Lineout throw and lift

Press play to watch it run. Open it in Playmaker to move the players and draw it your way.

Rugby drill · Under-13 and up

A lineout is won by three people arriving in the same place at the same moment, and by a throw that goes there straight. This drill takes away the opposition so that the pod can practise the timing: the jumper and lifters move together, the throw meets the jumper at the top, and the ball comes down to the scrum-half. It is not a contact drill, but lifting carries its own risk, and many age-grade codes do not allow it for younger players, so check your union's rules first.

Add to a session Open in Playmaker Add to a practice plan

Adding it to a session puts it on your run sheet with its time and cue. It does not use up one of your saved plays. No account? Add it to a practice plan and print the run sheet for free.

Time
15 minutes
Players
5 at a time: a hooker, a jumper, two lifters and a scrum-half
Equipment
  • 4 cones for the 5-metre and 15-metre lines
  • 3 or 4 balls
  • A touchline, or a line of cones for one

Setup

  1. Mark the line of touch at right angles to the touchline, with cones on it 5 metres and 15 metres in.
  2. The hooker stands at the touchline with the ball. The jumper and two lifters stand in a pod in the line, between the 5-metre and 15-metre cones.
  3. The scrum-half stands a couple of metres back from the line.
  4. On the call the pod moves forward to its spot, the jumper goes up with a lifter in front and behind, and the hooker throws to the top of the jump.
  5. The jumper takes it with two hands and delivers it to the scrum-half, and the lifters bring the jumper safely down.

Coaching points

  • Pod: move together, on the call. The lift starts when the jumper's feet leave the ground, not before.
  • Hooker: throw straight along the line of touch, at the top of the jump. Same grip and same release every time.
  • Lifters: a firm grip low on the jumper's legs, lift together, and stay on until the jumper is back on the ground.
  • Jumper: two hands at the top, then a firm pass or tap down to the scrum-half.

On the run sheet: Pod moves together, throw on the jump, straight down the line of touch, lifters lift and lower, jumper delivers to the scrum-half

Progressions

  1. Start with no lift at all, just the throw to a jumper standing in the line.
  2. Call the pod to the front, the middle or the back, so the hooker has to throw different lengths.
  3. Add an opposition jumper who competes for the ball, once the throw is straight under pressure.

How it runs

The jumper and the two lifters start at the back of the line and move forward together to their spot. The jumper goes up, with one lifter in front and one behind, and the hooker throws the ball straight along the line of touch to meet them at the top. The jumper takes it with two hands and passes it down to the scrum-half. The animation shows the pod moving, the throw and the delivery; the lift itself is straight up, so it is the one part a diagram from above cannot show.

The laws it is teaching

Law 18 asks for a throw that goes straight along the line of touch and travels at least 5 metres before anyone touches it, with the lineout formed between the 5-metre and 15-metre lines. A throw that is not straight gives the other team a choice of a lineout or a scrum. Team-mates may lift and support a jumper, and must lower them to the ground as soon as the ball has been won. Many age-grade codes play uncontested lineouts and do not allow lifting at all for younger players, so check your union's rules before you teach the lift.

The mistakes to watch for

A pod that arrives in pieces, so the jumper goes up before the lifters are in place. Throws that drift towards the throwing team's side, which is not straight. And lifters who let go as soon as the ball is caught, which is the moment a jumper is most likely to fall.

More rugby drills

Put Lineout throw and lift in Tuesday's session

It lands on your practice plan already timed, with the coaching cue printed under it, next to your own plays.

Add to a session

Page updated · Rugby play designer · All drills

We use a first-party cookie to count visitors and see which features get used, so we know what to build next. It is ours, not an advertising network's, and you can say no. What we collect