Set Piece Skills drill
Partner Throw to Target
Give a hooker a live receiving target at real lineout heights and distances.
- Time
- 20 minutes
- Players
- 2 to 4 players
- Intensity
- Low
- Equipment
- Ball
- Space
- 5-15m
- Positions
- Hookers, locks, back row
Setup
Open grass with one ball. The partner stands at 5m, then 7m, 10m, 12m and 15m, reaching up at full extension as a live target.
How to run it
- Your partner stands as the target with their hands at full extension - roughly 3 to 3.5 metres up - and you throw to their hands, not near them.
- Work through each distance in turn, four balls per distance, changing only the power and never the technique.
- Your partner calls out where the ball actually arrived relative to their hands: short, long, left or right.
- That feedback is the entire value of having a partner, because against a wall you can see where it hit but not how it would have felt to a jumper.
- Do 3 full rotations of the distance ladder, then swap roles if you both throw.
Coaching cues
- Throw to their hands, not near them
- Change the power, never the technique
- Partner calls short, long, left or right on every throw
Common mistakes
- The partner catching low with bent arms, which lets a poor throw look acceptable
- Throwing flat and fast so it arrives before the hands are up
Related drills
- Post ThrowBuild lineout throwing accuracy against a fixed target you cannot argue with.
- Wall Throw Grip and ReleaseBuild the lineout throw at every realistic distance against a wall target, alone.
- Core-Driven Throw PrimerTeach yourself that lineout throwing length comes from the trunk, not the arms.
- Lineout Distance RotationHold throwing accuracy constant as the distance changes, front to back.
- Twenty Quality Throws Under FatigueThrow accurately when you are blowing, which is when lineouts are actually lost.
- Three-Man Lift UnitBuild a safe, stable lineout lift as a unit of three.