Tackle then compete
A tackle 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
- 12 minutes
- Players
- 8 to 18
- Space
- 15 x 15 m
- Kit
- 1 ball per pair, 2 tackle shields
- Pitch
- Wants a forgiving surface
- Indoors
- Fits a small space
Setting it up
Fours. A carrier, a tackler and a support player each side.
How it runs
Carrier walks in, tackler takes them down, both get up and compete for the ball while their support arrives. Six goes then rotate everybody. The tackle is not the end of anything and this joins the two halves up so they stop treating them as separate.
What to watch for
- Tackler gets up first. Whoever stands up first usually wins the ball
- Carrier places long even though you know somebody is coming
- Support arrives low and stays on their feet
Make it easier
- Walk everything
- Nobody competes, just get up and reset
Make it harder
- Carrier jogs in
- Two support players each side
What it looks like when it is going wrong
What you can see from the touchline, then the one thing to say about it.
- Both of them lying on the floor watching the ball
- First one up wins it. Count them up out loud
- Support player diving in off their feet
- Arrive low but stay standing. On the floor you are no use
Safety. Age grade rules apply at the contest, so everybody stays on their feet and nobody joins from the side. Walking pace until the whole sequence is tidy. Stop for any head in front of the carrier.
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 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.