Fixing Common Rugby Fives Swing Mistakes Before They Cost You the Point
Rugby Fives rewards players who can read a game three shots ahead, and almost every point begins with a swing that has gone slightly wrong. Whether you are new to the court or returning after a long break, the habits you build in your first hundred rallies tend to stick. Getting those habits right means more wins, longer rallies, and a lot less frustration when the score tightens in the fifth set.
Many Australians first pick up a Fives glove on a school court, often in a converted courtyard or the back of a gymnasium. The sport has quietly built pockets of support in places like Melbourne and Sydney, where the heritage handball tradition at schools such as Sydney Grammar keeps the swing mechanics sharp from a young age. That early exposure is a gift, but it can also ingrain habits that are hard to unpick once competitive play ramps up.
The Australian summer throws up its own challenges for swing development. Outdoor courts in places like Adelaide or Perth can be too brutal between November and February, which pushes training indoors and changes how the ball behaves off the wall. Players who learn on those hard, cool surfaces often struggle to adjust when the temperature drops and the ball skids differently. Recognising the link between your environment and your swing is the first step towards a more reliable game.
Mistakes in a Rugby Fives swing are rarely about power. They are almost always about timing, contact point, and the small adjustments that happen between your shoulders and your fingertips. The good news is that every one of them is fixable with the right kind of practice.
Locking In the Grip and Starting Stance
The most common swing error in Rugby Fives starts before the ball is even struck. Players who grip the ball too tightly at the start of their swing lose the whip that gives the shot its pace. A relaxed hand, with the fingers spread naturally across the seams, lets the ball roll off the palm as the arm accelerates. Squeezing at the last moment is fine; squeezing from the word go is not.
Your stance sets the tone for everything that follows. Stand sideways to the wall with your weight loaded on the back leg, knees slightly bent, and the non-dominant foot pointing roughly where you want the ball to go. Plenty of players at suburban clubs around Brisbane and Canberra take their stance too square, which restricts shoulder rotation and kills the natural arc of the swing. A simple drill is to stand in front of a mirror and check that your front shoulder finishes pointing at the side wall, not at the back wall.
Foot placement also matters when you are receiving a shot with plenty of height on it. The mistake many recreational players make is shuffling too close to the back wall before the ball drops, which leaves no space to drive through the shot. Step back early, read the spin, and let the ball come down to a comfortable contact point around waist height.
Reading the Ball After It Leaves the Wall
A clean swing only matters if you are hitting the ball at the right moment. One of the biggest issues coaches report in weekend doubles is players swinging at the bounce rather than the half-volley. The half-volley, struck as the ball is rising off the floor, gives you far more options for angle and pace. Swinging on the full looks impressive but leaves you with very little margin for error.
Watch the side wall before you watch the ball. A ball that hits high on the side wall will kick upwards; a ball that hits low will stay low. Australian players who cut their teeth on the older courts will tell you the same thing: learn the architecture before you trust your eyes. There is a great rundown of how court design shapes the game over at the evolution of court design, which is well worth a read for anyone serious about reading the angles.
Grip pressure also changes after the ball leaves the wall. A common swing mistake is to keep the same tight grip through the entire rally, which fatigues the forearm and tightens the wrist. Loosen the hand as the ball travels, then firm up only at the moment of contact. This keeps the swing loose and the shot sharp.
Footwork and Court Positioning
You can have the prettiest swing in the club and still lose if your feet are stuck in cement. The number one footwork mistake in Rugby Fives is failing to recover to the centre after a shot. Too many players watch their own ball fly towards the front wall and forget about getting back to the T. By the time the return comes off the side wall, they are scrambling.
Split-step timing makes a huge difference here. A small hop just as your opponent makes contact resets your balance and gives you a head start in either direction. Players coming from a tennis or squash background often skip this step because the court feels smaller, but the speed of the rebounds at the top level means you cannot afford to be flat-footed. Practise the split-step until it becomes second muscle memory, even on shots you know are going to be winners.
In doubles, positioning is a conversation between partners. A common Australian club error is having both players standing too deep after a serve, which leaves the front of the court exposed. Agree on a rotation, communicate clearly with a short call like "mine" or "yours", and trust your partner to cover the half they have called.
Follow-Through and Shot Variation
Follow-through is where most recreational swings fall apart. The arm stops at the contact point, the wrist flicks awkwardly, and the ball dies in the middle of the court. A proper Rugby Fives follow-through finishes high, with the racket hand reaching towards the opposite shoulder. This keeps the swing path long and the pace consistent.
Shot variety keeps your opponent honest. If every rally ends with a cut shot to the back right corner, your mate at the other end will eventually start reading you. Mix in a flat drive along the wall, a lob when your opponent is camped at the back, and the occasional half-volley when the ball sits up nicely. The mistake many club players make is treating each shot as an isolated event rather than a chain of three or four moves ahead.
Practise the shots you struggle with, not just the ones you already like. Spend fifteen minutes at the start of every session hitting the backhand that feels awkward, the lob that keeps falling short, the volley that keeps flying out. It is dull work, and it is the only work that actually moves the needle.
Building Better Habits Through Drills
Drills turn swing corrections into automatic responses. A wall by yourself is the best training partner you will ever have. Spend twenty minutes hitting the ball continuously against the front wall, focusing on a single element each session: grip pressure one day, follow-through the next, footwork the day after. Rotate the focus so each part of the swing gets attention without overwhelming your muscle memory.
Match practice matters as much as solo work. Get down to your local club on a Sunday arvo, find a partner a step better than you, and play proper sets rather than just hitting for the sake of it. Score every rally, even in a friendly, because the brain behaves differently when there is something on the line. Players who only ever hit in drills often panic when the score is tight and revert to old habits.
Finally, film yourself. Set up a phone on a tripod at the side of the court and record a full match. Watch it back slowly, looking only at your swing on a handful of points. You will see things you never feel in the moment, and those small visual cues are often the fastest path to a cleaner, more reliable swing.
Head to your nearest Rugby Fives club, book a coaching session, and put one new correction into your swing at every hit-out. The court is waiting, and so is your next opponent.
