Tackling drill
Tap Tackle
Bring down a breakaway runner you cannot quite catch.
- Time
- 12 minutes
- Players
- 2 to 6 players
- Intensity
- High
- Equipment
- Ball
- Space
- 20m channel
- Positions
- Wings, fullbacks, halfbacks, back row
Setup
A 20m channel on soft grass, one ball, with the attacker running away and the tackler chasing from behind and slightly wide.
How to run it
- Chase until you are within genuine diving distance - dive too early and you get nothing but grass.
- Dive and make contact with the ball carrier's feet or ankles using one outstretched arm, reaching rather than grabbing.
- Keep your head well away from their feet; that is the only serious risk in this drill and it is why the instruction exists.
- Start at jogging pace and do 3 sets of 6, three off each arm, with full recovery.
- Diving with two arms and no plan leaves you flat on your chest with no ability to protect your head.
Coaching cues
- Head away from the feet
- One outstretched arm - reach, don't grab
- Chase until within diving distance
Common mistakes
- Landing with your head in the running lane of the carrier's boots
- Diving with two arms and no plan, so you cannot protect your head on landing
Related drills
- One on Three Tackle DecisionRead late which attacker is coming and get your head on the right side, at zero speed.
- Tackle Preparation Shadow LadderGroove the footwork and loaded body position you arrive in before every tackle, with no contact at all.
- Bag Shoulder ConnectionBuild shoulder-first contact and correct head placement at three tackle heights, safely and alone.
- Tackler ReloadGet off the floor, out of the contest and back into the line faster than anyone else.
- 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.