Drills for quick decisions

Reacting to unusual situations and making quick decisions is crucial for all rugby players. Developing these skills is not easy, but using speed-strategy training drills will get your players thinking faster.

Speed drill tips

Rugby coaching innovator Pierre Villepreux, the former French international player and coach, always carried two spare rugby balls during training.

If he thought the ball was too slow from a breakdown he would throw the half back a new one. This kept a high tempo to the drill and meant the players had to think quicker, react quicker and perform quicker.

You can use this strategy during any games and drills you use during training. Carry a spare ball with you and at any time you like shout "NEW BALL" and throw it into play. The players have to recover the new ball and react to the new situation.

It's also a great way of practising turnover ball. During a game, pass the new ball to the defending team and see how the teams react.

Six quick thinking rugby drills

In these drills, the aim is to activate the players' thinking and reacting by constantly changing the moves they are performing.

Rather than do one drill repetitively, where the thinking element gets stale quickly, six small areas are used with the players doing a variety of simple exercises.

By speeding up the whole process the players' reactions to different situations and problems will improve.

Here's how to get started:

Make sure you talk through the six different drills.
Start one group from each station.
Only on your signal can the players move onto the next drill. They should do so immediately.
Give the players a short countdown to get started at the next station.
Ensure the players change their roles within their group.

first of six drills to speed up decision making skills

1. Attack decisions: The attacking player gets one point for scoring at the side and two points for scoring at the end. Defenders make two-handed touch tackles.

2. Ground war: Two players compete for a rolled ball

second of six drills shows two players chasing a rolled ball

3. Not a 50/50: A two versus one situation.

third image of six drills showing a 2v1 situation

4. Zigger-zagger: Threes pass the ball using cuts, loops and miss passes.

number 4 image of six drills where three players passing using cuts, loops

5. Overload: Two attackers versus one defender. They can score on either line.

number five of six showing drill where there are two attackers versus one defender

6. Jink-and-run: One attacker has to touch the lines at each end without being touched by a defender.

image six of drill where attacker touches lines at one end without defender touching him