Clearance kicks

A kick out of the 22 is known as a “clearance kick”. It does not have to go into touch but does need to take the ball as far up the pitch as possible. In this session, the kick will come after a pass, so the kicker needs to learn how to receive the ball, adjust and kick, sometimes in only a few strides. The session aims to increase the confidence of kickers to make long, accurate kicks.

Warm up time: 5-7
Session time: 8-10
Development time: 10-15
Game time: 10-15
Warm down time: 5-8

What to think about

The kicker can use either a drop punt (an end-over-end kick) or a spiral kick. Whichever he chooses, he must ensure he uses a repeatable style because he will know how to angle his body to kick towards the area required. Normally, the kick needs to go at right angles to the line of the shoulders. This will happen if the ball is dropped down the middle line of the body, so the kicking foot follows through to the target. However, in training, under pressure, the kicker will have to manoeuvre himself into a position to kick quickly. The closer he can come to his repeatable action the better. He must understand the key points and be able to correct himself when the ball does not go to its intended target.

set-up

1. Take the pass and get the ball to the middle of your body as you check the target area.
2. Drop the ball onto your kicking foot and kick through to the target without looking up.

What you get your players to do

Put a kicker inside the 5m and 15m lines. A feeder passes the ball to the kicker who has to kick it so it lands inside the two lines (see picture 1). Get a player at the far end to gather the ball and return it. Swap kickers and feeders and work on the ball coming from both the left and right sides.