Part 1. Top Defence Top Team
0:09
Free video
Your team’s character is epitomised by its defence.
Building a Team Defence system is crucial to stopping your opposition. In this series we detail the basics of a successful Team defence which you can create with your players.
Course contents
12 parts
View part 1
Part 2. Defence alignment & basic defensive structure
15:13
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Rugby Site Founder Brendon Ratcliffe believes a good defensive structure relies on individual players clearly identifying WHO they are responsible for, aligning on them, then working together as a defensive unit to shut down the opposition attack and turn over possession.
Part 3. Keeping Line Integrity
7:31
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Ex All Black coach and defence master, Sir Graham Henry’s share’s his philosophy of defence and also introduce specific activities that he believes in and use to build and test defence systems, from set piece through to general play.
Part 4. Defence when Numbers are Down
5:12
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Can 4 players defend against 9? Or 6 against 8? Ex All Black and World Cup winning coach and defence master Sir Graham Henry with his line up of future international stars demonstrates how it is possible.
Part 5. Lineout Defence Setup
4:48
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What is your lineout defensive policy?
Are you up against a 52 or 43 lineout structure?
Do the opposition have specific launch structures?
Where is the blindside wing located?
Ex All Black and World Cup winning coach and defence master, Sir Graham Henry considers different lineout defence options.
Part 6. Scrum Defence Setup
8:19
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Do you defend a left side, right side or middle scrum the same or differently? Ex All Black and World Cup winning coach and defence master, Sir Graham Henry considers different scrum defence options.
Part 7. Defensive Structures
12:55
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British and Irish and England lock Courtney Lawes takes you through a number of defensive systems and structures, outlining where each player has to go and what responsibilities they each have for their role.
Part 8. 1 on 1 Defensive Tracking
3:41
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Former London Irish and now All Blacks 7s coach Clark Laidlaw runs through some 1 on 1 defensive tracking drills.
Part 9. Alignment, Connection & Line Speed in Defence
11:17
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Ex All Black and Hurricanes captain Rodney So’oialo is with the Wellington College (NZ) under 15s working on their defensive structure during phase play.
Part 10. Reacting & Adjusting to get Alignment in Defence
6:20
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Ex All Black and Hurricanes captain Rodney So’oialo and his Wellington College (NZ) under 15 players build on their realigning defence structures.
Part 11. Defence Practice Plan
4:08
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Ex Rugby Site Manager Ben Herring has put together a session plan for coaches to develop new players defensive skills in a fun and safe environment.
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Part 12. Defence Analysis Promo
0:34
Free video
Rugby Site Founder Brendon Ratcliffe introduces his new 3 part Match Analysis series focusing on team defence.
Find out the best way to interpret match day video and then provide solutions to fix breakdown in team play.
From the community
Course reviews
I think it’s important to understand that if I defend too much on the inside shoulder, I give the attacker the opportunity to beat me on my outside shoulder. If that happens, my inside teammate (from a defensive point of view) would have to leave their own attacker to cover for me, which breaks our defensive structure.
This type of defense can make sense when we’re outnumbered and need to drift across the field to cover space. It helps us shift more effectively as a unit. However, in a one-on-one situation, I would always aim to defend from the outside shoulder to prevent the attacker from breaking through and to maintain our defensive line.
This is a good defence drill, one to take note of and use as defence is most vital aspect of each and every team.
This is a great intro to defence alignment and basic organisation. I coach at U12 and right now, their defence is ‘enthusiastic’ at best. Will be introducing these drills as a regular session. Great job!
Very good
This Video is Valuable in defense, well done Ted!
Great drill will definitely use
hey guys, love all the videos. how do i just selected part 7 to forward to players?
excellent !
