Game version
Shadow-form game: practice the footwork and body position on a partner’s walking line with no contact at all. Swap, and share one thing you liked.
Tracking Into the Tackle
Close down a ball carrier and get your feet in the right place before any contact.
By Coach Evan Waechtler Youth coach (U11, Cache Valley, Utah) and founder of SSTracker Updated October 30, 2026
Set up
Only with a coach. Mark a 5-yard wide channel.
Core: Jogs. Beat your own run of balanced stances.
- Ages
- 14 and up
- Time
- 12 min
- Space
- Yard or field
- Bring
- Cones, tackle shield, coach
- Level · skill
- Advanced · Safe Tackling
The steps
How it works
- Only with a coach. Mark a 5-yard wide channel.
- A carrier holding a shield jogs and steps left or right.
- Stay on their inside shoulder with short, quick steps.
- Finish with a two-hand touch, or a shield tackle at walking pace if your coach says so.
Coaching point
Inside shoulder, quick feet.
Safety: Only with a coach, for ages 14 and up (or later, as your club's union allows). Contact is with a held tackle shield, at walking pace, on soft grass or mats. Head to the side, never head first. Tackle at the waist or below. No swing tackles, lifting or throws. Any head knock or symptom (headache, dizziness, neck pain): stop, tell the coach, and no more rugby until a doctor clears you, at least 21 days for children.
Make it fun
Play it, don't drill it
Challenge
Pick a level: Less (partner walks), Core (jogs), More (changes direction). Beat your own run of balanced stances.
Story
You are a shadow that stays right in front of its owner.
My best
Beat your own count
Beat your own run of balanced stances. Only your own number counts: today against last time.
Practice makes progress
Print it now, or save it free
Free for families and teams
Save this drill to your child or team, free
Sign up and the free rugby week for this age opens in your child's planner, kept to healthy limits. A coach can send this drill to the whole team as homework, and parents see every session logged.
14 days free for a family, no card · Running a team is always free
Does your child's coach know about this?
An email from you to the coach, with the words ready. Nothing is tracked and nobody is rewarded.