4. Shoulders, hips and finger tips Get your players’ shoulders and hips lower than shoulders and hips of players in front of them. If can you also touch your finger tips on ground just before contact, then, as long as hips are lower than shoulders, contact should be enormous.

5. Leave ball alone If players look to pick and drive (gather ball and take it on), or even try to secure ball by picking it up, then momentum of drive is lost and it just causes more traffic. Also picking ball up can lead to players being off balance and potential knock-ons as well. Help players make decisions on when to pick and drive and only time to do this –when ball is clear at back of ruck.

Different balls

And one should not just think of different rugby balls, but also try using tennis balls (see issue 10), footballs (have you ever tried spinning one of these?) or even beach balls. All could add an element of fun, if not enhance your players understanding of ball handling.

Resistance running and passing

Resistance running is where another player holds onto a player’s shirt or shorts as they try to run forward. The idea is to let player make some progress but making them work significantly harder than they would do normally. Have you tried this technique with ball handing? Players do not always have luxury of passing unhindered.

Cones as distracters

In passing drills, make a player carry a cone in one hand. They are allowed to use cone and other hand to catch ball, but they must release or pass ball using hand without cone. Once they have made right hand passes, then get them to change hands. Move on to getting players to take passes one-handed – replicating times in game when they need to take contact with other arm. One handed pass to one-handed catcher is not going to move ball quickly across field, but it might be very useful in a tight situation. For more articles on Rugby Coaching or to sign up for a free Rugby Coaching newsletter please visit www.betterrugbycoaching.co.uk