Breakdown drill
Contact Square Inside Clear
Fall away from the jackal threat and clear the man who does contest.
- Time
- 20 minutes
- Players
- 4 to 8 players
- Intensity
- High
- Equipment
- Ball, contact pad, cones
- Space
- 5m x 5m grid
- Positions
- All positions
Setup
A 5m x 5m grid with cones, one ball, one tackle pad. Two attackers and two defenders.
How to run it
- Defender one holds the pad as the jackal threat and feeds the ball to attacker one, who engages the pad then passes to attacker two.
- Attacker two engages defender two and bounces out towards the weak shoulder, going to ground with the ball turned away from the jackal side.
- Attacker one - who must follow their own pass rather than admiring it - races the pad holder to the ball and clears them out to secure possession.
- Six reps then rotate all four roles, 3 full rotations.
- Clear by driving straight; grabbing and pulling the jackal sideways is a penalty.
Coaching cues
- Use footwork to find the soft shoulder
- Bounce so the ball goes away from the jackal
- Follow your pass - the clearer starts the moment they release
Common mistakes
- The carrier falling towards the jackal side, placing the ball straight into the contest
- Clearing by grabbing and pulling sideways rather than driving straight
Related drills
- Coming Through the GateBuild the habit of joining a ruck legally when the short route is tempting.
- Counter Ruck UnitTurn the ball over by driving over the ruck as a connected unit.
- Jackal Clear or Seal DecisionTrain the first-arriver read - is there a threat to remove, or clean ball to protect?
- Ruck Clean-Out ChannelProduce clean quick ball repeatedly while maintaining forward momentum.
- Jackal RiseGet from flat on the floor into a legal, stable jackal position over the ball, fast.
- Jackknife into Long PlacementConvert a bad contact where you are held into a usable, quick presentation.