Miss the man out
A handling and passing 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
- 8 to 21
- Space
- 20 x 15 m
- Kit
- 4 cones, 2 balls
- Pitch
- Fine on hard ground
- Indoors
- Fits a small space
Setting it up
Fours in a line five metres apart, two defenders in front of them holding a flat line.
How it runs
Move forward together. The ball goes from the first player straight over the second to the third, so the two defenders end up marking nobody. Six goes, then rotate so everybody has been the one missed out. The pass wants to be flat rather than looping, because a ball hanging in the air gives the defence the time the miss pass was supposed to take away.
What to watch for
- Turn your shoulders to where it is going before you throw it
- Flat and quick. A high looping one gives them time to get across
- The one being missed stays in the line. Ducking out shows it early
Make it easier
- Walking pace
- No defenders, just the pass
Make it harder
- Defenders allowed to press up hard
- Miss two out to the fourth player
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 player being missed dropping back out of the line as it goes over
- Stay where you are. Run like it is coming to you
- The pass looping high so the defence gets across in time
- Flatter and harder. Fire it, do not lob it
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.