Low and Dominant

The tackle that is safe and wins the collision — low by law and by choice, cheek to cheek, leg drive through, and back on your feet for the ball.

Rugby union
Adult
80 min
16–30 players
2 coaches
Effort 4/5
Half pitch
tackle
contact
safety
breakdown
defence

The PitchPlans coaching teamGAA Award 1 & 2 coaches

Kit: 10 balls, 30 cones, 6 tackle shields, 4 tackle bags, bibs in two colours

Warm-up12 min

Switch On the Collision

Setup: A 20×20m square. Contact readiness first — the tackle-height law in the community game has been lowered in recent seasons, so confirm your union's current legal tackle height before you coach a target tonight.

How it works: Prepare the body for contact properly. Start with a moving handling game to raise the heart rate, then some gentle grappling for position on the knees in pairs to switch on the trunk and neck. Add short, sharp accelerations and controlled decelerations so the legs are ready to drive and to brake. Finish with a few low body-height holds against a partner's shield so the shape of a safe, low tackle is already loaded before the first real rep. A body warmed for contact is a body protected in contact.

What to say

“Tell them: 'brace the trunk and neck before any contact — switch the middle on.'”
“Tell them: 'get comfortable low — the whole night lives below the ball carrier's chest.'”
“Tell them: 'legs ready to drive and to brake — both matter tonight.'”

Easier

Keep the grappling light and static, purely to activate rather than to compete.

Harder

Add live footwork races into a low shield hit so the body is fully primed for the session.

Activity14 min

The Safe, Low Tackle

Setup: Pairs with a shield or bag. Match sizes. A clear target height agreed with the group in line with your current tackle-height law — below the sternum, and lower is both safer and stronger.

How it works: Rebuild the technique every adult should own but many drift away from. Approach low with the feet close, put the shoulder in below the ball and the cheek behind the carrier — head across or behind, on the safe side, never in front and never near the head or neck. Ring the arms, grip, and drive the legs through in short powerful steps, finishing in a strong position. Start on shields walking, then jogging, hunting a low, square, safe connection. The lowered tackle height in the modern game is not a handicap — a tackle around the thighs is safer for both players and far harder to beat.

What to say

“Tell them: 'head behind or across, on the safe side — never in front, never near the head.'”
“Tell them: 'shoulder in below the ball, cheek to cheek, then squeeze and drive the legs.'”
“Tell them: 'aim low and legal — a tackle at the thigh is stronger and safer than one up high.'”
“Stop any rep where the head strays towards the front or the tackle drifts high — no exceptions at any level.”

Easier

Walking pace onto a static shield, grooving the low shape and safe head placement with no drive.

Harder

Jogging ball carrier who steps once before contact, so the tackler adjusts their feet and stays low and legal.

Activity16 min

Chop or Dominate

Setup: Two stations of shields and bags, pairs matched by size. Coaches split to referee head placement at both.

How it works: Two tools, chosen by the situation. The chop is a low tackle at the thighs or below that folds a big carrier to the ground quickly and gives your jackal a shot at the ball. The dominant tackle is a square, low hit with real leg drive that stops the carrier and drives them back over the gainline. Drill both on shields: the chop, driving low through the legs; the dominant, low connection under the ball then legs pumping to go forward. The choice is read from the carrier and the game — but the head is safe in both, always behind or across, never in front and never high. There is no version of either tackle that trades safety for a hit.

What to say

“Tell them: 'chop the big runner low at the legs — take their engine away and let the jackal work.'”
“Tell them: 'dominant tackle — low connection, then leg drive to knock them back over the line.'”
“Tell them: 'read the carrier — chop the powerful, line up the drift-able, but stay legal in both.'”
“Referee head placement relentlessly at both stations; a big hit is worthless if it is unsafe.”

Easier

One tool at a time on a static shield, so each tackle type is grooved cleanly before choosing between them.

Harder

Call 'chop' or 'dominant' as the carrier sets off, so the tackler must select and execute the right tool live.

The rest of this session is free — along with 3 more this week.

PitchPlans coaching team

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