Passing and Handling

Passing and handling are the essential parts of rugby, yet even the best international players drop the ball. This section looks at ways to improve these core rugby skills, whilst keeping training fun, interesting and challenging.

Making core skills rugby drills fun - Core skills training drills can be a chore. Use the following tips to add some variety to make the process fun and develop the skills quicker.

Rugby coaching the bouncing ball attack - How to coach passes using a bouncing ball and make them a potent attacking weapon for your team.

Try blind passing and silent support tactics to vary your rugby drills - Are you brave enough to try some very different rugby coaching drills and tactics?

Team defence like Rugby League - What rugby union can learn from rugby league. How to adapt rugby league training drills to use in your coaching sessions.

Rugby footwork drills to boost passing on the run - This set of seven rugby drills will help your players practise passing on the run by encouraging them to use fast feet with some off-balance challenges.

Rugby coaching tips for pop passes - A full rugby coaching session to boost your team's short rugby passing skills.

Quick hands rugby catching drill - How to coach players to catch better and so improve their all round handling and evasion skills.

Four rugby tips for coaching the miss pass - When and where to use the miss pass. The rugby coach's checklist.

Dip and slip for continuity in contact - A complete rugby coaching session to help your players maintain continuity.

The starting point for every good lineout - Your own rugby lineout is a key attacking platform in the game. However good your jumpers and rugby tactics are, the throw is essential to success.

1v1 tracking square rugby drill - A great Ford Academy training tip. Please search the site for more clips of coaching drills in action.

Basic pull pass rugby training tip - A great Ford Academy training tip. Please search the site for more clips of coaching drills in action.

Lineout throws rugby coaching video - A great Ford Academy rugby training tip. Please search the site for more clips of rugby coaching drills in action.

Catch and passing under pressure - A great Western Force Drill of the Week. Please search the site for more clips of rugby coaching drills in action.

Straight line catch and pass rugby drill - A great Western Force Drill of the Week. Please search the site for more clips of coaching drills in action.

Continuous tyre drill for passing skills - A great Western Force Drill of the Week. Please search the site for more clips of coaching drills in action.

Grid passing rugby training drill - A great Western Force Drill of the Week. Please search the site for more clips of coaching drills in action.

High rep V passing rugby training drill - A great Western Force Drill of the Week. Please search the site for more clips of coaching drills in action.

2 v 1 touch love in contact - A great Western Force Drill of the Week. Please search the site for more clips of coaching drills in action.

Long place ground work training drill - A great Western Force Drill of the Week. Please search the site for more clips of coaching drills in action.

2 v 1 try time rugby drill - A great Western Force Drill of the Week. Please search the site for more clips of coaching drills in action.

The Townsend rugby training drill - A great Western Force Drill of the Week. Please search the site for more clips of coaching drills in action.

Attacking space rugby drill - A great Western Force Drill of the Week. Please search the site for more clips of coaching drills in action

Passing accurately at speed - Rugby training exercises to help players practise effective passing while running fast.

Draw and pass rugby training drill - Creating and completing a 2v1 situation is a fundamental skill in rugby. Paul Tyler has a drill to help the ball carrier and supporting player win these situations more often.

Picking up the ball training drills - The ball will be on the ground for a number of reasons. For instance, after a tackle, or from dropped passes, rucks, tapped down lineouts, or just a loose ball. Use these rugby drills to boost ball pick-up skills.

Rip and pass rugby drill -
A rugby coaching drill based on a French technique of ripping and passing away from contact to improve continuity.

Rugby drill to boost scanning skills - Quickly improve your players’ peripheral vision and scanning skills with this rugby training drill. It aims to help the player see what’s happening all around while receiving and giving a pass.

Box drills to build close game skills - Boxes are one of the most simple and effective training tools to develop your close game skills. They are excellent for developing short passing skills, close contact skills, rucking technique and support play.The following box drill is a great way to start to build all these skills.

Rugby drills and games to sharpen midfield decision making - Here's a great session for developing decision making by the fly half and centres. Use these rugby coaching drills and games to challenge the players to decide quickly on the best pass or line to run in game-related situations.

Rugby drill to get players running on to a pass at pace -
Getting players to run on to a pass at pace is a simple enough idea. However, training the players to do it can be frustrating, even for experienced coaches. Use the following "depth-charging" rugby drill to help.

Rugby drill and coaching tips for a pullback pass -
Putting a support runner into enough space to beat defenders is an important part of rugby. Coach your players to use a pullback pass to give support runners such opportunities.

Rugby drill to prevent players taking the ball standing still -
Nothing frustrates me more than players receiving the ball standing still, then being knocked back in the tackle. Coach your players to make sure it doesn't happen to them by looking at the five reasons why this problem occurs, then get them trying a rugby drill that can remedy it.

Rugby drills to improve reaction times -
Coach your players to react fast and make quick decisions when they're first to the ball and you'll help them beat bigger and stronger teams. Use the following rugby coaching tips and drills to achieve this aim.

Rugby coaching drill to get players winning 2 v 1s -
Creating and completing a 2 v 1 situation is an important part of the game. But a poor pass or a poorly-timed pass will cause any rugby coach to put his head in his hands. Use the following rugby coaching drill to get players winning 99% of 2 v 1s.

Recover the ball rugby drill -
How often does your attack break down because of a poor pass? Use the following rugby coaching tips to help your players recover the ball following a bad pass.

Rugby drill to work on quick fire handling skills - Use this rugby drill to work on players' quick fire handling and movement. In confined spaces, a player who can release the ball quickly creates more chances for continuity without taking contact.

Five rugby coaching tips for passing and catching skills - Here are five rugby drills and games to improve individual players' passing and catching skills, to create a more dynamic team attack.

