Options in the Attack - Greater Pace

During a recent game I noticed that my players were not attacking the defensive line at pace, nor were they working to get past the contact area (or the gain line) in the way that I wanted. Therefore the following week I decided to work with the players focusing on their attacking options. Read on to learn more!

Note: Although this session is written with the game of 7s in mind, you can apply the same concepts in this session to the 15 man game as the ideas and outcomes will be the same (plus it's ideal for training as you can split your squad in half to play 7v7).

This session isn't about moves, it's about keeping it simple and working through a set of options.

1. Beat the defender (speed, change of pace, footwork, dummy passes, hitting the weaker shoulder, etc.)
2. Offload the ball to a support player, keeping the ball alive and the attack alive (awareness and support play).
3. Only if all else fails, go to ground and present the ball for a ruck.

By working through these options with your players you'll be giving them a clear framework which will help them when making decisions on the attack. The key thing for them to remember is that every ball carrier has option and players shouldn't be afraid to be brave and experiment and try new things!

Extra session notes:

We cover a lot in this session, enough to fill several trainings. Because of this it may be wise to use the ideas here during a number of sessions, breaking each option down and working on them one by one.

As you coach constantly reflect on what each player is doing, how they are catching the ball, how they are carrying the ball, their communication, their lines of running, their footwork, their ability to hit the weak shoulder, their ability to pass in and out off contact - the offload, their decision making and pace. Think about all these things and more, what and who needs help - and now think about how you get them there. Before worrying about the big picture, sweat the small things and get individual skills sorted - the big picture will start to take care of itself with some tweaking.