MATT DAWSON produced arguably the greatest dummy in rugby history against South Africa in 1997. Playing at scrum-half for the Lions in the first Test of the series, Dawson broke from the back of a scrum just outside the 22 and then shaped to pass back inside when around ten metres from the line before sprinting over to score a try himself. The fact four Springbok defenders bought his dummy meant Dawson had the space to touch down.

Ben Youngs set up two tries in England’s November 2016 Test against the Springboks with a dummy, fooling Pieter-Steph du Toit on both occasions.

Selling a dummy can be a great way to score or create a try – but you have to make sure you convince your opponent that you are going to pass the ball. To do this you need to make sure you use your head, hands and hips to give the impression you are going to pass.

Make sure you get your timing right too. Shape to pass late enough that the defender has no time to react when you run but early enough that you don’t run into the defender. Watch the video to see mini rugby players demonstrating how to sell a dummy – then try it out with your team-mates in training. Once you can outfox them, you can try it in a match.

This is just one of a series of videos from Rugby World showing mini rugby players how to perform various skills, from the two-on-one to the jack-knife roll. The aim is to help improve players’ all-round game.

Rugby World magazine features a ‘How To’ section each month, with a guide on a specific technique, and there is also a training game that will help develop skills like teamwork, communication and support play as well as keeping players entertained.

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