Ahhh, that’s how you do it…

 

No.3 Passing out of contact

 

England women’s head coach Gary Street offers some advice on improving your team’s passing out of contact skills…

 

“It was the New Zealand men’s side that were at the forefront of this,” says Street. “Whereas the northern hemisphere power game was all about playing in front of defenders, the New Zealanders figured that the best way to break down a flatline defence was to go through them and create chaos behind them.”

 

Breaking through the line and then offloading in the tackle to support runners is a devastating way to gain yards and Street has broken the technique itself into three elements. “We have a three-step rule,” he says.

 

1. “The use of footwork is the first – you have to step one way just before contact before going the other way towards the defenders’ weak shoulder. Like a zig-zagand then steps straight and accelerates through the weak point of the defender.”

2. “The second is the hands, you need to have two hands on the ball and force the ball past the tackler with it under control”

3. “Thirdly, it’s about vision. You have to pass when your eyes and chest and facing back towards your target – the support runner. That way you know if the pass is or not and whether or not it might be best to place the ball to set up another face.

 

The Drills

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drill 1
Working in groups of four, attack a channel of four defenders spaced four or five metres apart. Each defender can only move from left to right and must also tackle the player around the waist in order to make sure the attacker powers their way through and offloads to support.

 

Drill 2
In a 30m x 30m grid, use eight attackers and eight defenders. Choose a set time for each side to attack and defend. The attackers must then attempt to break the defence and score a try. Attackers are awarded three points for a try, one for a completed offload but lose one point for an uncompleted offload. Defenders must tackle around the legs to encourage attackers to offload the ball – i.e. no smother tackles.

Key points: 1. Create support on the left and right and straight behind. 2. Support runners from the outside must support at 45 degree angles towards the ball carrier to allow an easier offload