Setup: A 20×20m square, one ball between three or four. Everyone moving from the first minute.

How it works: Groups jog around the square passing the ball along the line, always backwards, hands reaching out early to give a target. Add rules as they warm: two hands only, call the receiver's name before you pass, then pass and follow into a new space. Finish with a quick game of piggy-in-the-middle in fours so the ball has to be moved early and accurately to keep it away from the one defender. Warm hands and a habit of early, accurate passing set the whole night up.

Setup: Pairs facing each other, starting 5m apart, room to widen out to 10–12m as they improve. Ball each pair.

How it works: Teach the pass that reaches across the pitch. Ball held out to the side, bottom hand behind for power, top hand rolling over the top to put spin on it, and a follow-through that points at the target. Start close where it is easy, and every few good passes take a step back so the pass has to travel further. Both directions, both sides, because a player who can only spin it one way is half a passer. Watch for the follow-through — the pointing hand is where the accuracy comes from.

Setup: Channels 10m long with a cone 'gate' in the middle. A passer stands by the gate; runners come through one at a time. Ball supply by the passer.

How it works: The pop pass is the short, soft gift to a runner at speed — the pass that becomes an offload later on. The passer holds the ball still and low, and as the runner arrives through the gate, gently pops it up into the space just in front of their chest so they run onto it without breaking stride. Soft hands, no spin, no power — the runner supplies the pace. Rotate so everyone pops and everyone runs onto one. The magic is timing: the ball should meet the runner, not wait for them or fly past them.

Setup: A 20×12m channel. Three attackers versus two defenders, a try line at the far end, queues at the start. Two-hand touch, no contact — this is a passing session.

How it works: The heart of the night: passing before the defender gets to you. Three attack two; the ball carrier runs at a defender to fix them, then passes early to a teammate in the space the defender has left, and it repeats until someone is free to score. If the carrier passes too early the defender drifts off and covers; too late and they get touched holding the ball. Reward the pass given the instant before the touch. Rotate constantly and keep both the spin and the pop in play depending on the distance.

Setup: A 30×20m pitch, teams of five or six in bibs, two-hand touch, ball each team in turn.

How it works: A game to make the passing count. On a two-hand touch the carrier has three seconds and must have already passed — so the whole team plays heads-up, moving the ball early and wide. A pass that puts a teammate into clear space is worth celebrating out loud. Turnover on a forward pass, a knock-on, or holding the ball past the count. Keep it flowing with quick restarts and let the game teach them why the early pass beats the late one.

Setup: Walk a lap passing gently down the line, then a short stretch of shoulders and hands, and gather in.

How it works: Bring it down with an easy passing walk, then talk about the one idea that carries the whole night: the ball travels faster than any player, so give it early. Ask a couple of players when the best pass they made tonight happened — you are fishing for 'just before I got touched'. Praise soft hands and good decisions over long, flashy throws.