Improve your Rugby Coaching, with great drills, techniques & training plans

Can your players perform when tired? Find out... Two great get ready made sessions

It's been an exciting week in the Sportplan office, what with the launch of the new Sportplan Session planner - because we're so proud of this new coaching tool we've decided to use it ourselves and build both of this week's sessions using the new planner!

Session 1: Performing when tired - Endurance and skills session

This week's first session has been created to get your players ready for the challenges they're going to face early on this season. In rugby terms when an unstoppable force collides with an unmovable object there's a stalemate and the team that prevails is usually the one with the higher fitness levels!

To ensure your players can perform the basics, even when they're physically tired out, this week's session gets your players running in positional related fitness drills before then seeing whether or not they can hold it together and play some convincing rugby in a game of touch rugby.

Can your players drive out a difficult win? - full members can find out bydownloading this week's session now, or you can upgrade today.

Session 2: Contact and handling skills

To reintroduce your players to contact this week's second session is ideal for all ages and works on getting your players to attack, attack, attack with the going forward style of play.

Progressing through different stages players will firstly offload the ball before engaging the defender, secondly offload at the point of contact and then thirdly decide for themselves what they think is best in order to avoid the breakdown of play.

Get them ready for their first game of the season! - full members can download it now, or you can upgrade today.

Pre-season - Who's fit and the new 2010 laws

Another week, another two great pre-season sessions for you and your players to enjoy covering two very different areas of the game

Session 1: Test your players - Pre-Season Fitness test

In the first of this week's Sportplan sessions we really put your players through their paces, working their cardiovascular systems, in this high intensity, boot camp style fitness session which includes your warm-up, multi-stage fitness test and a plyometric and strength work out for your players as well as a player scores and times sheet where you can make notes on your players' performance.

Later on in your season you can revisit this fitness test again (to the dismay of your players) and review your players' score and times, hoping to see an improvement in all your players' results as they improve in fitness.

Use this session with your player today to create awareness amongst your players about how fit (or unfit) they really are and make them take responsibility for their own fitness this season!

Find out who's fighting fit! - full members can download it now, or you can upgrade today.

Session 2: The updated tackling law - Roll away!

To make sure your players have a good understanding of the recent modifications to the laws of the game, namely when tackling, we bring you this tactical session.

Referees have indicated that this season they will be more stringently enforcing law 15.6c, requiring players to leave daylight immediately after a tackle between the ball carrier and the tackler as they get back to their feet. To get your players used to rolling away we bring you another complete session, starting with some fresh warm-up ideas before then getting the ball rolling.

The crux of this session will be spent in a touch game of rugby, enforcing the new law to make sure it becomes second nature to your players. With more experienced players you can work on the tackle and roll in a full contact version of this drill.

Don't get caught out - play by the book this season! - full members can download it now, or you can upgrade today.

Your Pre-Season programme: Fitness, handling and team organisation!

Sportplan continues to offer you Pre-Season goodness with yet another two welcome back sessions, one fitness focussed and the other is a more fun learning through games. Designed for all ages and abilities, this week's Sessions are medium-high intensity, pushing your players a little harder each week to get them back into the realm of rugby.

Session 1: Fitness conditioning, skills and discipline

In the first of our two preparatory sessions we look at ball handling and multi-directional running in a series of large group exercises. Getting your players to work together in teams is a great way to re-instil understanding and communication amongst your players.

After a vigorous warm-up we then split the final hour in three with off-load pop passing, ruck touch, and then a modified version of off-loading. In these learning games players must immediately pop or present the ball as soon as they are tackled - this means players need to be aware of who's close to them in order play the best possible ball to their supporting players.

Harder, faster, stronger players! - full members can download it now, or you can upgrade today.

Session 2: Conditioned games session

After working hard for the past few weeks on fitness and basic skills your players might be starting to lag, mentally and physically. Well don't worry, the second of this week's fantastic pre-season sessions is sure to give your players an injection of energy as they get stuck into these fun and challenging conditioned games.

Playing without purpose is no pointless though which is why all the games in this week's session have been designed to get your players thinking - about their organisation on the field, how to realign and communicate. Space Invaders in particular is an excellent drill for getting players to think about taking risks when sending players forwards into the attack!

Learn through play in this conditioned games session! - full members can download it now, or you can upgrade today.