with 14, who bursts inside to score.
Blindside Scissors 14-9
The early-ball variant: 9 releases 14 at once, loops behind for the return scissors and finishes in the corner along the touchline.
Wrong Foot
Midfield scrum launch: the 10-12 switch turns the drift the wrong way, then the 12 splits the line and releases the 11 outside the covering fullback.
Back Door
Scrum ball travels wide 9-10-12 while the 11 climbs from depth on a crossing line; the 12 holds the drift, then turns the ball back inside for the 11 to split the seam behind it.
Extra Man
Scrum eleven metres out: the ball goes long to the 10, who freezes the defence with a dummy while the fullback sweeps up from the backfield — he takes it flat as the extra man and runs in past the last cover.
Touchline to Touchline
A scrum pinned against the right-hand edge of the field, eight metres of channel on one side and everything else on the other. The 9 picks at the base and sets the backline going down the open side. The ball goes to the 10, to the 12, then to the fullback stepping into the line, and with every pair of hands the defence slides one notch further. What they do not see is the blindside wing: he left his edge the moment the ball came out and has travelled the whole width behind his forwards to arrive at the end of the line exactly when the ball does. He takes it with a man to spare, feeds his left wing down the touchline, and the try goes down in the corner — fifty-eight metres from where the scrum was fed.
Scrum, and Straight to the Wide
Fifteen against fifteen, one scrum, and a ball that does not stop before the line. Both packs lock in, the ball comes out at the base, and from there everything moves fast: the fly-half takes it already running, fixes his man and moves it wide. The ball goes from hand to hand without ever coming back, each carrier just holding his defender a fraction of a second before giving. The opposition curtain slides across, but it always slides a beat late. At the end of the chain the fullback appears in the channel that has opened up, takes it at full speed and only has to finish in the corner. Nothing more than a clean base and four accurate passes — which is usually all it takes when the scrum holds.
The Hooker's Try
A scrum, and two players who read each other. The hooker takes the ball out and gives it to the 9. Nothing remarkable yet — except the 9 hands it straight back, behind the opposition hooker who had just shifted across to cover. That one give-and-go is enough to wipe out the first defender. From there it is all solo. The 2 goes through the gap, finds the winger in front of him and beats him with a beautiful dummy, and then there is nobody left. Fifty metres later he touches down. A hooker scoring a fifty-metre solo try does not happen — except at Toulouse.
Open play
9Switchblade
Ball out of the lineout to the 9, then a switch and a loop through the backline: the red defence opens up and the 14 finishes.
Boomerang
Ruck ball, one-off runner: the 9 fires a short ball to the lock hitting the line, follows him round the back of the contact, and the swivel pop sends the 9 away through the gap the two committed tacklers just left.
High Road
First-phase strike, 13 over 12: the outside centre crosses in front of his inside man onto a short ball at the line, while the 12 runs out to hold the wide defence.
Low Road
The twin call, 13 under 12: the front-door pass finds the 12 on the overs line, and the 13 slipping underneath takes the inside return through the closing door.
Inside Job
Phase ball goes out to the 10, who carries to the line and turns it back inside for a winger arriving flat out from the blind side — the fringe defender has already drifted away with the pass.
Cutback
The ball runs 9-10-12 to drag the line across, then the 13 turns back against the grain and takes it in the seam his own drift has just opened, with the fullback trailing wide.
Height, Line, Power
Close to the touchline, and three things that follow one another with no dead time. The pass arrives at the right height, straight into the pocket — nothing to adjust, nothing to slow down for. The second centre takes it at pace on a razor-sharp line and goes straight through the first curtain without hesitating. Once through it is pure power: he outruns the wing, runs over the fullback and finishes. A textbook example — the first centre gives at height, the second takes it at speed with real intent to cut, and the finish is done with force. Simple, clinical, unstoppable.
Switch 10-12
The textbook switch: the 10 strikes the line at full speed, the 12 cuts behind him onto the hidden pass right on the gainline. The defence bites on the decoy — and the 12 is through the seam all the way to the line.
Backline Passing
The basics, and the ones nobody drills enough. Six backs, no defenders, nothing to think about but the pass. The 9 feeds it, then the ball travels down the line: 10, 12, 13, 14, 15. Here is the part that matters — every receiver sits behind his passer, so the line runs forward while the ball goes backward. That offset is what lets you run straight without ever getting in front, and it is the first thing to go once the tempo rises. Use it as a warm-up, at the start of a session, or the moment passes start going flat.
