Lineout Catch-and-drive

Lineout catch and drive drill

Women's - Lineout catch & maul / drive

Women's - Lineout catch & maul / drive

Men's - Lineout catch & maul drive 1

Men's - Lineout catch & maul drive 1

Junior - Lineout catch & mail / drive

Junior - Lineout catch & mail / drive

Sevens - Lineout catch & maul drive

Sevens - Lineout catch & maul drive

Men's - Lineout catch & maul drive 2

An example of setting up a maul after a catch and drive at a lineout

Lineout Catch & Drive

Premiership Rugby coaches and players highlight the importance of the lineout as an entry point and an attacking platform. Join PremiershipRugbyCoaching.com for ideas and examples to improve your lineouts.

Lions 09 Lineout 4

Lineout variation and practice

Maul and Ruck - Maul Leg Drive

Staying on the feet and maintaining aggressive leg drive, can be very difficult to defend

Did this Lineout win the World Cup

The black team split the lineout pods at the front and the back, the defence are then forced to move with these pods to compete or stop a driving maul, (As they are close to the try line), this creates a whole in the middle of the lineout which the black team exploit cleverely. This play is clever and tactical and shows how complex the lineout can be. Key factors : Lifting pods to move quickly - Strong jump - Accurate lifting - Accurate throw - Delayed run through the middle

Full lineout practice - middle then back

Unopposed practice to develop calls and movement patterns

Sevens - Full Lineout 4

Lineout - 4 pod passing challenge

Four lifting pods must hold their jumpers aloft long enough for them to pass a ball through the hands twice. Lifters should stand close together and try to lock-out their arms. Jumpers should maintain a strong core and keep their legs straight to make life easier for the lifters.

Maul and Ruck - Maul Slide Drive

In this technique, the ball is constantly being shifted so the point of pressure is moving and challenging the defence

Ruck Clearing and Decision Making

Advanced clearing exercises for senior players. The support player makes a decision on how to clear out the ruck based on the position of the opposition.

Tackling 4 - Feet and Body Position

Tackling 4 - Feet and Body Position

Sevens - Turnovers and move the ball 4

From a turnover in contact the attackers pass the ball wide one way and then a deep wide pass back in the other direction to pull the defence out of shape and create an opportunity to attack. Key factors : Wide flat pass - Players support from depth - Deep wide pass - Running and swerving past the defender

Step 6 - Introducing the Lineout

Ruck touch - Focus on rolling players away

A key technique at the breakdown is the ability to roll players away, this applies when your opponent already has a good body position over the ball. Danny Wild from Leeds carnegie uses a game and breakout sessions to deliver his session

Strike move from Lineout

RGS Guildford secure lineout ball and perform a 'circle' ball, with the fly-half looping around the centre who pops the ball back to him. This is to draw in defenders, to create space out wide. The winger is able to exploit this space to complete the try.

Attack from short lineout

With the dummy lifting pod moving back, Filton College execute a short lineout to the front lifter. They attack wide before 're-winding' and using the overlap on the nearside to break through for a try.

7-man - walk-in middle lift

Players walk into the lineout and lift as soon as they are in line. If there are no defending jumpers, the best option is to go straight up in the middle. This requires practice to ensure timing and communication between, the hooker, jumper and lifters is right.

Men's - Lineout maul good defence 3

Men's - Lineout maul good defence 3

Scotland New Lineout Move

Scotlands clever score from the line out v Ireland was a great example of coaches or players being innovative and looking at new ways to do things. This clip shows a few slightly different uses for placing your scrum half at the front of the line out. It is just ideas and about pushing the boundaries of the laws

Lineout Lifting Fundamentals - Get started

An effective line out is based upon the fundamentals of movement, jumping and lifting. James Cannon from London Wasps takes some amateur players through the basic skills and techniques

Impact Wrap Tackle

Impact Wrap Tackle

Sale - Lineout lifting & set

Coaching junior players to lift effectively in the line out is based upon some simple steps. Ross Harrison from Sale sharks outlines the key principles and progresses to the driving maul

Broncos 4 - 6 v 3 Identify space

Players to attack with "Heads up" and identify where colleagues have space. Supporting players to call early to the ball carriers. Defenders to stay tight to not let attack through the middle spaces easily

Ruck Clearing Exercises

Two crucial clearance techniques - the saddle roll, and the duck and clean. It's important for players to practice these at length, under pressure, under fatigue, and with an element of decision-making in order to best re-create a match situation.

