Adding challenges in to test players is one of my favourite things to do. I like to create activities and rules that encourage players to problem solve. The match is full of small problems that players will encounter.
Players also need to improve their observation skills and reacting to what other teams do. These suggestions get players spotting what their opposition team is doing and how to exploit it.
You can do this with a main rule or activity. You can also give teams problems by changing how you communicate an activity or a rule change to players.
Here’s a few ideas that you can try:
Double agent
Play a game (you pick the rules, aim for something that feels familiar to your team as a level 1 version. You can always increase the level of difficulty for the base game as your team progresses)
Pick one person from each team is a double agent (only they know they’re the double agent). They play with one team for 5-10 mins.
After the time is up, pause the game and the double agents swap teams.
The players can share information that they’ve learnt from the other team.
This gets players thinking about what to observe and what information to share with team mates.
It also might get teams thinking about their strategies based on the information shared.
Secret rule
Play a non-contact game (you pick the rules, aim for something that feels familiar to your team as a level 1 version. You can always increase the level of difficulty for the base game as your team progresses)
Pick one person from each team to have an additional rule.
They’re not allowed to tell their teammates or the opposition what the rule is.
All players must react to what they notice on the pitch.
Use a rule that challenges both attacking and defending players. 2-touch rugby is a good rule to use: the ball carrier can keep running after 1 touch-tackle, after the 2nd they must stop and pass.
This gets players reacting to what they see. It helps work on close support for the attacking team and recreates a linebreak.
Guess the rule
Play a game (you pick the rules, aim for something that feels familiar to your team as a level 1 version. You can always increase the level of difficulty for the base game as your team progresses)
After 5 minutes of playing, assign each team a different rule in attack.
Some example rules could be: 2-touch rugby, kick after 4 touch-tackles or allow one offside player from a kick.
The defenders have to react to the rules they’re playing against. This replicates a match day, as teams won’t know how the opposition team will play.
You can also try this rule on defences as well.
Assign each team a different rule in defence.
Some example rules could be: have more than 2 people defending in the back field or one offside player in defence is allowed.
You can also award points to the team that correctly guesses the opposition rules the quickest.
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