Grubber into the space
A kicking and catching 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
- 9 minutes
- Players
- 6 to 18
- Space
- 25 x 15 m
- Kit
- 6 cones, 2 balls
- Pitch
- Fine on hard ground
- Indoors
- Fits a small space
Setting it up
A gate of two cones ten metres ahead of the kicker, with the rest of the square marked out beyond it.
How it runs
Roll the ball along the floor through the gate so your partner can run onto it. They gather it and score at the far end. Six each, swapping over. A grubber is the first kick worth having at this age because a ball on the floor cannot be caught by a defender and a bad one still goes forward. Keep asking whether the chaser had to break stride: if they did, the kick was wrong however good it looked.
What to watch for
- Ball pointing down, strike the top half so it stays low
- Kick it in front of them, not at them
- Chaser starts moving as the foot goes through
Make it easier
- Widen the gate
- Roll it by hand first so the chase works
Make it harder
- A defender stands in the gate
- Kick with the outside foot
What it looks like when it is going wrong
What you can see from the touchline, then the one thing to say about it.
- The ball bouncing up over the chaser's head
- Hit the top of the ball. Keep it on the grass
- The chaser stopping and turning back for a ball behind them
- Put it where they are running, a couple of strides ahead
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.