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

Passing and handling rugby drill for 5 to 8 year olds - Challenge your young rugby players with this fun coaching drill to develop their passing and handling skills. It's ideal for players aged 5 to 8 years.

Scrum half passing position - These rugby coaching tips show how altering the position of a scrum-half's feet when passing can make the pass more powerful and accurate.

Rugby coaching session to improve high speed passing - Low-intensity passing feeds into bad habits in games. You can avoid this by ramping up your rugby players' running speeds. In this rugby coaching session there is a premium on passing accuracy, but not necessarily style.

Rugby coaching drill to show invisible channels to run into - This rugby coaching drill teaches your players how communication can improve passing and handling when creating "invisible channels" to run into.

Rugby coaching London Irish video for continuous offload drill - This rugby coaching video clip illustrates a drill that aims to get players continuously offloading the ball across the body. The focus of the rugby handling exercise is to get players pushing the ball, rather than rolling it out of their hand.

Rugby coaching London Irish video for vision and passing drill - This rugby coaching video clip shows a training exercise from the London Irish, which focuses on getting players to pivot their head to see the options ahead of them before they make a pass.

Add pressure to rugby passing drills - Get your players practising rugby passing skills so they have to pass and handle the ball within a confined space.

Turnovers rugby coaching game for passing and finding space - Turnovers is a good rugby coaching game to use with young players to help them practise skills such as finding space and passing the ball.

Balance offload rugby coaching exercise -
Offloading the ball out of contact is one of the most powerful attacking weapons in the game. But an offload pass is often made when the ball carrier is off balance. This rugby coaching session has the players passing in unusual circumstances and builds to a standard offload game situation. It also considers the role of the support player.

Rule of twos rugby coaching game for offload in contact -
This offload touch game is a good way to get your players into the mindset of always looking for the offload in contact. It's a fast paced game to get your players breathing hard before the main rugby coaching session, or to finish off training with some fun.

Quick release rugby coaching game -
In confined spaces, a rugby player who can release the ball quickly creates more chances for continuity without taking contact. This rugby coaching game creates an intensely competitive atmosphere, with players looking for unusual passing solutions.

Pass and drop rugby coaching game -
The main aim of this rugby coaching session is to get players understanding how to pass and drop into a position to support the ball carrier.

Rugby coaching session for a two pass away tactic -
This rugby coaching session is about quickly realigning and passing away turnover ball. Use the "two-pass-away" tactic from the turnover point to seek out potential gaps.

Rugby coaching session using tackle tubes to build a better defence -
This rugby coaching session has a different take on using tackle tubes, which will help you create a better defence. It uses giant tackle tubes to encourage your team to pass better and run at more aggressive angles

Rugby coaching tips for handling -
How can playing a different sport benefit your rugby coaching session? These rugby coaching tips look at how practising basketball skills can help your players improve their rugby handling skills.

Rugby coaching tips for one handed passes -
I often have to remind my players to carry the ball in both hands. However, in certain situations there are advantages to carrying the ball in one hand. Use these rugby coaching tips to get players using one handed passes.

Rugby coaching tips to get players practising passing out of the tackle -
If your players can pass well out of the tackle, they can penetrate most organised defences. This article focuses on developing those rugby skills.

360 attack rugby coaching game -
Get your young rugby players thinking outside their comfort zone. This rugby coaching game creates a new scenario, attacking a circle, that most won't be familiar with.

Rugby passing and handling drill to open up defences -
Bringing a hidden player into the line with an inside pass can open up defences. This rugby drill helps coach the movement and the pass required to do this.

Rugby coaching tips on the pros and cons of using the spin pass -
Some rugby coaches, especially those in Rugby League, hate players using the spin pass. Here we look at the pros and cons of this pass (sometimes called the "spiral" pass), and identify times when you can use it in a game.

Rugby drill to coach one handed ball manipulation -
Use this rugby drill to help your rugby players develop skills for one-handed ball manipulation.

Rugby coaching tips to get players using soft hands -
Use these rugby coaching tips from Joe Whipple, former coach of the West Indies sevens squad, to get your players using "soft hands," a basic requirement for good 10s.

Rugby coaching drill to add pace to an attack -
Use these rugby coaching tips to add pace to your players' attack.

Rugby coaching tips for block passing -
Phillipe Sella, the French centre, capped 111 times by his country in the '80s and '90s, was revolutionary in his day. This is a technique he pioneered, to ensure defenders could not drift across to tackle the next man after he had passed.

Passing drill for young players -
Passing drills need to be varied, challenging and for every player to take part in. Try this drill for younger players to make the coaching sessions more interesting and fun.

Rugby coaching drill to develop accuracy in throwing -
This rugby drill will help your players improve their accuracy when throwing. If you watch a hooker throw the ball in under no pressure, he's likely to hit his target every time. But put him in front of 70,000 people, with the "help" and "advice" of the opposition ringing in his ears, there's much less chance he will achieve the same accuracy. His heart rate will be through the roof and everything will be tightening up. Lower his heart rate by helping him achieve a repeatable, efficient throwing action.

Rugby coaching session for passing and evasion techniques -
Try this "End ball" game to improve your player's passing and evasion techniques.

Rugby coaching tips to encourage passing - If I get one complaint from parents about the team is that some boys refuse to pass the ball, or if they do, it is too late and the move is over.

Rugby coaching game to improve passing and handling -
Some players hate to have fun at training but you must make them grin and bear it.

These players love the sweat of constant drills – whether that be fitness or skills. If they are not under a military-type regime, they don't think they are working hard enough.

Try this fun game "Hungry cavemen" to help your players improve on their passing and handling.

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