Hit the hole
An evasion and footwork drill for U8 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
- U8, U9, U10, U11, U12
- Time
- 9 minutes
- Players
- 8 to 20
- Space
- 25 x 20 m
- Kit
- 8 cones, 1 ball
- Pitch
- Fine on hard ground
Setting it up
Four defenders standing on a line with a gap somewhere between two of them. Attackers in threes.
How it runs
The defenders shuffle along their line and open a gap wherever they like. The attacking three have to spot it and get the ball to whoever can run through it. Defenders cannot move forward. Six goes then swap. They start looking at the defence instead of the ball.
What to watch for
- Somebody call the gap out loud. Do not all run at it
- Get the ball to whoever is closest to the space
- Straighten up and go through it, do not drift across
Make it easier
- Bigger gap
- Defenders stand still
Make it harder
- Defenders may take one step forward
- Only two attackers
What it looks like when it is going wrong
What you can see from the touchline, then the one thing to say about it.
- All three running at the same gap
- One person calls it. Everyone else does their own job
- Drifting across the gap instead of through it
- Square up and go straight. Sideways runs into the cover
More like this
The grades that can do it
What U8 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.