Building the Catch and Drive

The driven lineout is an increasingly effective attacking platform. Here is a quick preview of some of the exercises and advice available on Premiership Rugby Coaching. Join now to see more.

Men's - Strike Moves 4

A great axample of how to use effective passing and dummy runners to attack from scrums. Key factors ; Solid scrum - Accurate spin pass - Load calling from dummy runners - Different angles of running - Wide flat pass - Speed and swerve from the final player

The Lineout Game - Under14

Players begin to use movement with the intention of deceiving the opposition as to where the ball will be thrown. However if the ball is always thrown to the front, how effective will this movement be?
This clip illustrates how the front ball is secured by jumping and catching skill and then protected by the support players. If the same skills could be used with a middle ball, the tactical decision making will also be developed

How many coaches opt for safety and not for the long term development of their players?

Breakdown - Accurate Rucking

This series of clips shows how conditioning and good technique are crucial to be effective at the breakdown. The progressions are simple and the key coaching points are Low to high body position Strong leg drive Accuracy on the target - The tackle bag

Learning to Lift for the Lineout - Get started

Some slightly different progressions in building upon the basic skills for an effective line out

The Lineout Game - Defence

Defending against the lineout throw is a key area for disrupting the opposition and their attacking platform. The defending jumper can be very effective by getting a hand in between the opponents’ hands and disrupting the catch. This may also block the vision of the opponent who wishes to follow the flight of the ball

Driven Lineout Strategy

The lineout & box kick has become increasingly more important this season, Brian Smith from London Irish explains what "Exits" are and why they are important

Tackle Technique 3/5 - Drive Through

This stage looks at tackler maintaining a square body position and following their feet to drive through.

Decision making at the breakdown - Ruck touch

Coaching players to make the right decision at the breakdown is a complex challenge for coaches. In this video Danny Wild from Leeds carnegie uses a whole - part - whole approach to help improve the players decision making

18. Wide Touch

Lineout Tips from London Irish Forwards

London Irish forwards talk through some of the elements that make an effective lineout, and how you can prepare for a match.

Women's - Wrap Tackle

Women's - Wrap Tackle

Mike Catt - Attacking from Lineouts - Back Ball

Classroom session with Mike Catt - discussing the key points of attacking from a lineout

Maul and Ruck - Clearing the Ruck

Clearing the tackle area with pace relies on committed support. Clearance rucking is a dynamic method of restarting the attack if the defence has managed to create a breakdown.

Lineout Lifting Progressions

The second session focusses on developing the basic techniques for building your line out. Wasps second row James Cannon takes some level 6 players through some progressions

QBE - Lineout Throwing Game

4. Octopus Tig

Maul and Ruck - Under 13s and 14s Ruck

Training through traditional drills does not develop game understanding and players often become robotic in their behaviour

Conditioned games promote game understanding and encourage players to recognise the needs at any given situation

The drill should be used only to refine technique and the danger is to develop players that act without game understanding

Ruck Touch Rugby

Coaches can use games to introduce all skills for your age group. If you are very specific about the conditions you apply then players will learn these skills in a fun and enjoyable game

Lineout Lifting Fundamentals

Zoran Higgins takes you through the basic lifting fundamentals that all Junior players will have to learn. This focusses specifically on hand placement and body positioning.

