Turn the turtle
A ruck and maul 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
- 8 minutes
- Players
- 6 to 20
- Space
- 10 x 10 m
- Kit
- 1 ball per pair
- Pitch
- Wants a forgiving surface
- Indoors
- Fits a small space
Setting it up
Pairs of similar size, one on all fours curled over a ball, the other kneeling beside them.
How it runs
On go, the one on their knees has five seconds to shift the turtle off the ball. Get low, get underneath, lift and turn rather than pulling. The turtle keeps their elbows in and their knees under them. Five goes each, then swap. Nobody stands up in this one. It is the shape of a clear out with none of the running, which is the half that goes wrong first at U10.
What to watch for
- Get lower than them. You cannot lift what you are above
- Shoulder into their side, both arms round, then drive
- Turtle keeps elbows tucked in and knees underneath
Make it easier
- Turtle offers no resistance
- Three seconds instead of five
Make it harder
- Start from lying on your front
- Turtle holds a ball in both arms rather than under them
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 worker pulling at a shirt from above with straight arms
- Get underneath. Shoulder in first, then drive up
- The turtle flat on their front with their legs out behind
- Knees under you. Stay in a ball, do not lie down
Safety. Both stay on their knees so nobody falls from standing. No hands on a head or a neck at any point. Nobody gets rolled onto their neck or their shoulder. Match by size. Grass only, so stop the moment either of them says stop.
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.