Breakdown drill
Jackknife into Long Placement
Convert a bad contact where you are held into a usable, quick presentation.
- Time
- 15 minutes
- Players
- 1 to 10 players
- Intensity
- Medium
- Equipment
- Ball, cones
- Space
- 10m run-in
- Positions
- All positions
Setup
One ball on soft grass with a cone marking the imaginary defender.
How to run it
- Walk then jog into the cone carrying the ball in two hands at chest height, and on contact with an imaginary low tackle, drive your last two steps rather than stopping your feet.
- Fold sharply at the hips - the jackknife - turning your back to the cone as you go down so it ends up on the far side of your body.
- Land on your side rather than flat on your front with the ball already travelling backwards, then extend both arms fully back towards your own posts and hold for a second.
- Roll away from the ball, get to your feet and jog back.
- Do 8 reps across 3 sets, alternating which shoulder you fold over.
Coaching cues
- Keep your feet moving into contact
- Fold at the hips, back to the defender
- Long placement - both arms fully extended back
Common mistakes
- Landing on top of the ball and then shuffling it back, which gets you penalised for lying over it
- Making a second movement after landing - rolling or crawling to buy time - when the law requires you to release immediately
Related drills
- The 360 RollBuy yourself time and space after a loose tackle by rolling with the ball.
- Low to High Clean-Out PatterningGroove the body height and leg drive of a legal clean-out against a bag.
- Tackle and Jackal TransitionExecute the full legal sequence from making the tackle to winning the ball - the highest-value pair rep in rugby.
- Shoulder Battle JackalLearn to survive a clean-out and stay on the ball, and to clear a jackal legally.
- Bounce and CompeteWin the race from the floor to a legal position over the ball.
- First Man at the RuckWin the race to the contact area and clear the threat rather than just arriving.