The shift maul drive

SHIFT 2

^{The ball carrier must be aware of the defence holding off and not engaging. If they don’t engage, the carrier holds onto the ball, and pushes forward, ready to transfer it immediately as contact is made}

^{The numbers and positions I have used are for guidance only. The coach and players need to understand who is the best to execute any given role.}

Where to shift?

• My personal view is to make any shift play in the middle or back of the lineout, as this gives options of a change of plan if the plan does not work
• Opposition analysis is very important to understand how they defend, particularly at the front

If we drive at the front, a front dummy may work best to create a little more space, similar to performing a front peel, where the players run into the 5m channel.

If the receiving pod can pull the defensive pod back with a fake/dummy, then, as with a front peel, you can create an extra metre or two to drive the maul around the front. 

This avoids the danger that, with a good secondary drive from the defence, they can push you into touch.