Beat the drift
An evasion and footwork drill for U11 and up, with where the cones go, how it runs and what to say when it is not working.
Free to read with no account. It works at a pitch with no signal too.
- Age grades
- U11, U12
- Time
- 11 minutes
- Players
- 10 to 21
- Space
- 40 x 30 m
- Kit
- 8 cones, 1 ball
- Pitch
- Fine on hard ground
Setting it up
Four attackers against four defenders. Defenders told to drift across rather than come straight.
How it runs
The defence slides sideways to shut the width down. The attack has to either straighten up and go inside or move the ball quicker than the drift. Six goes each way then swap the roles. This is the puzzle their opponents will set them every week from about U11 onwards.
What to watch for
- One straight run inside stops the whole drift
- If the ball is slow the drift wins. Move it earlier
- Watch the outside defender's shoulders to see which way they are going
Make it easier
- Defenders come straight instead of drifting
- Five attackers
Make it harder
- Defenders drift faster
- Five defenders against four
What it looks like when it is going wrong
What you can see from the touchline, then the one thing to say about it.
- Everybody drifting the same way as the defence
- One of you run straight. That is what stops it
- Slow ball, so the drift gets there first every time
- Earlier. Move it before they are set
More like this
The grades that can do it
What U11 rugby allows is the rule this sits under. Regulation 15 is reissued every summer, so the RFU's own rules of play are the ones to read for this season rather than a copy on somebody else's website. Ours included. Read against the RFU's 2026/27 appendices in August 2026.