Breakdown drill
Low to High Clean-Out Patterning
Groove the body height and leg drive of a legal clean-out against a bag.
- Time
- 15 minutes
- Players
- 1 to 10 players
- Intensity
- High
- Equipment
- Contact pad
- Space
- 3m run-in
- Positions
- Forwards, centres
Setup
A contact pad or tackle bag stood on end, 3m back. Needs a bag or a partner holding a pad.
How to run it
- Approach in short choppy steps bending from the hips with your head up and eyes on the target.
- On your last stride, duck so your shoulder is below the contact point with a flat spine and your head to the side of the bag, never into it.
- Make contact then drive low to high - shoulder into the lower half and finish with your hips extending upward and through, feet still pumping - and take five driving steps past the point of contact.
- Alternate lead shoulder every rep, 8 reps across 4 sets.
- Low to high means start low and finish through the chest; staying low and contacting below the hips is now a penalty for targeting the lower limbs.
Coaching cues
- Duck and through - bend from the hips
- Low to high: start low, finish through the chest
- Never stop your feet at contact
Common mistakes
- Stopping the feet at contact, so there is no leg drive and no clean-out
- Finishing so low you contact below the hips, which is a penalty for targeting the lower limbs
Related drills
- 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.
- Floor Seal Clear PickDrill the three breakdown roles as a reactive sequence rather than a set piece.
- Contact Square Inside ClearFall away from the jackal threat and clear the man who does contest.