Tag and turn
An evasion and footwork drill for U7 to U8, 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
- U7, U8
- Time
- 8 minutes
- Players
- 6 to 16
- Space
- 15 x 25 m
- Kit
- 6 cones, 2 tags per player, 1 ball per pair
- Pitch
- Fine on hard ground
- Indoors
- Fits a small space
Setting it up
Attackers on one line. One defender in a five metre channel in front of them.
How it runs
Run at the defender and try to get past. The defender takes one tag and holds it up. If you lose a tag you stop, hand the ball on, then collect your tag and put it back before rejoining. Rotate the defender every four goes.
What to watch for
- Change your angle before you get within reach, not after
- Defenders watch the hips, not the ball or the head
- Hold the tag up straight away so the referee sees it
Make it easier
- Walk it through
- Wider channel
Make it harder
- Two defenders in the 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.
- Running straight at the defender then stepping when it is too late
- Change your angle from three steps away, not one
- Defenders watching the ball, so a shoulder drop beats them
- Watch their hips. Hips cannot lie to you
More like this
The grades that can do it
What U7 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.