How to play at Fullback.

The fullback as you might imagine is positioned right at the back behind there team.
The fullback acts as a kind of  last defense and for this reason is very important, he's also there to catch any kicks.

Essential skills for a fullback:
Catching (from kicks).
Kicking.
Tackling.

Additional skills and attributes:
Passing.
Being fast.

All these skills are important for being a fullback and the more you practice the better you'll get.

Fullback catching the ball from a kick.

What the fullback does:


So as I've already explained when in defense the fullbacks main job is to survey behind the backs line being wary of any breaks that might or occur or a kick from the opposition.
I think a lot of fullbacks inexperienced to the position worry most about 'where should i stand?' but the answer both is and isn't simple, basically there's no right place to stand! You're working on your sense here, there are no specific rules, this may seem exciting to some player or daunting to others.
The way to decide where to stand depends on a number of variables.
So lets think of a couple hypothetical situations -

There team has just turned the ball over during a ruck and there in there own 22 meter line, what are they going to do?
Chances are there going to kick the ball but will there scrumhalf kick it or there fly half? You have to determine this on what they have been doing mostly during the match and also its worth looking at there fly half to see if he's dropped back to take the kick - it doesn't matter that much who kicks it but it worth taking in account that if the scrumhalf kicks it its not going to go as far as when the fly half kick it.
If you decide that the flu half will kick then you have to determine what side he's going to kick the ball to which is generally which one they are closer to so based on these variables you have to place yourself where you believe the ball will go and try to keep the ball in play.

It may seem complicated but its really not, if you know the stuff described above the thoughts will pass through your head in a number of seconds, especially when you grow more experienced you won't even have to think about it, lets do another more general one:

Lets say the opposition are in possession of the ball around about the middle of the pitch, the balls currently at the back of the ruck.


Quite a normal situation, what things do you need to consider:
Well first where is the ball going to go? Fly half most probably but what about the couple players on the blindside, are they calling for the ball? in any case you should be sure your in a position that if the ball goes blindside and they make a break your able to catch them.
The ball goes to the fly half as predicted, what are his options? might he kick, you need to be far enough back to receive a kick and where will he kick it, well most likely hes going for territory so you need to be standing further wider than him in case he kicks it towards the sideline - the position your in would be wrong if you're predicting a break but more often than not he won't get through.
He doesn't kick he passes it to his inside center. Now you need to start to come forward a bit as the threat of the kick is gone, you also you want to start moving more in line with the player in case he makes a break.
He passes to the outside center - now what, well the most likely outcome is that he'll pass it to the winger and so what if he makes a break, in this scenario you don't want to be inline with him otherwise he'll easily cut inside you so you want to give him no option there forcing him towards the sideline, you also have to be close enough to him so that your sure you'll catch him.

So I hope you've got a bit of a better idea of what to do as a fullback and what you're looking out for.

One last tip for a fullback i'd give in defense is not to ever be close to the defensive line in front of you because it they make a quick break and your a couple meters in the wrong position then they easily get past you so being further back gives you room for error but you shouldn't be to far back otherwise it give there player to much time to decide what to do.

What to do when you catch the ball from a kick.


In this case you have two main options:

Kick the ball back-
This is quite a safe option if you've got a big boot on you and is best used when you're deep in your territory like inside your 22m line, you need to remember to sprint after the ball because everyone else in front of you has to retreat until you go past them.

Run the ball back up the pitch-
This is the other option and is also good, and you can make quite a bit of ground if you avoid the first few tackles, you should be able to pass the ball to the winger- who should of dropped back- if you need to.

What a fullback does in attack:

Once again in attack there is no specific rules, some fullbacks like to hang back a bit in case of an interception but most like to join the line in or outside the winger and if it you do it well you can make quite the impact as an extra man.

Its a very fun position to play so enjoy!