Grip and drive
A ruck and maul warm-up 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
- 6 minutes
- Players
- 6 to 20
- Space
- 10 x 10 m
- Kit
- 1 tackle shield per pair
- Pitch
- Wants a forgiving surface
- Indoors
- Fits a small space
Setting it up
Pairs of similar size. One holds a shield low, the other in a crouch in front of it.
How it runs
Grip the shield with both arms, get low, drive it back three steps with your legs. Six each. No running in, no impact at all, you start already touching it. It warms up the exact positions the ruck asks for without any collision.
What to watch for
- Both arms bound before your feet move
- Short powerful steps. Do not lunge
- Flat back, head up and to the side
Make it easier
- Two steps
- No resistance at all
Make it harder
- Five steps
- Shield holder resists harder
What it looks like when it is going wrong
What you can see from the touchline, then the one thing to say about it.
- Feet moving before the arms are bound
- Grip first. Then walk
- Long lunging steps that stand them up
- Short steps. Lots of little ones
Safety. You start in contact, so there is no impact in this one. Shield holders resist but never drive back. Match by size.
The RFU's Headcase is where to go for what to do after a bang on the head. It is theirs rather than ours.
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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.