Preparing a youth rugby squad for a big tournament is a balancing act. You need to sharpen their passing, spatial awareness, and sharpen their decision-making—but above all, you need to keep their energy high, their confidence high, while focusing on maintaining their team spirit!
Whether you are putting together rugby league coaching drills or Union sessions, incorporating fun rugby fitness drills is the best way to keep young players engaged while sharpening match fitness.
Whether you’re gearing up for a local festival or preparing for an international sports tour, here are five high-energy kids rugby drills that build essential match skills while keeping training fun, memorable and fresh.
1. The "Robbers & Banks" Evading Drill
- Skill Focus: Evasion, side-stepping, spatial awareness, and scanning for space.
- Setup: Create a 20m x 20m grid with a small “bank” square in each of the four corners. Place a bucket of rugby balls in the centre of the grid. Divide players into four teams (the “Robbers”), each stationed at one of the corner banks.
How to Play:
- On “GO!”, one player from each team sprints to the centre, grabs a rugby ball, and carries it back to their bank using footwork to avoid defenders or incoming traffic.
- Once the centre bucket is empty, the game turns into a raid! Players can now run to other teams’ banks to “steal” their balls.
- The catch: If a robber is tagged while carrying a ball outside a bank, they must drop the ball and sprint back to touch their own bank before joining the game again.
- Set a timer for 2 minutes. The team with the most balls in their bank when the whistle blows wins.
Why It Works for Tournaments: It encourages players to keep their eyes up while running at full speed and teaches them to look for open grass rather than running directly into contact (often a young player’s first choice!). This really is a favourite for many coaches and their squads – it’s an effective, fun rugby fitness training drill!
2. Tail Tag Chaos
- Skill Focus: Accelerating into space, tracking opponents, defensive balance, and body positioning.
- Setup: Every player tucks two bibs or tag-belts into the waistband of their shorts (one on each hip). Next, define a playing area suitable for your squad size.
How to Play:
Essentially, it’s every player for themselves! On the whistle, players attempt to snatch as many “tails” from other players as possible while protecting their own.
If a player loses both tails, they are out and must complete 5 star-jumps or a quick pass-and-catch challenge with a coach to re-enter the grid.
The player with the most collected tails at the end of 90 seconds takes the trophy.
Why It Works for Tournaments: It gets young players used to the lateral movement needed for solid tag/touch defence without the fear of making mistakes. Plus, the fast-paced nature mimics the frantic first few minutes of a tournament match!
3. Ultimate Rugby (Endzone Rules)
Skill Focus: Offloads, communication, and passing.
Setup: A standard rectangular grid with a 3-metreReday line/end zone at each end. Split the squad into two equal teams.
How to Play:
Played using touch or tag rules, but with a twist borrowed from Ultimate Frisbee: players cannot run with the ball.
Once a player catches the ball, they can only plant a pivot foot. Their teammates must work hard to make fast paced runs into space to receive offloads.
The attacking team scores by completing a series of passes that ends with a catch inside the opponent’s endzone.
A turnover occurs immediately if the ball is dropped, intercepted, or stepped out of bounds.
Why It Works for Tournaments: When looking for fun rugby passing drills, this game-based exercise forces players to talk to each other and moves their focus away from ball-hogging and encourages them to focus on collective team movement and support lines.
4. Overload Breakouts (3v2 & 4v3 Attack)
- Skill Focus: Exploiting numerical advantages, quick decision-making, and commit-and-pass execution.
- Setup: A 15m x 20m channel. Position 3 attackers at the starting line and 2 defenders set up 10m down the pitch.
How to Play:
The coach feeds a ball to the middle attacker. The attacking trio must score at the far end before being tagged or pushed out of bounds.
Attackers must draw defenders and pass at the right moment to create a clean overlap.
To keep it unpredictable, the coach can randomly call out a defender’s name right before feeding the ball—that defender must touch the sideline before joining the play, turning a 3v2 into a sudden 3v1 or 4v2 breakout!
Why It Works for Tournaments: Matches are won and lost on how well teams capitalise on overlaps. These structured rugby coaching drills build instincts, so players naturally spot and exploit extra space on tournament day.
5. The Pressure Relay Race
- Setup: Divide the squad into two or three relay lines. Place three cones spaced 5m, 10m and 15m ahead of each line.
How to Play:
The first player in each line carries a rugby ball, sprints to the first cone, downs the ball, picks it up, performs a pop-pass to themselves, sprints around the far cone, and races back to hand the ball to the next teammate.
The Tournament Twist: Add a fun penalty for a dropped ball! Your choice!
Run 2–3 heats to let teams refine their handoffs and strategy.
Why It Works for Tournaments: It replicates tournament fatigue while training players to maintain clean handling skills under pressure and maintain high heart rates.
Coaching Tip: Keep the Tournament Vibe Alive
When running these youth rugby drills in the lead-up to a big event, keep the environment light and energetic:
- Introduce Friendly Rivalry: Keep track of points or times across sessions so teams can celebrate small wins.
- Emphasize Team Celebrations: Make celebrating every try or great tag a team requirement during training!
- Mix Up Pairs: Rotate players, so everyone builds trust playing alongside different teammates.
Building unforgettable team memories starts long before the first whistle of the tournament. Incorporating these fun rugby coaching drills into your sessions builds match-day confidence while keeping the game grounded and as much fun as it should be!
Rugby ready?
Love these drills and ready to take on your next youth rugby tournament? Explore the festivals we have on offer and get in touch with our team!
