Two v one continuous rugby drill

One of the staple drills for many rugby coaches is the "round-the-corner" drill, where two attackers run back to a cone each, turn and attack into a box as a defender runs in the opposite direction before turning to defend. But a more effective rugby drill is suggested here to get attackers and defenders working on decision-making skills.

There are a number of problems with the round-the-corner rugby drill because:

1. It forces an unnatural barrier onto the ball carrier

As the attacker turns the "corner", he is faced with a touchline on his inside. The defender's job is now easier because he does not need to commit to an aggressive tackle if he simply wants to push the attacker out of bounds.

It is unlikely we would want the ball carrier to "preserve" space in the game by running close to the touchline.

2. It reduces creativity for both attackers

Since the attacker normally "preserves" the space by attacking close to the sideline, there is a limit to what the support player can do. There are no decisions on angles of run or width of pass. The ball carrier is limited to passing wide or dummying.

3. Non-participants are poorly positioned to observe the drill

Lots of "learning" can come by observing what works and doesn't work. In the set up for a round-the-corner rugby drill, the next participants often line up on the side with a poor view of what is happening in the box. This reduces the ability of other players to learn from the others' good and bad play.

Alternative drill

A solution to these problems is to use the following rugby coaching drill where players enter through the try zones.

By starting the drill through the try zones, the players can observe more, the drill allows more decisions from the support player and inevitably more decisions for the defender.

Make sure the defenders are back from the try zone and the ball carrier touches down the ball to score.

Rugby drill to get players practising decision making.

Continuous 2v1 rugby drill

I like to create a more game specific session with this type of drill by making the whole drill continuous.
Split into two equal teams. Mark out a 10 metre wide, 20 metre-long box. One team will defend one end and attack the other and vice versa.
The game starts with one team attacking with two players v one defender. Once the attack is over, whether successful or not, the other team attacks. Make sure you tell them when the attack is over, however it is up to the other team to know when to start the attack.
Previous attackers and defenders need to clear out of the box as soon as the attack is over. They return to their teams and work out when they are next going to attack or defend.
A quick attack might surprise a defender.