Who goes in
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
- 11 minutes
- Players
- 10 to 21
- Space
- 25 x 20 m
- Kit
- 6 cones, 1 ball
- Pitch
- Wants a forgiving surface
Setting it up
Five attackers, two defenders, playing live contact under age grade rules.
How it runs
Carrier goes to ground. Only two attackers are allowed to go to the ruck. The other two have to stay out and be ready for the next phase. Six goes. Children want to pile in because it feels helpful. This teaches them that a ruck with four bodies in it and nobody outside is a wasted phase.
What to watch for
- Two in, no more. Whoever is closest
- Everybody else gets into position for the next one
- Call it. Say mine or say out
Make it easier
- Three allowed in
- Touch instead of contact for the tackle
Make it harder
- One attacker only allowed in
- Three defenders
What it looks like when it is going wrong
What you can see from the touchline, then the one thing to say about it.
- Everybody following the ball, so nothing is left outside
- Two in. Everybody else, get where the ball is going next
- Both going in from the same side and leaving one side open
- Say mine or say out. Loud enough that they hear each other
Safety. Age grade contact rules. Nobody off their feet, nobody joining from the side. Keep numbers at the ruck low, which this drill does anyway.
The RFU's Headcase is where to go for what to do after a bang on the head. It is theirs rather than ours.
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.