Rugby Tackle Fundamentals: Track, Close, Wrap and Finish

A sound rugby tackle is not a dive at a runner. It is a sequence: track, close, lower, shoulder, wrap, finish, release. Each part gives the next part a chance to work.

This guide is for adult club rugby union players learning full-contact technique with a qualified coach. Age-grade players should follow their union’s contact pathway rather than copying an adult session.

First, know what counts as a tackle

In law, a tackle occurs when an opponent holds the ball-carrier and brings them to ground. A knee touching the ground is enough for the ball-carrier to be considered grounded. The tackler must keep holding until that point; simply knocking or bumping somebody over is not necessarily a completed tackle.

The legal height depends on the level and competition. World Rugby’s current Law 14 identifies the shoulder line in elite rugby and the waist or base of the sternum in community rugby, with the relevant line governing the match. Check your union and competition before training. Our guide to current rugby tackle heights explains that distinction. Whatever the permitted maximum, contact with the head or neck is not a target. (World Rugby Law 14)

The seven-part tackle sequence

1. Track

Stay square for as long as the situation permits, keep your eyes up and track the ball-carrier’s movement. Watch the hips rather than reacting to every movement of the ball or shoulders.

Checkpoint: your feet are still moving and your head is up. If you have planted both feet while the carrier still has space, you are likely to reach or dive.

2. Close

Take away space under control. Use shorter steps as you enter tackling distance, then put the lead foot close enough to make shoulder contact without lunging. World Rugby’s coaching guidance says poorly executed tackles often begin with poor positioning: the tackler should close space, establish balance and step in close before shoulder-and-arm contact. (World Rugby Rugby Ready)

Checkpoint: nose, knees and toes remain broadly aligned; your weight has not fallen beyond your feet.

3. Lower

Lower by bending at the knees and hips while keeping a strong, stable shape. Do not drop your eyes to the grass. Choose a legal target before contact; for a basic low tackle, the ball-carrier’s thigh gives a clear shoulder target.

Checkpoint: eyes up, chest facing the target and feet close enough to strike without launching.

4. Put the head in a safe position

Move the head behind the ball-carrier in a side-on tackle, or clearly to one side in a front-on tackle. Never place it in front of the runner’s legs or body. World Rugby lists “head behind or to one side” as a key point in every tackle situation. (World Rugby coaching key factors)

Checkpoint: the shoulder—not the head—is the first part making purposeful contact.

5. Shoulder and wrap

Connect with the shoulder at the chosen target and immediately circle both arms. Squeeze the arms tight rather than throwing a shoulder and hoping momentum completes the job. A charge without an attempt to grasp is dangerous and illegal; the wrap is part of the tackle, not an optional finish.

For more detail on preserving the grasp when targeting low, use our low-tackle arm-wrap progression.

Checkpoint: both arms close around the carrier and remain connected through the descent.

6. Finish with the feet

Keep taking short, strong steps after shoulder contact while squeezing the wrap. Bring the ball-carrier to ground under control; do not lift and tip, rotate them onto the head or neck, or drive a player who is already grounded.

Checkpoint: the feet provide the finish. If the tackler’s feet stop at contact, the tackle becomes an arm pull or a collision.

7. Release and reload

Once both players are on the ground, release the player and ball immediately, move away or regain your feet, and only then contest the ball. Law 14 requires that sequence and does not allow a grounded tackler to keep playing the ball. (World Rugby Law 14)

Checkpoint: show a visible release, clear the ball area and get to your feet before reaching for the ball.

A controlled coaching progression

Do not add speed because a drill looks tidy once. Add it when players can repeatedly preserve head position, shoulder contact, a complete wrap and a controlled finish.

1. Tracking only: In a 3-by-3-metre square, the carrier moves laterally at walking pace while the defender mirrors them. No contact. Coach the eyes, footwork and closing distance.
2. Static side-on shape: From a kneeling or low stationary start, rehearse shoulder placement, head behind, arm circle and squeeze. Keep force minimal; this stage teaches position, not dominance.
3. Walk to walk: In a two-metre channel, the carrier walks straight and the tackler approaches from the side. Complete the tackle onto suitable padding, release and stand.
4. Front-on choice: Widen the channel and let the carrier move slightly left or right at walking pace. The defender tracks, closes, chooses the correct shoulder and moves the head to the opposite side.
5. Jogging one-on-one: Increase speed only after both shoulders are competent at walking pace. Keep the channel narrow enough to reward footwork, but wide enough to prevent accidental clashes with other groups.
6. Tackle-to-feet: Add one arriving support player. The tackler must release, move and regain their feet before competing. This joins tackle technique to the next breakdown action.

World Rugby recommends building the side-on tackle from kneeling demonstrations through standing, walking and then running, while avoiding mismatches in size, age and experience. (World Rugby Rugby Ready) Pair players sensibly and keep groups far enough apart that one drill cannot spill into another.

Correct one fault at a time

• Diving from distance: return to tracking and the close lead-foot step.
• Head crossing in front: reduce speed; rehearse the shoulder/head relationship from the side.
• Shoulder hit but no grasp: remove the collision and score only tackles with two connected arms.
• Standing upright at contact: set the target earlier and lower before the final step.
• Falling and staying attached: practise the visible release and immediate movement away.
• Reaching for the ball from the floor: separate the commands: “release, feet, ball.”

Stop the drill if technique deteriorates with fatigue, if pairings are unsuitable, or if the surface and space cannot support controlled falls. Any player with clear or suspected concussion symptoms must be permanently removed from playing or training rather than allowed to “see how they go.” (World Rugby concussion guidance)