Five ways to create a controlled, aggressive team

How to look to the example of the All Blacks to play a controlled, aggressive rugby game.

New Zealand have been the most consistently successful rugby playing nation over the last 30 years, if not for longer than that. There are many reasons for their domination of the game, but one key area is the way in which they control their aggression.

The All Blacks do most things aggressively – tackle, ruck, run and support – but in a controlled way. Many teams can claim to match this aggression, but few seem to maintain the same control.

Here are five rugby training tips you can use with your team.

Play small sided full contact games in a narrow channel to maximise contact. Try to match up the players, so there is not an obvious advantage for any team. If one or two players start to dominate, then give the opposing team an extra player.
Keep games short and encourage the players to be aggressive in attack and defence.
Look for players with natural aggression and pick them out as role models for their team mates.
Keep your players "hungry" for contact by limiting contact in training sessions – make sure they always want more. If your players know that contact games at training are short and sharp, they will put more effort in and be more aggressive.
Keep the players' aggression controlled by refereeing games tightly. Always stop games before things get out of control.

This article is from Rugby Coach Weekly, which contains advice, tips and secrets about coaching rugby to inexperienced players.

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