Six Tackling Drills From Footwork to Controlled Contact

These drills form a 35–45 minute block for community rugby union teenagers and adults who are already permitted and ready for full-contact training. They are not a first-contact programme for children. Age-grade coaches must follow their union’s contact pathway, tackle-height law and training limits.

The order matters: track, prepare, connect, accelerate and finish. Those are the five stages in World Rugby’s Tackle Ready framework. Do not advance a player merely because the allotted time has passed.

Before contact starts

Use a suitably qualified coach, a safe grass or appropriate artificial surface, and pairs matched for size, age and experience. Remove jewellery, check boots and leave enough room between lanes to prevent stray collisions. World Rugby’s guidance likewise calls for progressive practice, sufficient space and avoidance of player mismatches (World Rugby Rugby Ready).

Use one tackle sequence throughout:

Track — close — lower — shoulder — wrap — drive — release — reload.

The coach must see the tackler’s head behind or beside the ball-carrier, never across the front of the moving body. The tackler keeps their eyes up, brings the feet close, connects with the shoulder below the applicable tackle line, wraps with the arms and drives with short steps. Confirm the tackle-height rule for your players before training.

Increase only one demand at a time: movement, space, choice or speed. If head position, balance or the arm wrap deteriorates, step back. Plan and record contact repetitions rather than adding them casually. World Rugby recommends gradual load changes and placing contact work away from fatigued, higher-risk parts of training (World Rugby player-load guidance).

1. Mirror and close

Purpose: Tracking and footwork without contact.

Setup: Mark a channel 5 metres long and 3 metres wide. In each pair, the ball-carrier starts 2 metres from the defender.

Action: At walking pace, the carrier moves forward and may step left or right. The defender stays square, uses short adjustment steps and closes to within arm’s reach, then freezes. There is no tackle.

Coach: “Eyes up. Stay square. Small steps late.”

Checkpoint: The defender finishes balanced and close enough to step into contact without crossing their feet or reaching.

Progress when: The player finishes balanced in four of five attempts while tracking to either side.

2. Shoulder placement and wrap

Purpose: Establishing repeatable head, shoulder and arm positions.

Setup: The ball-carrier stands still and side-on with the ball secure. The tackler begins on one knee beside the carrier’s thigh. This position teaches placement, not impact.

Action: The tackler looks up, places the near shoulder on the agreed target below the local legal limit, positions the head tight behind the carrier and closes both arms. Hold for two seconds, then reset; do not pull the carrier down.

Coach: “Cheek behind. Shoulder on. Squeeze both arms.”

Checkpoint: The head is visible behind the carrier, the neck is not folded into the hip, and both arms close rather than merely touch.

Progress when: The tackler completes five controlled placements on each shoulder without the head drifting in front. See How to Make a Rugby Tackle for the complete technique sequence.

3. Walk-in side tackle

Purpose: Joining footwork, shoulder contact, wrapping and a controlled fall.

Setup: Make lanes 3 metres wide and 5 metres long. The pair starts side by side, 1 metre apart, on a suitable surface.

Action: The carrier walks straight. The tackler steps close, lowers under control, connects with the shoulder, wraps and takes the carrier gently to ground. The carrier keeps the ball secure, lands on buttock and then shoulder, and does not reach for the ground with a hand. Falling and landing are explicit parts of World Rugby’s contact preparation.

Coach: “Close foot. Head behind. Wrap and go with them.”

Checkpoint: There is no dive, head contact or loose arm. Both players reach the ground under control.

Progress when: Both players complete three clean repetitions on either shoulder. A player who cannot fall confidently remains at this stage.

4. Angle-gate tackle

Purpose: Keeping safe head placement when the carrier changes line.

Setup: Create a channel 4 metres wide and 6 metres long, with two 1-metre exit gates at the far end. The players start 3 metres apart.

Action: On the coach’s call, the carrier jogs through either gate. The defender tracks, closes and makes a controlled side-on tackle. The carrier may choose the gate but cannot fend, spin or step back inside.

Coach: “Win the space. Lead foot close. Shoulder on. Head behind.”

Checkpoint: The defender adjusts with the feet before lowering, does not launch across the carrier and completes an arm wrap after shoulder contact.

Progress when: Four of five tackles are legal and controlled, with the correct head position to either side. Increase speed only while those features remain visible.

5. One-on-one channel

Purpose: Applying the technique to a realistic running choice.

Setup: Use a channel 5 metres wide and 8 metres long with a try line. Start matched players 4 metres apart.

Action: The carrier tries to cross the line and may make one sidestep. The defender makes a controlled legal tackle. Exclude hand-offs, spins, offloads and a second defender. Stop the repetition when the tackle is complete.

Coach: Give only one correction between repetitions: tracking, height, head, wrap or finish.

Checkpoint: A stop alone is not success. The tackler keeps the head out of the carrier’s path, grasps with the arms and brings the carrier down under control. Poor tackles often begin with poor positioning, so correct a distant reach or dive before increasing speed (World Rugby Rugby Ready).

Progress when: The technique survives the carrier’s choice. Reduce the space or speed if head position or wrapping becomes inconsistent.

6. Tackle, release and reload

Purpose: Completing the tackle legally and preparing for the next action.

Setup: Keep the same channel, place a cone 3 metres behind the defender and give the coach a second ball.

Action: The pair completes a controlled tackle. The tackler releases the carrier, gets to their feet and retreats around the cone. The coach passes the second ball to another attacker, whom the defender tracks without making another tackle.

Coach: “Finish. Release. Feet. Scan.”

Checkpoint: The tackler does not remain on the carrier, use the grounded player to stand or play the ball from the floor. Teach legal breakdown arrival separately with Rucking Technique: the Fundamentals.

Planning the contact dose

A starting plan for a contact-ready player is:

• 3 minutes of falling and landing preparation
• 3 minutes of mirror tracking
• 2 sets of 5 static placements on each shoulder
• 3 walk-in tackles on each shoulder
• 4–6 angle-gate tackles
• 3–5 one-on-one tackles
• 3 tackle-release-reload repetitions

These numbers organise the session; they are not a target every player must finish. Adjust the block for recent training and match exposure, injury history, time away, soreness and visible fatigue. Stop or regress the contact work when a player can no longer maintain head position, balance and a complete wrap.

Any suspected concussion ends that player’s participation immediately: remove them from play and follow the relevant union’s concussion procedure and medical advice. There is no same-day return for a player with suspected concussion (World Rugby concussion guidance). Pain, neck symptoms, dizziness or unusual behaviour are reasons to stop and obtain appropriate assessment—not cues to complete one more repetition.