Passing drill
Offload on Knees
Learn to keep your arms free and get the ball away when contact arrives.
- Time
- 10 minutes
- Players
- 2 to 8 players
- Intensity
- Medium
- Equipment
- Ball
- Positions
- All positions
Setup
Two players kneeling close together on soft grass, one ball.
How to run it
- Both stay on your knees, which removes footwork entirely so you can only work on the arms and the ball.
- One of you holds the ball in two hands and the other applies pressure to your body while you fight to keep your arms above the contact and get the pass away.
- Do three offloads from each side, then swap over, and repeat the cycle four or five times.
- Keep a strong two-handed grip throughout - World Rugby teaches the offload as a two-handed skill, not a flashy one-hander.
Coaching cues
- Arms free above the contact
- Strong two-handed grip on the ball
- Positive mindset - look to move it, don't accept the tackle
Common mistakes
- Letting your arms get pinned before you commit to the offload
- Dropping to one hand, which loses both control and the arm you need to protect yourself
Related drills
- Catch and Pass at PaceTake the ball early and move it on in one motion at full running speed.
- Halfback Pressure ServicePass cleanly off the ground both directions from whatever mess the ball arrives in.
- 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.