Tap penalty
3Block Right, Score Left
Champions Cup, Leinster against Northampton, and the first of two moves from the same playbook. A five-metre penalty: no kick, we tap and play it by hand. The pack binds and drives hard right, three or four metres of shift, as if it were going to punch straight through the curtain at that exact spot. The defence buys it and slides with them — that was the trap. The ball comes back behind, on the blind side, to the 9 who stayed left: 10, then 12 who fixes the last defender and releases under pressure, and the winger only has to touch down in the corner, in space the forwards have just emptied at the other end of the field. A block sold on the right, a try scored on the left. Later in the match the same picture will be used to do exactly the opposite: see [Same Look, Score Right].
Same Look, Score Right
The sequel to [Block Right, Score Left], later in the same match. A five-metre penalty, tapped and played by hand, and exactly the same picture as the first one: the pack binds and drives hard right, three or four metres of shift, everybody goes. Except this time Northampton remembers. They shipped the try out wide last time, so they hesitate to follow the block all the way — half a step late, a glance inside, a curtain that no longer slides with conviction. That was all it took. This time Leinster reverses nothing: the ball really does go right, with the big boys, exactly where the defence no longer dares commit. They punch through and score on that side. Same setup, opposite finish. That is how you build a playbook: the first one sells the second.
The Behind-the-Back
A quick tap penalty five metres out, and the whole thing is decided in three actions. The hooker picks it up and shows up like he is going to carry — body low, feet square, the defence reads a crash ball. Except he does not crash: he hits the three-man cell on his left. The cell is set to smash it up, and the opposition curtain closes on them. That is exactly what you wanted. The carrier then pulls a no-look pass behind his back to the 8, flying into the gap that has just opened. He arrives like a rocket on the opposition 12, who has neither the size nor the momentum to hold him. Try under the posts. The whole combination exists for one reason: shift the defence one notch and isolate the 8 against the 12. Power against a mismatch, and it is done.
5-man lineout
55-Man Lineout — 2 Jump
Five-man line, flat throw to position 2: the earliest take there is, straight down to the 9. The fastest ball a lineout can give you — the defensive line isn't even set.
Straight Down the Middle
Five-man lineout, ball to the middle jumper (#7, position 3): the most-played call in the book, the one that gives nothing away before it leaves the hand. Straight down to the 9.
All the Way Back
Five-man lineout, the throw travels the whole line to the last jumper (#5, position 4): the hardest to intercept, the longest to land.
Short Decoy
Five-man lineout split into two blocks: the group at the back calls for the long throw, but the ball goes short, to position 2. Straight down to the 9 while the defence resets.
Long Decoy
Five-man lineout split into two blocks: the group at the front calls for the short throw, but the ball sails long, to position 4. The defence steps up; the lineout steps back.
7-man lineout
3The Seven-Man Standard
Seven-man lineout, ball to the second jumper (#5, position 4): the bread-and-butter call, drilled until it's a reflex. Straight down to the 9.
One Step Further
Seven-man lineout, ball to the third jumper (#6, position 5): a step deeper down the line, a step less time for the defence to react.
The Number Eight at the Tail
Seven-man lineout, the ball travels the full line to the last jumper (#8, position 6): the longest throw in the seven-man book — caught furthest from the hooker, before the scrum's even a thought.
Lineout plays
7Sting in the Tail
Four-man line, flash maul, hooker round the tail — and a fourteen at full speed to finish it. The maul was never the plan.
Moving Day
A four-man line, and the whole jumping zone changes address without anyone seeing it go. The 4 leaves early and quietly, round behind the 6. A jump is sold on the 5 — the 6 and the 8 set as lifters, and they have to mean it. Then the 5 bails out to lift the 6, who jumps for real: 5 in front, 4 behind. Done fast and together, there is nothing to defend. Ten slow reps before you play it at full speed.
The Rhino Cut
A five-metre lineout, and a trap for a defence that rushes. The throw goes long, right to the back, to the 8 left on his own — the jump at the front was only a decoy. The blues buy it and rush hard at him, certain they have an easy target. What they did not see: the 12 arriving at full speed on his right, a short explosive line. He takes the offload, beats the second curtain with a huge step and scores. The play to punish a team that throws itself at the maul.
The Travelling Prop
A five-man lineout that starts like any other and changes address along the way. On the call the line splits in two: the 4 and the 7 drop to the front, the 5 and the 3 come back from the tail. A hole opens in the middle, and the defence follows it because it is big and easy to read. What they do not follow is the second move: the prop steps out of the line, goes round the back, and travels the length of the lineout to the rear pod. He arrives at the exact moment the throw goes long. The 5 jumps at the tail, lifted by a prop nobody expected to be there, and the ball goes off the top to the 9. The whole jumping zone has moved house, and the one thing that actually mattered went unnoticed.
