Outnumbered defence
A game sense drill for U10 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
- U10, U11, U12
- Time
- 11 minutes
- Players
- 9 to 21
- Space
- 30 x 25 m
- Kit
- 6 cones, 1 ball
- Pitch
- Fine on hard ground
Setting it up
Four attackers against three defenders. Defenders on a line.
How it runs
The defence is always a player short, so somebody has to cover two. Six goes then swap. They will not stop the attack every time and that is fine. What you want is three defenders who slow it down and force a mistake rather than three who all rush the ball.
What to watch for
- Do not all go for the carrier. Somebody has to hold the outside
- Slow it down. You do not have to stop it in the first two seconds
- Talk. The player covering two needs to know which one to take
Make it easier
- Four against four
- Narrower pitch
Make it harder
- Five against three
- Bigger pitch so there is more to cover
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 the defenders converging on the ball carrier
- One of you hold the outside. Do not follow the ball
- Rushing out to make something happen and getting stepped
- Slow it down. You are not trying to win it, just delay it
More like this
The grades that can do it
What U10 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.