Practise set-piece horrors

It might seem odd to practise for something that goes wrong, especially if you usually plan for perfection. But it is a reality of the game that a set-piece might not function sometimes.

That might be because the opposition have the voodoo sign over you, or they are just better, or bigger.

This practice, Backwards set piece, looks at some simple recovery strategies. It mainly involves one player retaining the ball, staying strong and then their team-mates backing them up.

The skills used in this session are really tested to the full, because players are running back to recover and, therefore, will have to work harder to win back or protect the ball.

The former England coach Eddie Jones was a master of set-piece recovery when he worked with Japan. They worked on strategies to win the ball, but also how to deal with times when they were in less control than they wanted to be.

Much of the session I have written focuses on techniques for a specific circumstance. The problem is, the players know in advance they are going to use them, so start to prepare themselves mentally to employ the right skills.

So, while it’s good to develop recovery tactics, and what to do next, it doesn’t help the players react any quicker if the set-piece does go wrong. 

I’ve used this session quite early on in the training cycle, though probably not in pre-season. Once the season is in progress, though, it’s a great time to focus on what happens when things go wrong.

Now, when you are running the set-piece section of your training, you can throw in various scenarios where the players know they might have to adjust because the ball has been disrupted.

Ways to challenge the players

• In the middle of another section of the session, call out that the players have 15 seconds to set up a set-piece play. They run to a designated point on the pitch, prepare themselves for the set-piece and then execute it. If it works out, brilliant. If not, they still have to play on. If you can introduce an opposition, even better. Next time you stop the normal session, it’s their turn to have a go.
• Split your set-piece training session in thirds. The first third is purely technical; the second is running through the plays for the weekend; the last third is competitive, with players reacting to winning good or poor ball. In the first, technical, section, you make sure the players’ techniques are solid. In the second section, you might introduce a new play. The last section has to be pressurised. Either you put in some opposition, or you challenge the players to execute, say, five different set pieces, but with no chance to go back to them if they don’t work out.