The Double Fake
One lineout, and two decoys for a single real move. First fake jump on the 5, lifted by the 4 and the 8: the forwards opposite set themselves, certain the ball is going to the middle. Right after it, the 8 leaves his slot and slips round the back of the lineout, to the right — he walks out of the picture and nobody follows him. Second decoy: the 7 goes up in turn, and the 5, who has just pretended to jump, now pretends to lift. The whole pack opposite is busy contesting a ball that will never come. That is when the throw goes, long, right over the entire lineout, and finds the 8 alone behind it with the 6 in support. Two against nobody. The lineout was not won, it was bypassed.
The 2-8 Switch
A lineout, and a set play that rests on two players. The throw goes in, the 4 jumps and takes it cleanly. So far, nothing unusual. Except the hooker did not stay on his touchline: the moment the ball left his hands he stepped into the field, and it is to him that the ball comes back. The 8 then arrives on a switch line, takes the ball off the 2 — and instead of carrying on outside the way the whole defence expects, he cuts back inside. The hole is right there, exactly where the curtain has just slid across. There is nobody left in front of him. He runs the length of the field and scores. No elaborate decoy, no triple movement: two players, one switch, one step against the grain. Simple, clean, and unstoppable once it is away.
The 10 Loops, The 11 Scores
Lineout twenty metres out. The throw goes in, the 4 takes it cleanly in the middle of the line and gives it to the 7, who feeds the hooker: the pack closes around him and drives. Nothing spectacular, and that is exactly the point. While the forwards occupy everybody along the touchline, the backline sets up a long way behind. The 9 clears it, and the ball goes wide. It travels through the hands to the 13 — and while that happens the 10 does not stop. He loops, runs behind his centre and comes out the other side, seven metres deeper. The 13 gives it back. The 10 arrives at pace into space nobody is watching, because the defence followed the ball and not the runners. Ten metres later he fixes the last defender and feeds his winger. The 11 has thirty metres to cover down the far touchline, the opposition 14 sets off in chase and arrives too late. Try in the corner, at the exact opposite end from where the lineout was thrown: sixty metres of width swallowed in a single possession. The 10's loop does not create the space — it creates the doubt, and the doubt is enough.
Maul
3Fake Maul, Real Try
A five-metre lineout, and a maul that never happens. The reds win the ball, the maul starts to form, and the blues commit expecting a drive. That is when the hooker — the man who has just thrown — comes round fast to collect at the front. The ball is relayed in front of the maul to the 10, whose slightly angled run fixes two defenders. The winger arrives at full speed on his inside shoulder, takes the hole and goes under the posts. It is all timing: sell the maul just long enough for the defence to set, then play in front of it, where nobody is left.
The Blocking Maul
A five-metre lineout, blue ball, and a maul built to imprison rather than to advance. The blues win it and shape up to drive. That is when the 4 and the 7 do the dirty work: instead of pushing, they grab the red defenders and lock them into the maul. The defence cannot get out, so it cannot defend. While the reds are trapped, the 8 hits a crossing line at full pace, the 2 crosses with him and scores in a channel nobody is guarding any more. Then comes the question, and it is the whole play: for many referees, holding a defender in the maul is obstruction, and obstruction is a penalty. If the whistle stays silent, it is a beautiful try. You decide.
Simple, Fast, Effective
A five-metre lineout with not a trick in sight. No decoy, no double movement, no fake jump: just speed. The throw goes to the front, the jumper is up, the ball is taken cleanly and comes straight back down. In under a second the maul is already moving. The ball goes to the back, secured immediately, and from there it is your pick: the 8 takes it and goes, or the 9 fires it. The Scots had prepared for the set plays, they were waiting for the decoy. Italy simply went fast and won the race to the ground. Sometimes the best lineout is the simplest one. Quick ball is try ball.
Lineout defence
2Defensive Lineout — the "13" Call
Defending a full seven-man lineout: the blocks form immediately in zones 1 and 2, then on the "13" call the back block slides across to occupy zone 3. The long throw lands on a jumper already in place — ball stolen at the top and cleared to the 9.
5-Man Lineout — Mirror Defence
Defending a reduced five-man lineout: every jumper owns his zone and lines up opposite his man. The moment the ball leaves the thrower's hands, the jumper goes up, contests and taps the ball back for his 9.