VIDEO: Secure the perfect two-second ruck

Develop your ruck support players’ skills to blast the opposition threats away from the tackled player to win quick ball from the ruck

1. In a 10m box, stand a pair of ruck-pad holders and three attacking players with a ball on the side. Defending players holding contact shields, one attacking player holding a ball.
2. The ball carrier runs towards the ruck-pad holder with ball in two hands and attacks the edge of one of the ruck pads.
3. He goes to ground on contact and the support players to follow him into contact.
4. The support players scan for defensive threats, hands chest high (boxer hands) and must communicate to ball carrier “Floor, Floor”, and to other support player “My threat”.
5. Support player to enter the breakdown with a strong low profile and take out any defensive threats away from the breakdown.
6. Encourage ball carrier to be active on the ground.

TECHNIQUE

• Scan the defensive threats
• Hands chest high as a support player
• Blast the threat away

DEVELOPMENTS

• Take away ruck pads away with the aim of making the activity more game realistic.
• The move to a game in a 30m square with 8 attackers against 8 defenders. Mark out a try-scoring zone at opposite ends of the box. The aim of the game is to score as many tries possible in a given time slot, for example, 60 seconds. Once try is scored attacking team attack opposite try line. Defenders to contest breakdown. Condition the breakdown so that only a tackler plus two defenders can contest.