Midfield cutting edge By Colin Ireland, a qualified sports consultant with years of experience coaching and teaching rugby at every level of the game

Over complicating attacking play can lead to mistakes, players unclear about their roles and teams forgetting the first principle of rugby - go forward. Focus, instead on simple lines and passes by the three midfield players.

*Building a simple move

Introduce a simple dummy switch and pass between 10, 12 and 13. It has the following advantages.
It only involves one pass, from 10 to 13.
There is decoy and deception with 12 being the main holding player.
Angles of run are different and unpredictable for the defence.
13 takes the ball running at full pace and therefore has more chance of getting through or past the defence.
It fulfils the first principle of rugby to go forward.



Your players will enjoy performing this attacking ploy and see the benefit of it being done well.
13 has options to go wide and receive a longer pass or come in tighter and receive a short pass, all depending on what he sees in front of him as regards the defence.
It is straightforward for the 10, after performing the dummy switch with 12, to weight his pass short or long as he sees 13's angle of run. 10 may also decide to hold on to the ball if he sees the defender in front of him slide out on to 10.
With younger players start with no opponents, then use tackle bags or poles as defenders. Finally set a challenge with three defenders and live tackling. It is also good for the other players in your squad to practise this ploy.
Create the extra player
Again using 10, 12 and 13, create a "fourth" player by executing a loop between 10 and 12, and outwitting the defence.
10 immediately passes to 12, and slides behind and round him as 12 moves forward. 12 then returns the pass leaving 10 and 13 faced with one defender.
It is important that 10 goes forward first before passing to fix any defenders.
12 has to take the pass as if he is trying to burst through, again attracting defenders.
As 10 runs round on the loop he accelerates and begins to angle his run forward, receiving the return pass from 12. The loop can be described like a one-two or wall pass in football/soccer.
13 times his run so he is receiving the ball at full pace. Again, he can see everything in front of him and can adapt his angle of run depending on the defenders.



Attack plan to create space
By Dan Cottrell
This is a rugby coaching drill designed to improve inexperienced players' ability to attract defenders and free up space for team mates.
This article is an extract from Rugby Coach Weekly. It starts as a simple 3 v 2 situation.
The inside attacker passes to the second attacker, who takes the pass and runs at the inside shoulder of the outside defender. As he draws the defender's attention, he passes to the third attacker who runs into the space on the outside and scores.



Developing the rugby drill session
You can develop the drill session with additional attackers and defenders, and by allowing knock downs, interceptions, and tackles. This additional "pressure" means that the timing of the passes becomes critical.
Rugby coaching tips for players to attract defenders
1. The ball carrier: Having the ball carrier move the ball from two hands to one hand certainly attracts defenders. It makes them think the ball carrier is going to take them on. The ball carrier should also practise getting the ball back into two hands before passing.
2. Support runners: Additional support players on the inside will force the defenders to remain fixed on the inside, leaving space for the ball carrier (or a support player to receive a pass) on the outside.
The ball carrier should be encouraged to use the inside support players as decoys through oral communication - calling "inside pass" or "stay on my inside", for example - and visual signals.
As long as all your players know the visual signals, they could use the calls to distract the defenders, for example by calling contradictory moves.



Family support
By Dan Cottrell
A good support player reads the movements of the ball carrier to judge where to offer the best support.
In France they call this being in the "close family" of the ball. Where the ball carrier goes, the close support goes as well. This session builds on that close understanding.
What you tell your players the session is about
As a support player, reading the movements of the ball carrier
As a ball carrier, trusting that the support player is in position to take the pass.
What to think about
Non-ball carriers in attack need to think about their specific roles in relation to the ball carrier.
The closer they are, the more likely they either will get the ball or will have to physically support the ball carrier through contact.
So the closest support players, who form the "family" as the French top coaches like to say, need to move as the ball carrier moves. The ball carrier can then trust that, should he be able to offload the ball, a player will be in place to take that pass.
What you get your players to do
Put a ball carrier and defender 5m apart, with a support player behind the ball carrier.
Have the ball carrier move forward, step to one side and pass to the support player moving into the space he has now vacated.
Meanwhile the defender moves forward to pressurise the ball carrier only. Start slowly, but (unusually) make sure there is no communication and that the ball carrier does not look where he is passing. This is to build trust.
Development
Put two ruck pad holders 5m in front of four attackers who are standing at one end of the box.
Have a player at the side pass the ball into the nearest player. Meanwhile, make the ruck pad holders come forward and target two of the attackers.
The ball carrier can either pass to a free player or go himself if he is not targeted. Once past the ruck pads, ensure that all the players pass to each other before they reach the other end.
Game
In the same box, put a gate of cones as in the bottom picture. Put two more ruck pad holders at the end corners. Start the attack in the same way as the previous exercise.
After they are through the first set of ruck pads, one corner ruck pad holder runs diagonally across to the gate. The ball carrier also aims at the gate. Once the ruck pad holder makes the gate the last ruck pad holder moves forward.
The attacking team receives one point for forcing the ball carrier through the gate before contact, one point for scoring a try, and one point for scoring a try without any contact. Adjust the starting points depending on the players' skills.

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.

Inside or outside shoulder defence

Dave McLean of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia, told us about an alternative to the "J curve" or "inside shoulder" defensive system, particularly for teams with slow inside backs.
Rugby League typically utilises the "outside shoulder" defence to shepherd or herd their opposition back inside. This prevents them getting on the outside of their opposing players and allows the defence to cover the inside ball or step back inside.
Rugby Union typically utilises "inside shoulder" defence allowing a tracking or "J" curve movement to track the inside ball or step back inside.
Inside shoulder defence – The J curve




However, if the attack has someone with a good step or turn of pace, they will often beat the defender on the outside. It is extremely difficult for a defender who has been left flat footed by a jink or half step to recover and close the gap on some pacy attacker.
When you have a back line that is not as quick off the mark, or have injuries to usual back line players and have to use players out of position, try an "outside shoulder" defensive pattern to see if it results in better containment.
Outside shoulder alternative