Coaching rugby in New Zealand means juggling a huge squad on a windy Saturday sideline or through a packed School Sport NZ tournament week. Between front-row cover, rolling interchanges, sin-bin timers and making sure every player gets at least half a game, a wet piece of paper in your jacket pocket doesn’t last long.
Whether you coach Union, League, Sevens, Touch or Rippa, a dedicated rugby coaching app keeps the sideline calm so you can watch the game in front of you.
Making the Half Game Rule effortless
In New Zealand junior and secondary school rugby, fair playing time isn’t just good culture — it’s mandated through the Half Game Rule. With a 22- or 23-player matchday squad, working out halftime and mid-half replacements while watching the breakdown is where mistakes happen.
- Pre-plan your halves or quarters before kick-off based on who has marked themselves available.
- Balance season-long minutes so the same finishers aren’t always starting on the bench.
- Adjust on the fly when a player picks up a knock without losing track of who still needs minutes.
Code-specific sideline scoring and timers
Rugby isn’t scored like football or netball, and different codes have different rules:
- Union, League, Touch & Rippa modes: Score tries, conversions, penalty goals and drop goals with code-accurate point values.
- Sin-bin & card tracking: Log yellow and red cards with live countdown timers so your manager knows the exact minute a player can return to the field.
- Interchange tracking: Keep count of rolling subs or capped tournament interchanges across the match.
Training sessions built for volunteer and teacher coaches
Not every school or junior rugby coach has hours to write a Tuesday night training plan. Squaddie includes a rugby training hub with structured drills covering catch-pass, tackle technique, breakdown work and backline shape, plus an AI coaching assistant that can build a 60-minute session tailored to your age grade in seconds.
Run your rugby team from one place — start free at squaddie.app.
