Ellis Rugby Skills and Drills

The influence of an offload game.   The use of the offload as a means of attacking space is a growing trend. Rugby World Cup 2019 has shown how the top sides have taken this skill and used it as part of their team strategies.   For those who may have read an earlier blog about the ‘Race’ the   offload is a good attacking skill to use against a bigger, more physical side or one that has a strong defensive set up. The offload allows the attack to win the race over the defence who do not have enough time to get into shape and off the line. There are several drills available to use when developing an offload strategy. When looking for some ideas The Rugby Site is a great place to start.   Check out the video by Kyohie Morita, former Japanese international.   One of the best places to start when planning your own drills is to ensure the player throwing the offload gets eye contact with the receiver. While players at the highest level may throw...

Reaction! Good decision makers are often associated with having an abundance of time. This equates to more vision. Basically greater time to see more! As coaches we really push our players to work hard off the ball. What we want are our players to be set early so they have time to see more and thus make better decisions. But then what?   Hesitation can be a real killer when under pressure. ‘Fight, flight or freeze’ are our natural reactions to these moments of pressure.   Let’s look at ‘act or react’. If we work hard we have a better chance that we can dictate what happens next, we ‘act’. This is the perfect world and one we tend to train the most. But following on from a previous blog about the race, we have an opposition who are also trying to set early. Should they beat us then we are often forced to ‘react’. What this looks like can have a massive impact on the game. At some stage in a training session we need to throw in the unknown. Doing this can help...

Missed tackles and their impact. Good tackle technique varies based on the physical attributes of the tackler, position on the field, carrying style of the attacker or even the time in a match. Team policy should include guidelines for these areas. However basic tackle technique comes down to a few key points, for example: Feet close Head up Wrap Squeeze Leg Drive Let’s look at ‘feet close.’   There are many buzz words and phrases that have been used in the past and when properly explained they help players to visualise the correct technique. A personal preference is not to refer to the feet at all and shift focus to ‘ chasing hands’ into the tackle. Understanding what this looks like is crucial. The term I use is ’T-Rex.’ It describes the positioning of the hands like the T-Rex dinosaur. It works well with younger players where we can say “ be a T-Rex not a Pterodactyl ” to illustrate keeping their arms in and up. ‘Chasing’ their hands means don’t extend ...

How accurate skill execution can break down defences. Many matches come down to critical moments. These may be decision making moments or a matter of simple skill execution. As teams look to develop their decision making they often neglect the importance of skill execution. The ability to catch a ball and deliver it accurately can prove to be the winning or loosing of a match. The higher the level of rugby the less opportunities a team has to score a try. Success or failure can come down to a split second.   For example take a ball on the shoulder, adjust it and pass it on OR take the ball early and immediately pass to a player in space. Just the hesitation or need to reload the pass can change a situation drastically. In the instance below, if the ball was caught late and inside the plane of the receivers body*, he may have been hit ‘ball and all’ or have been forced to reload his pass. Both options would have failed to produce the try. Missing a player here was needed t...

The box kick has increased in popularity as an attacking weapon in recent years. One of the better exponents of it is Irelands Conor Murray. What sets Murray apart is his consistency. In the images below we can see how he has cleared his line with the ball landing in the 5m tram lines just over halfway. By having both these kicks so close to the sideline it gives the counter attack only one way to go. Since Ireland really back their chase line to stay connected they have not only cleared their line but applied pressure on the opposition. Also note this consistency applies to both sides of the field.   In the close images here we can see how Murray has consistency with the ball drop with both hands coming off the ball at the same time. He then finishes with his lead shoulder to the target area. He does this from both sides of the park and under pressure. Impressive stuff! Setting a Trap. In these images below I have highlighted how the use of the box k...

Every coach has their own favourite and time-tested activities they use regularly.  Players are likely to be familiar with them and the coach has confidence in them to do the job. With the need to build in activities to put the players under pressure, many coaches will look outside their area of expertise to seek something new. With good planning this can work very well, however too often we see these activities introduced at a time when the players are looking to refine what they are already doing. Pressure can be applied in many ways - for example reducing time and space or bringing in some physicality. Another method (and one I would use before physicality) is creating competition within the group. Many activities can be modified to allow groups to compete in a race-type format. Catch-pass is the most obvious, but with some thought we can use a race mentality when getting into shape, setting a lineout or working the breakdown area; the options are endless. A coach could introd...

Switch Attack Structure. There are many ways to generate attack patterns that switch from the first breakdown. This is a sample that I hope will generate discussion in your coaching group. Shapes such as this can be used in all areas of the field with the only variations occurring from the  first breakdown. An example could be a kick option from an exit play with the forwards on the blind offering a different shape. This pattern is from a full lineout but similar plays can be run from shortened versions. Understanding the target in the lineout is a good place to start. Labelling the jumping unit ‘employed’ can bring some role clarity. Appointing players to go to the first breakdown adds to this clarity with all other forwards classified as ‘unemployed’. While there are more specific roles and methods to assign them, I find this a simple and adaptable model. Team policies can come into place around the breakdown. Here I have gone with ball carrier plus 3 however some may ...