4. Bib Touch

The Lineout Game - Lifting

When introducing lifting, consider the suitability of the players for each role. It may be that a small, light player now takes up a key role in jumping and catching while the bigger players, who may have previously jumped are best suited to lifting at this stage in development
When introducing lifting to young players, always side on caution and use spotters to assist in the initial learning stages. This will develop confidence and competence

Always be aware of fatigue and do not over work the players even if progress is slow

The Lineout Game - Under13

The under 13 age group uses the full size pitch. The coach should consider that the 5m tram line as a bigger obstacle for a 12 year old thrower, than it is for a 15 year old thrower
To develop lineout understanding, it may be worth exploring for the best thrower and not select their roles at the lineout by shirt numbers

If the policy is to throw to the front at every lineout, how will this develop the tactical and technical understanding of the lineout game?

It may be that possession is occasionally lost, but is the long term development of players more important than any given children’s’ game?

Lineout Lifting Basics

The lineout is a key part of rugby union and it is vital for player safety and success that the proper technique is learnt. James Cannon of London Wasps walks through the key technical elements of lineout lifting and jumping. Log in to see the full session.

Lineout Fundamentals

Dominant lineout players such as Geoff Parling build their trade on solid technical foundations. Log in to RCD for plenty of coaching tips on lineout technique.

Geoff Parling - Lineout Dominance

Dominant lineout players such as Geoff Parling build their trade on solid technical foundations. Log in to RCD for plenty of coaching tips on lineout technique.

Small-side game - Ruck Touch

There are many versions of ruck touch with the support players needing to recognise the needs of the tackled player.

The defence should be conditioned to provide increasing pressure to the tackle area. This will develop the situation recognision of the attacking players who must play accordingly. Robotics in rucking regardles of the situation should be discouraged and the option of picking upthe ball and going forward should be an option

Building the Maul from a Lineout

A maul from a lineout can be a powerful attacking tool. This clip shows how to construct the maul at the front of the lineout quickly. Practice is key to ensure players understand their positioning and timing.

Leg-drive in Contact

Staying strong and maintaining a leg-drive when in contact can help to gain territory, give teammates more time to support, and sometimes, counteract the tackle entirely. In this clip, Eastbourne College score a try against Eton as a result of powerful running and leg-drive.

Maul and Ruck - U9 Coaching

Notice how these players do not naturally set up rucks. Both teams try to keep the ball away from breakdown situations.
What would these games look like if the coaches stepped in and insisted on rucking?

Sevens - Full Lineout 3

Accurate skills are the key to lineouts in seven's, a combination of movement, lifting and throw combine to make an effective restart for the attacking team. The shape of the attacking side is pre planned to create a mis - match with a faster player v a slower one. key factors : Pre call the move - Fast feet - Strong core for jumper - Support from both players to lift the jumper - Jumper to jump - Accurate throw - Support he jumper to the ground - Offload pass to scrum half

Attacking progression's 5 v 4

Progressing from 3 v 2s an 4 v 3s, you can now attack with something resembling a full back-line. Give the defence different instructions each time to test the reactions and decision-making skills of your attacking players.

Attacking progression's 4 v 3

A progression from 3 v 2s, this drill is closer to a game situation, where there are more decisions for the attacking players to make. The gaps could appear in a variety of locations and they have several passing /running options. With 4 attacking players, you may wish to utilise your basic strike moves.

6v2v2v2v3 wide

Channel development into a decision making exercise with the empahsis on going straight then wide

Lions 09 lineout 2

Lineout variation and practice

Team patterns play from lineout

Developing play from the lineout should have options and progressions

Building the Lineout

We have changed the content on this clip - just in the short term - until we produce new content on building the maul from a Lineout - apologies

Team patterns from lineout

Some ideas on developing paly from the lineout and progressions

Lineout Jumping Fundamentals

Here we take you through the basic and essential core skills required for any jumper in the lineout.

