"Score off scrums, stretch the defense from lineouts and breakdowns, then score", says Mike Friday, the highly successful former sevens coach.

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1 Sevens Attack: "Score off scrums, stretch the defense from lineouts and breakdowns, then score", says Mike Friday, the highly successful former sevens coach. Among other achievements Mike took England sevens to back-to-back wins in the Dubai Sevens, a record four successive wins in the Hong Kong Sevens, a Commonwealth silver medal in 2006, and second place behind the All Blacks in the IRB sevens rankings. We look at the way he achieved this. Basic principles 1. Give the fast man space to run around defender. 2. Any three on three situation should be seen as a chance to beat the defense. 3. Otherwise pull the defense to one side and then attack quickly the other way, normally from a breakdown or lineout. Create space out wide There is a principle in sevens that a good way to create gaps is to spread the attackers out, from touchline to touchline. Against a team that is defending with six players in their front line and a sweeper, then gaps will surely appear. This is not the way that Mike likes to play the game. He gives two very good reasons: 1. A winger will normally prefer to beat the man with space on the outside, especially if he thinks he is faster than his opposite man. 2. Shorter passes are quicker passes. Most players prefer to pass shorter, especially off their weaker hands. From attacking lineouts and rucks Mike suggests that players squeeze up a little more to give the winger a chance to run wide. And when he means run, he means head down, arc out and go for it.

2 Three on three: line break From scrums, look to score from a line break. In sevens, the defence outside the scrum will be a three on three. Mike sees any 3 v 3 as a opportunity to break the line. First the ball carrier must use good footwork, a change of pace, or a change of angle to draw a defender out of position. Then a quick pass to create a 2 v 1 and a chance for a line break. Mike therefore suggests doing lots of work on 2 v 2s and 3 v 3s to give your players the confidence to take out the opposition. Pull the defense Where the defense is more organized, the aim of the attack is to pull the defense to one side of the pitch and then pass the ball quickly back the other way. With your winger standing further infield than normal, as soon as he receives the ball, he has the chance to "pin back his ears" and beat his opposite man. There are two elements to this simple movement. Element 1: After passing the ball each player must move in and behind the person they have passed to. Sometimes known as the "post" or "pocket" position. Element 2: If and when the winger finds he cannot beat his opposite man, he must STOP. Amazingly, but only momentarily, the defender will often also stop. The winger can then pass the ball back into the post position, so the ball is moved away very quickly. The defense should have been moved around enough for spaces to open up, either close to the ball, in the middle or further out. The key, though, is that all these passes must be to the next man - make sure there are no miss passes.

3 Sevens Defense Always work on your defense first We have the luxury of some of the best rugby players in the world. They have pace, great stepping ability and of course can catch and pass. In the little time available for tournaments we concentrate on getting the defense right first. Here's the system we use: Sweeper system We always work with a sweeper system, where six players play in front of one. The sweeper covers kicks and acts as the last man in defense. However it does mean there is an overload in favor of the attack. The chain The key to our defense is: don't get broken through in the middle. In my experience, if a player gets through the middle then the sweeper has little chance of making the tackle, or preventing a try. Either they get "stepped" by the attacker, or there is a 2 v 1 situation. The defensive line at the front must be disciplined, working like a chain to prevent this happening. Three man defensive unit In front of the sweeper, we work in three man defensive units. The player who is defending the ball does not move up unless he has a man either side of him. The three men pressure the ball carrier together. They do this by squeezing together a little and forcing the ball carrier to make a decision. In the meantime the other defenders close off the "passing avenues". In effect, they are closing the gate and forcing an error from the attacking team. The aim is to show the attack the space on the outside, between the widest defender and the touchline. In other words, backing your own players to cover the outside break. No such thing as a static defense We like to say that if you are standing in defense you are not working. It is constant push, push, push up the field, forcing the other team backwards. The three man unit pressures the ball, with the other defenders getting in amongst the attacking team. We want the opposition ball carrier to look up for options to pass and only see your shirts. In the picture you can see the 3 man defense moving up as an arc, with the ball being surrounded by defenders. One of the most effective examples of this I saw was in the Middlesex Sevens when the rugby league side, the Bradford Bulls, literally walked up and across the pitch in defense all the time maintaining a solid wall of defense.

4 3 man and arc defense to cut down the attacking options A great game to practice your three man defense Using half the width of the pitch, match 3 defenders against 5 attackers. The defenders have to shift across and up the field and pressures for 2 minutes. It is amazing how successful they are if they follow the chain principles. Increase the width of the pitch as the defense becomes more successful.

5 Sevens Penalties Sevens is the abbreviated form of rugby but has become a very specialized tactical battle. One area which is different is how a team plays from penalties. From a free kick or penalty, most teams will choose to tap and go straight away. The defense will be retiring and disorganized and there are more spaces on the field. If you decide on a move, keep it simple and attack space. Players in any position should always expect the ball. If there is a delay for some reason and your team needs to set up a pre-planned play, here are the two main set ups you can use: You can choose to kick for touch or drop kick for goal. Kicking for touch runs down the clock and gives you territory. If you are in front of the posts, then a kick at goal can also run down the clock and give you valuable extra points in a tight game