Tackle technique

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Rugby drill · Under-9 and up, where tackling is allowed

This is a contact drill, and it is the one to get right first. Most tackle injuries come from the head being in the wrong place, in front of the ball carrier instead of behind them, and from players going into contact at speed before they know where their head goes. So the drill starts on the knees and only gets faster once every tackle is safe. Check your union's age-grade rules for when tackling starts and the tackle height they set before you run it.

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Time: 15 minutes
Players: Pairs: a ball carrier and a tackler
Equipment: Cones for a 5-metre-wide channel per pair
1 ball per pair
Tackle rings or shields for the early stages
Soft, level grass

Setup

Pair players of a similar size and mark a channel 5 metres wide for each pair.
Stage one, on the knees: the carrier kneels facing the tackler a metre away and the tackler goes in from their knees.
Stage two, from a crouch: the tackler starts in a squat and the carrier walks into them.
Stage three, walking then jogging: the carrier starts 10 metres away and jogs into the channel, and the tackler steps up to meet them.
Move a pair on to the next stage only when every tackle in the last one is safe.

Coaching points

Eyes on the target: the hips, not the ball.
Cheek to cheek: your head goes to the side of the carrier, behind them, never in front of their body.
Shoulder on the hip or thigh, arms wrapped tight, and drive through with short steps.
Land on top, then release the carrier and get back to your feet before you play the ball.

On the run sheet: Eyes on the hips, step in close, cheek to cheek with your head behind, shoulder on the hip, wrap and squeeze, land on top

Progressions

Tackle on both shoulders: the carrier steps to the left or the right on the coach's call.
Add a second tackler for a two-person tackle, one low and one on the ball.
Widen the channel to 10 metres, so the tackler has to close the space before the tackle.

How it runs

The animation shows the last stage of the progression. The ball carrier jogs into the channel and the tackler steps up to meet them, aiming at the near hip. The tackler's head goes to the side and behind, cheek to cheek against the carrier's backside, the shoulder goes into the hip, both arms wrap and squeeze, and the carrier is brought down with the tackler on top. Then the tackler releases and gets up.

Run the earlier stages first and run them for as long as they need. A group that is new to tackling might spend a whole session on its knees, and that is the drill working.

The laws it is teaching

Law 14 says the tackler has to release the tackled player straight away and get back to their feet, or roll away, before playing the ball, and the tackled player has to release, place or pass the ball immediately. Law 9 makes any tackle above the line of the shoulders dangerous play. Many unions have lowered the legal tackle height for community and age-grade rugby, to the waist in England's community game, so teach the tackle at or below the height your union sets.

The mistakes to watch for

The head in front of the carrier, which is the one to stop the drill for. Tacklers who reach with their arms from a distance instead of stepping in close. And tacklers who stay lying on the carrier once they are down, which a referee penalises and which slows their own team's ball.

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Page updated 29 October 2026 · Rugby play designer · All drills