Tackling drill
Tackler Reload
Get off the floor, out of the contest and back into the line faster than anyone else.
- Time
- 12 minutes
- Players
- 1 to 20 players
- Intensity
- High
- Equipment
- Cones
- Space
- 5m
- Positions
- All positions
Setup
Two cones 5m apart on open grass. A ball optional. No partner needed.
How to run it
- From standing, drop into a controlled side landing as if you have just finished a tackle on top.
- Roll clearly away from where the imaginary ball is - one decisive roll, away from the contest.
- Regain your feet by driving your hips up first rather than coming up onto your hands and knees, which is slow and puts your head at boot height.
- Sprint 5m forward to the second cone as if re-entering the defensive line, then turn and repeat off the other shoulder.
- Do 5 sets of 6, and progress by shortening the time until you can complete 6 reps in under 40 seconds.
Coaching cues
- Release, roll away, get to your feet
- Hips first - never hands and knees
- Be first to recover
Common mistakes
- Getting up through the contest zone rather than away from it, which is a penalty and gets you stood on
- Coming up onto hands and knees first, which is slow and leaves your head at boot height
Related drills
- Neck Strength and Static ContractionsBuild the neck strength that protects you in every collision - the highest-value low-risk work in the library.
- The Swinger Head ReactionTrain slipping your head out of the way of a collision by moving your torso, not your neck.
- Kneeling Tackle ProgressionLearn front-on and side-on tackle technique in the lowest-risk position there is.
- Power Machine Repeat TacklesHold tackle technique together when you are tired, which is when it usually falls apart.
- Side-On Grid TackleBuild the side-on tackle against a moving target with a safe reset every rep.
- Rear Tackle Chase-DownBring down a carrier from behind when you have run them down in cover.