Outside centre

By Paul Tyler, a Level 3 Coach, teacher and contributing editor of Rugby Coach Weekly
Positional sense: outside centre
The outside centre (13) relies on his fly half (10) and inside centre (12) to create space for him, but he needs to be able to deliver the killer blow when it counts.
Physical importance
He needs to work on his acceleration over 20 metres and his ability to change direction and speed effectively.
Train with sprinting from a rolling start over a variety of distances between five and 30 metres. Introduce changes of direction and changes of pace at various points.
When the player is competent at changing pace and direction, introduce a ball. Start with the player holding the ball and progress to passing it to him at different phases of the run.
Key technique
The outside centre is at his most dangerous when he can break the line and then give an accurate pass at pace to a support player. This exercise develops the outside centre's need to break the tackle and make a decision about where and when to pass.
The player accelerates on to a pass and busts through the two tacklers with bags. He is then immediately faced with a two against one situation which he must exploit.
As he develops his skills, add a second defender behind the tackers with bags and another support player. This creates a challenging three against two scenario.