Okay, you’re not going to be able to kick the ball as far as Dan Carter or Mike Brown straightaway, but the punt is the first kicking style that mini rugby players should learn.

Kicking is becoming far more prevalent in the game, as we saw during this year’s RBS 6 Nations, and being able to boot the ball downfield is an important skill, be it to clear pressure from deep in your own half or to put pressure on the opposition back three.

Start by holding the ball in both hands, in front of your right hip and right shoulder – if you are right-footed (in front of your left hip and left shoulder if you are left-footed), so that you can strike through the ball with everything in line. Drop the ball onto your foot, with your toes pointing down, and follow through.

In this video a member of the London Irish Academy demonstrates how to punt kick and a good drill you can do during training. Simply kick to a team-mate or coach, concentrating on perfecting the key elements of the technique. As you get better, you can move further apart so you have to kick longer distances. Of course, by doing this you’ll also be able to practise your catching!

This is just one of a series of videos Rugby World has put together to show mini rugby players how to perform various skills, from different passes to the switch and the two-on-one. The aim is to help improve players’ all-round game and all the videos can be found here.

Every month Rugby World magazine features a ‘How To’ guide on a specific technique and a fun game to use in training that will keep the players entertained and help develop skills like teamwork, communication, support play and evasive running.

Click here for the latest subscription offers and information on how you can download the digital edition of Rugby World can be found here.