Passing drill
Halfback Pressure Service
Pass cleanly off the ground both directions from whatever mess the ball arrives in.
- Time
- 20 minutes
- Players
- 4 to 8 players
- Intensity
- Medium
- Equipment
- Ball, cones
- Space
- 10m x 15m grid
- Positions
- Halfbacks
Setup
A 10m x 15m grid, two balls, four players - one feeder, one halfback, two static receivers left and right.
How to run it
- The feeder delivers the ball to the halfback in a different way every time: rolling along the ground, a high pass, a low pass, an awkward pass, or simply placed on the ground.
- The halfback must pass to the receiver on the left and then the receiver on the right, who return the ball to the feeder.
- Pass without any back-lift - plant your rear foot near the ball with your leading foot pointing where the pass is going.
- Rotate roles every 12 balls.
- The unpredictable service is the whole value of this drill, because that is exactly what a ruck gives you.
Coaching cues
- No back-lift - sweep it straight away
- Rear foot to the ball, leading foot points at the target
- Same quality both directions
Common mistakes
- A visible back-lift, turning one movement into two
- A noticeably slower and weaker pass to the non-preferred side
Related drills
- Halfback Pass GridBuild volume on the clearing pass off both hands with constant movement.
- Miss Pass LineDevelop the long cut-out pass and the discipline of the man being missed.
- Cut-Out and LoopCombine the cut-out pass with a looping support runner to create an extra attacker.
- Switch DrillPractise the switch and dummy switch, which change the angle of attack against a drifting defence.
- Pressure Pass ChannelCatch and pass in one motion under time pressure while running.
- Wall Pass ReboundBuild passing accuracy and reaction catching completely alone, off any flat wall.