1. Get the ball carrier working harder -

a. Train the players to stay on their feet for longer in the tackle situation. Quite often players happily fall to the ground, thus allowing the opposition more time to regroup and steal the ball.

A player on the floor has no rights to the ball. A player on their feet can also move forward, thus giving a better target for attackers. Rucks are easier if the ball is moving forward.

It is helpful if the players have a wider stance before the tackler hits them, anticipating taking the hit.

A difficult skill to get right straight away, improvements can only happen through constant practice.

b. Once the player has been tackled, get the tackled player to place the ball as far back from their bodies as possible.

This helps in two ways: first the opposition are less likely to be able to retrieve the ball immediately or certainly slow it down by getting their hands to the ball.

Second the ball is easier to clear over, leaving it out for the scrum half to be able to pass away.

2. Focus on clearing one man from the ruck

Instead of just arriving at the ruck, each player should be targeting
one defender to clear out from the ruck.

Coaching points: the player arrives with their head up, with their hips
lower than the defenders hips and their shoulders lower than the
defenders hips.

3. Arrive from depth, not at speed

Instead of being first there, try getting the players to run in from
right behind the contact area. If they are arriving from depth then they
can make decisions on where to hit.

If there are defenders on either side then they can be cleared.

A deeper runner arriving at the ruck may arrive a little later, but they
are more likely to be more effective at clearing out the defenders
because they are moving in the right direction.

Sometimes a player may have to go backwards to go forwards.
Player A is arriving faster than B, but will only be able to make good
contact with one side of the ruck and the momentum is going sideways.
Player B is arriving from depth will be able to pick where to hit and is
going forward. The hit will be more effective (if slightly later).

4. Two hands on the floor to lower and square the shoulders

On arrival at the ruck, some players cannot make much difference because
they arrive, dip and then push. Train the players to touch the ground
with both hands at the same time just before the contact.

If their heads are up looking for the point of contact, then they should
be in a great position to give all their power to the ruck.

Both hands together square the shoulders, making the spine in line and
the force more effective.

5. The New Zealand way

Two players are better than one, and the New Zealanders of old used to
bind together when they arrived at a ruck. A wider force, with the power
of two players proved a good way of sweeping opposition players away
from the contact situation.

This is a good extension for better players, perhaps if the team is
nimble, but not as big as the opposition. Again the players should be
arriving from depth, the player there first looking for another player
to bind onto.

Both players should have their heads up (looking through their eyebrows)
and their outside arms wide to sweep up the opposition as they step over
the ball.

6. Better bag work

Rucking is often practiced against contact bags/shields. Better
practices challenge the players by placing the bags at awkward heights,
or providing specific targets.

a. If there are letters on the bag, tell the players to target their
shoulder to hit them. This means they are looking for the point of
contact rather than just hitting.

b. Placing two bags just a foot apart has the same effect, as players
need to be hitting the bags with both shoulders and heads up (the head
going through the gap).

c. Put the bags almost touching the ground. The player needs to get
themselves as low as possible to clear the bag. They will need to get
the shoulders above hips on every hit, but cannot afford to be lazy
about arriving too high.

d. Have a player behind the bag/shield holder. Here the rucker has to
hit the bag with the right technique to drive the bag holder and their
support backwards.

Player places the ball as far away from the body as possible.

This makes it difficult for defenders to slow the ball down and easier
for attackers to clear players out of the way.

The ball should also be better placed for the scrum half.