Rugby Netball using goals on wide pitch

A game for developing players understanding of space out wide.

Passing 4 v 3 reset

A progression from 2 v 1 , 3 v 2 to 4 v 3

Shadowing and movement in the lineout

Lineout practice for developing the movement and lift timing.

Ball retention wide

If a drift defence has you pointed towards the touch-line, the wide player should change their running direction and attack the inside defender. This is proactive and gives more chance for the ball to be recycled for another attempt.

Leg drive and offloads

Staying strong in contact and using the leg-drive can commit extra defenders. If then, you can make an offload to supporting players, overlaps should be created. It is difficult to defend a strong offloading attack, and here, Stowe School are rewarded a try for their slick hands.

The Lineout Game - Movement in the line out

It may be that a light, athletic group of players focus on speed over technique, but a bigger group of players may focus on technique in order to maximise height.The tempo and tactics at the lineout needs to suit the player profiles.

Lineout essentials

The lineout provides an essential attacking platform. Log in to see advice and examples from pro players, suitable for elite, adult and youth players.

Rucking Zone

A tiring exercise of continuous rucking. Encourage your players to maintain good standards even when tiring and highlight the importance of getting straight up after one breakdown to make another.

Lineout Throwing with Dylan Hartley

Northampton Saints and England hooker Dylan Hartley talks through his lineout throwing procedures and explains the importance of routine

Mike Catt - Attacking from Lineouts - Quick Ball

Classroom session with Mike Catt - discussing the key points of attacking from a lineout

Sevens - Full Lineout 1

Sevens - Full Lineout 1

Lions 09 - Lineout Movement

A dynamic practise for speed and quality of lifting in lineouts. This exercise can be used for 15's and 7's and for different age groups. The coaches can vary the distance of the cones and progress to both lifters moving. Coaches can add some fun by making it a competition. Key factors : The jumper must jump - Core body strength - Keep body stiff and straight - Lifters work together - Lock out arms - Bring the jumper down safely

Mike Catt - Attacking from Lineouts - Dummy Options

Classroom session with Mike Catt - discussing the key points of attacking from a lineout

Sevens - Full Lineout 2

Sevens - Full Lineout 2

Junior - Wrap Tackle 2

Junior - Wrap Tackle 2

Women's - Good leg drive

Women's - Good leg drive

Lions 09 lineout 3

Lineout variation and practice

Junior - Ball off the top from lineout 2

Junior - Ball off the top from lineout 2

Women's - Lineout mail good defence

Women's - Lineout mail good defence

Lions 09 Lineout 1

The Lions practice their lineouts

Lineout Lifting Hand Placement

This video takes you through the importance of hand placement in building a solid lineout.

Men's - Turnover and move the ball 4

Men's - Turnover and move the ball 4

Men's - Lineout maul good defence 2

Men's - Lineout maul good defence 2

Lions 09 - Driving Body-position

A great practice for ALL players in the scrum to adopt the best position to drive from. You can use tackle bags as well as tyres

Men's - Ball off the top from lineout 2

An example of playing the ball from the top of a lineout

Men's - Short Lineout 2

An example of a shortened lineout

Men's - Full lineout 2

A 5 man lineout where all the players are spread evenly apart, all players can lift and jump so the focus is on speed and accuracy. Key factors : Even spread of players - Communication - Quick jump - Accuate lifting - Accurate throw in

Lions 09 lineout 5

Lineout variation and development

Why Train In 4 Minute Blocks!

London Scottish Players and Coaches explain why they often train in 4 minute blocks.

Building the Lineout

This video initially shows the lift, bring down to the ground and bind of a lineout pod.

The video also illustrates safe and effective ways to introduce movement, lifting and jumping skills to youth players

Men's - Lineout maul good defence 1

Men's - Lineout maul good defence 1

Lineout game for speed of lifting

Elite coach Neal Hatley uses a game to develop speed of lifting in a lineout by providing an element of competition and fun.