Rugby bump, pop, rip drill

Keep your players balanced and stable in the contact situation by getting them to "bump, pop, rip".

What is the bump?

The "bump" is a controlled drive into the contact area, so the ball carrier is never off balance. He can then pop the ball to a team mate or have it ripped away. The pop is more dynamic, the rip more secure.

What you tell your players the bump, pop, rip drill is about

Exploring different options for the ball carrier in contact.
Dominating contact as the ball carrier.
Improving the decision making of the first support player to the contact situation.

What you tell your players to do in the drill

Prepare to take contact. Get low, hold the ball on the back hip and engage the defender with the leading shoulder.
Consider the best option to take after contact, either popping a short pass to the supporting player or allowing him to rip the ball from you.

Run bump, pop, rip drill

Split your players into groups of three and run through a channel with three defenders with ruck shields.
The first ball carrier power steps into contact, knocking the defender back. He pops a pass to one of the support runners, who takes the ball into the next defender.
The second ball carrier now bumps the defender and turns in a strong position. The next support player engages with his shoulder and rips the ball out, before passing to the support player, the original ball carrier, to continue down the channel.

Rugby coaching drill to improve stability in contact

What to call out in this rugby drill

"Accelerate into contact."
"Take a big step into the tackle to stay strong and balanced."
"Support players: talk to the ball carrier – let him know his best option."

Develop the drill

Remove the ruck pads and use live defenders.
The ball carrier has to see which option he can use best and the support players have to react to the situation.

Put the drill skills into a game situation

Practise the techniques in a game-like, competitive situation.

Play six-a-side full contact rugby in a 5 metre wide channel. The attacking team scores one point every time they bump, pop or rip. The defending team is allowed to compete for the ball legally to win possession.

Each team gets one minute to attack to see how many points they can score.

If you have more than two teams, have one team resting and keeping score.

What to think about

1. The support players keep over running the ball carrier before he can pass to them.

This is caused by them being worried that they will not make it in time. Reinforce that they are better arriving late at pace than being early and stopping before acting. If necessary hold them back physically to show how late they can set off.

2. The support player is struggling to rip the ball off the ball carrier.

The support player needs to hit the ball carrier hard with his shoulder and get his elbow between the ball and the ball carrier. The rip is completed by dropping the shoulder and using all his upper body weight to rip down.

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Click here for a rugby coaching article on pop passes.