KS3 · Physical education · Year 9
Tackling and getting into a defensive line
Invasion games: adapt tactics and strategies in contact sports
Learn it. Recall it. Make it stick.
IllumED Slides
IllumED · 1/10
Your learning goal
I can tackle with confidence and work in defence to stop the attacking team from advancing.
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Tackling and getting into a defensive line: slides adapted from the imported teaching text; recall questions created from its keywords, learning points and common mistakes. Self-check practice, with no automatic grading or XP. Answers stay on this page and are cleared when you leave.
What you’ll learn
I can tackle with confidence and work in defence to stop the attacking team from advancing.
Key learning points
- Move: a low and agile body position is assumed to make a well timed and safe tackle.
- Move: tracking the attacker’s hips helps maintain balance and stay in line for an effective tackle.
- Think: getting back onside after a tackle allows your team to stay organised and avoid giving away a penalty.
- Feel: confidence to make a safe tackle with either shoulder comes from repetition at increasing intensity.
- Connect: working in a flat line in defence enables a team to cover space and support each other when making tackles.
Words to know
- play the ball
- the action where a tackled player rolls the ball backward with the foot to restart play
- try
- when a player grounds the ball in the opponent's in-goal area, earning 4 points
- defensive line
- the formation of defending players spread across the field to prevent the attacking team from advancing and scoring
Common mistakes
Pupils forget that after making a tackle, they need to get back onside in a straight line.
Response: after a tackle, the whole defensive line need to be back onside 10m from the play of the ball. If you are not moving as a flat line, you leave gaps for attackers to break through.
For parents, carers and teachers
- Contact versions of the game should only be managed by suitably experienced and qualified staff (inc. concussion training). There is the option to spend more time on any of these topics as appropriate in the context of your learners.