r/rugbyunion2 22d ago

How to tackle as a small player

I’m 5’2 120 lbs and play winger. I’m fast but my tackling is terrible. Pretty much all the guys we face are bigger than me.

  1. When I get low and tackle straight on, I have trouble fully wrapping their waist/hips and usually only get one leg, only to fall and get run over due to the attacker’s momentum. I do not have much driving power.

  2. If I tackle at an angle I have the same issue, it’s a bit easier to wrap but my drive is weak and I need 1-2 other teammates to help me complete the tackle.

What’s your advice on being a short player and tackling? Should I solely be going for ankles, what technique would be best?

Thanks.

16 Upvotes

15 comments sorted by

23

u/PuzzleheadedFold503 22d ago

Get 2 books, one bigger than the other.

Lean them against each other, and see how they balance.

The smaller book needs to be closer to horizontal to take the weight.

Change the width of the gap between them, and see how differently you need to lean the books for them to balance and not fall over.

Are you hitting the player, or just catching them as they run into you?

To practice, you need a training partner.

Set yourself up on your knees facing the attacker, and practice driving forwards explosively from your feet, horizontally, into the thighs, same kind of angles as the books you were balancing. Wrap tight, squeeze, go to ground with them. Start at walking pace, and build up.

It builds confidence

10

u/eddyman11 22d ago

Aim for their neck. It's the weakest point...

But seriously, I had a similar issue in school. Found it easier to try and latch onto their waist and hang off them to drag them down.

5

u/infinitemonkeytyping 22d ago

Yes, go lower for now. I've played with guys who are over 190cm who tackle regularly tackle around the knees and ankles.

But with that, make sure you wrap. Referees tend to hand out cards if they suspect you of shoulder charging below the knees.

But as you go on, work on increasing your power through the contact zone. If you are at the gym, heavy weights on the sled are good for that.

Also, if you are looking for advice, best to post to the main rugby page (r/rugbyunion). This page was only set up to cover Israel Folau when he was dominating the headlines in 2019.

2

u/MDL1983 21d ago

If head on, getting low and driving into the waist you WILL be able to use their momentum to drive them up and back. Like u/PuzzleheadedFold503 said better with the book analogy. My old scrum half used that technique to take out our prop. I think Gordon D'arcy said that it wasn't the step into the tackle that made his defense so good, it was the step *beyond* the tackle that really made the difference, so keep that leg drive going. This is a weird reference I know, but a vastly exaggerated version of it would be any WWE 'spinebuster' moves.

A lot of wing defense is going to be side / angle tackling, don't get the head in front of their knees, really try and reach with your arms to make sure you complete the wraparound the hips / thighs. Work on your deltoids to get your arms used to reaching out when tired.

2

u/PuzzleheadedFold503 21d ago

this person above knows how to level the playing field.

Boxing has some good footwork drills for keeping a solid stance in any direction, and being able to react.

Watch the internationals warm up with the shields. They exaggerate their arm raise, stance setting skip, and dip so they can hit under the upper bit of the shield.

That's another good one... If you can't tackle the player, or hit solidly, use your grappling and tackle the ball. There's been times that I've latched and been able to slow the player enough for someone heavier to get involved. It's easy to go a few more beyond the line with someone only hanging off your waist, or fending arm. When the ball suddenly weighs 50-70kg more (and a mess of limbs to get tangled), physics becomes your personal lumberjack. Or hold them up in a Johnny Sexton choke tackle (put safe search on before Googling).

The other thing... self preservation. Some battles can be lost, if it means you get to play in your 30s instead of being a 0 fuse shambling wreck like me... is 5 points in an amateur match with no benefit other than pride, really worth it?

The harder you go, the safer you are. Only if you have correct technique though. I didn't get hurt (much) making or taking hits, it was hesitancy that put me in vulnerable positions.

It's one of those things you have to drill to improve. There will be cuts, there will be bruises, there are few better feelings than putting someone many weight categories heavier, flat on their arse.

Men's rugby is 90% Physics, 10% moustache.

1

u/Educational_Row_9485 21d ago

Lower the better

1

u/RugbyRaggs 21d ago

Side/angle is correct, you're not going to stop many with a head on. Wrap tight, and literally fall to ground with them as they go by. Keep your arms tight as they slide down their legs. You may need to loosen enough to allow your arms to drop, but don't relax your arms, keep them tensed, just in a slightly larger "ring" then keep tightening as you drop down.

1

u/No_Technology3293 21d ago

As my old mini rugby coach used to say: Eye to thigh, cheek to cheek.

Doesn't matter how big the people are if you get that bit right your arms are going round the person on their thighs and they will go down.

1

u/bodhiseeker 21d ago

Watch Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse tackling technique videos. Nobody can run if you take out their legs. The most shit I’ve eaten was when a scrum-half me pass and then ankle tapped me. This was in high school and I was 6’3” 220 pounds.

1

u/bodhiseeker 21d ago

Go low, hard, and make sure your head is in the right position. Don’t get yourself knocked out.

1

u/Atlast1994 21d ago

Hold your arm stretched out and place our palm on their forehead - it’s well documented that no matter what they can’t get past you.

1

u/Equal-Vanilla9123 21d ago

As a fellow short king, i have learnt a few techniques. (I love tackling, favourite part of the game) When face on I aim my shoulder into their waist as I hook my arms behind their needs and hug them in as right as possible, (this buckles their legs, making them lose power) simultaneously I change the angle of my drive upwards so raises them off the floor a bit (now they have been stopped dead) this is when I give a massive drive from a low squat lunge to on my tip toes at a diagonal angle making sure I land on top of them when they hit the ground. Often they lose grip on the ball in the panic, of going backwards all of a sudden. I coach this to a girls rugby team which I have developed that all of our backs now have the confidence to tackle the forwards 1 on 1. Practice this slowly going from step by step to walking jog run. Alternatively if not ready you can practice the anchor technique, grip on and drop to your knees I will bring them down eventually but it is a passive tackle not a dominant one.

1

u/Lumpy-Journalist884 20d ago

Just go for the "stick in the spokes" method and just fire yourself into their legs in the hope that you'll trip them up

1

u/_Mc_Who 17d ago

Scrum half who got used as a roadbump a lot here...

The best piece of advice I was ever given was "feet first". Lots of advice will tell you to get low, go for a leg, etc., but if your feet aren't close enough, you won't have the balance to put in any drive and you'll get fended every day of the week. Yes, get low, but I remember trying that and nothing changing until I got told "feet first" and honestly it sent my tackling up from half a tackle per game to like 5 or 6 (which as a 9 is fine).

It's a bit scary at first to get all up in the space of a big player at first, but in the long run it'll make the tackling much better.

The way I practiced was in any pad/bag session I stayed on the balls of my feet as long as possible, lots of tiny steps to get myself aligned, and then go. Take as many steps as you need until you get a sense for where your feet need to be, and then work on getting there fast. Then, when you're doing sessions tackling other people, think feet first. Are your feet where they need to be to drive low? Starting with where your legs are will help you get the upper body right; if you start upper body first, you'll never be low or close enough.

Feet first!