Narrow to wide
An evasion and footwork 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
- 10 to 21
- Space
- 40 x 25 m
- Kit
- 10 cones, 1 ball
- Pitch
- Fine on hard ground
Setting it up
A narrow channel that opens into a wide one halfway up. Four attackers, three defenders who must start in the narrow part.
How it runs
Attack has to get through the narrow bit then use the width once it opens. Defenders cannot leave the narrow channel until the ball does. Six goes then swap. It shows them that space is not something you find, it is something the shape of the game gives you if you wait for it.
What to watch for
- Hold the ball in tight until the space opens up
- Then move it fast and wide. Do not carry it there yourself
- Last player stays wide and stays quiet until they are needed
Make it easier
- Five attackers
- Wider first channel
Make it harder
- Four defenders
- Narrower first channel
What it looks like when it is going wrong
What you can see from the touchline, then the one thing to say about it.
- Carrying the ball out towards the touchline instead of passing it
- The ball goes wide, not you
- The wide player shouting from the start and giving it away
- Stay quiet until the space is there
More like this
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.