Find the bib – playing in four dimensions

Playing heads-up rugby is not just about attacking space – it should be played in four dimensions.

That means thinking ahead as well as playing what’s around you. In this game, players need to attack a point which creates a space in the future.

The game

Start by playing the game ’drop-off touch’.

In this, if an attacker is touched by a defender, that defender drops off to a cone, pole or the try line they are defending before returning to the game.

At the breakdown, when the attacker is touched, they go down, long-place the ball and the next player plays as the 9. This can be adjusted, depending on the numbers playing.

Now, put the defensive team into two colours of bibs – let’s say red and green, as shown above.

If playing four-minute halves, the red bibs would be the only defenders dropping off for the first two minutes; then you would change to the greens dropping off for two minutes.

If there is an error or infringement by the attacking team, they start again from their own try line.

Four dimensions of rugby

1. Forward and back (think attack, defence)
2. Side to side (think passing, evasion)
3. Up and down (think kicking)
4. Time (think disrupting the defence to create space in the next phase of play)