Long placement
A tackle drill for U9 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
- U9, U10, U11, U12
- Time
- 10 minutes
- Players
- 6 to 18
- Space
- 10 x 15 m
- Kit
- 4 cones, 1 ball per pair, 1 tackle shield per pair
- Pitch
- Wants a forgiving surface
- Indoors
- Fits a small space
Setting it up
Pairs. One holds a shield at hip height, the other has the ball, three metres apart.
How it runs
Run into the shield, go down on your side and get both arms back towards your own team straight away. Hold it there for a count of one so everyone sees the shape, then get up. Five each then swap. Finish with somebody standing over the ball so there is a bit of pressure on.
What to watch for
- Land on your side so your arms are free
- Arms straight and long, ball back towards your own posts
- Up on your feet the second it is placed
Make it easier
- Place from kneeling with no shield contact
Make it harder
- A support player arrives to pick up and carry on
What it looks like when it is going wrong
What you can see from the touchline, then the one thing to say about it.
- Landing chest first with both arms trapped underneath
- Show me the shoulder you are landing on before you run
- Ball put down beside them rather than reached back
- Put a cone where the ball should finish and make them touch it
Safety. Shield holders brace and absorb, they never drive back into the carrier. Contact at hip height only. Check the ground first.
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 U9 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.