Sharpening Your Backhand in Rugby Fives
Rugby Fives rewards players who can dictate the rally from the back of the court, and few shots shape a match quite like a reliable backhand. Whether you are charging down a loose ball on the left wall or stretching for a low cut on the forehand side, your backhand is often the swing that buys you time and unsettles your opponent. The shot has a reputation for being the harder of the two to learn, yet it is also where matches are quietly won, because a stable backhand forces opponents to overreach on their own weaker side.
Across Australia, the sport is gaining a foothold through expat networks, international schools, and a handful of community clubs that have built courts in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. Players here often arrive from cricket, tennis, or squash backgrounds, bringing useful habits across even if the Fives glove feels unfamiliar at first. The advice below is built around that crossover and draws on coaching resources available through the Rugby Fives Association.
Grip, Stance, and First Contact
A dependable backhand starts with the glove and how you hold the racket. Most new players grip too tightly. Relax the fingers, keep the heel of the palm slightly off the handle, and let the racket sit at a 45-degree angle to the floor. The way Australian cricketers talk about a soft top hand on the bat translates well here, letting the ball travel onto the strings.
Your stance matters just as much. Feet should sit shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, with weight loaded onto the balls of the feet so you can push off in any direction. In community halls around suburban Melbourne and Adelaide, players often share courts with netball or badminton groups, so practising a compact stance helps you adapt when the run-back is shorter than expected. Keep your eyes on the ball until contact, then turn the shoulder through to add pace without forcing it.
A simple way to track progress is to film yourself from the back of the court and compare the take-back and follow-through with a player whose backhand you admire. Look for a still head, a relaxed grip, and a finish that ends above the opposite shoulder. Small adjustments in any of these areas tend to produce quick gains.
| Backhand Fault | Likely Cause | Quick Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Ball flies long | Tense arm, late contact | Loosen grip, step into the ball |
| Shot dies in the net | Too much wrist, slow swing | Extend through, brush the ball |
| Ball clips the side wall early | Closed racket face | Open the face a fraction earlier |
| Loss of balance after stroke | Weight on back foot | Drive off the front foot |
Footwork and Court Positioning
Footwork is where amateur backhands fall apart. You can have a textbook grip and still spray the ball wide if your feet are rooted. In Rugby Fives, the backhand is rarely hit from a stationary base; it is usually played on the move, recovering toward the back-left corner after a forehand. Ladder drills used by netballers and footballers around Sydney's winter competitions translate well into Fives footwork because they train quick, light steps rather than long strides.
Practise a recovery pattern from the front of the court to the back-left, then back toward the centre. Mark three cones on the left side, one near the front, one in the middle, and one near the back, and shuffle between them while a partner feeds balls. The aim is to arrive at each cone on balance, ready to play. Players at Brisbane community clubs often use this drill at the start of a session because it warms the legs while reinforcing good habits.
Court positioning also shapes what kind of backhand you should play. Pinned deep after a hard ball to the back-left, a defensive cut along the side wall is safer than a risky drive. Closer to the middle with the ball sitting up, you have more options and can step in. Reading the space in front of you, rather than reacting to the ball alone, gives your backhand room to breathe.
Reading the Game and Shot Selection
A powerful backhand means little if you use it at the wrong moment. The best players treat the shot as a tool with several settings: a defensive cut, a controlled drive, and a winner down the line. Each has its place, and choosing between them is a skill you can train. Watching local squash or tennis fixtures, common in Australian club circuits, helps because both sports reward players who vary pace and direction.
Start by counting how often you hit a backhand in a typical game. Most club players rely on it more than they expect, particularly when their opponent targets the left wall. Once you know the rough number, plan your shot selection around it. If you play three backhands a game, ask whether each was defensive, neutral, or attacking. Aim to convert at least one into a deliberate attacking backhand by stepping in earlier or aiming closer to the side wall.
Match play also rewards players who notice patterns. Opponents often telegraph their shots with a small shoulder turn or a grip change, and a backhand that arrives half a second earlier can turn a routine rally ball into a problem. After club sessions in Adelaide or Perth, jot down two or three patterns you noticed in a small notebook and review them before your next match. Patterns you can name are patterns you can defend.
Drills for Consistent Contact
Consistency comes from repetition, but the kind of repetition matters. Hitting 200 balls against a wall builds stamina but does little for shot quality unless you focus on one element at a time. Break the backhand into three building blocks: take-back, contact, and follow-through. Spend five minutes on each, then put them together for another ten. Players at suburban courts around Canberra often find this structure easier to follow because each block has a clear purpose.
Solo drills are useful, but partner drills accelerate learning. Ask a partner to feed balls at a steady pace from the forehand side, aiming slightly above the backhand line so you must play on the rise. Start close to the back wall and move forward as your timing improves. Another good drill is the two-ball sequence: your partner plays a forehand, you reply with a backhand, then they play a second ball to the same side, forcing two backhands in a row. This exposes any gap in your recovery.
Finally, simulate match conditions by playing points rather than rallies. Start the score at love-love and play first to five, with your partner acting as the marker between points. This trains you to reset quickly, which is where most club-level backhands break down. A calm reset, a soft grip, and a clear target on the front wall are the three habits that separate a steady club player from a competitive one.
Building Confidence Through Match Play
The technical side of the backhand is only half the work. Confidence on the left side often lags because players avoid the shot in matches, hitting forehands they should not or letting balls drop that they could have reached. To break this cycle, set a small goal before each game: play at least three deliberate backhands, win or lose the point. The aim is to remove the mental block, not to win with the backhand immediately.
Playing against a variety of opponents speeds up this process. In Australian club sport, regional fixtures keep the pools small, so seek out players who hit flatter or loop the ball differently. Adapting to a new delivery forces your backhand to find solutions rather than rely on muscle memory. After a few matches, you will start to recognise which backhand works against which style, and your shot selection will feel less like guesswork.
Above all, treat the backhand as a long-term project. Most players see real improvement after a season of structured practice, not a single weekend. Stay patient, keep notes, and revisit the fundamentals when your shot drifts. With steady work, the backhand moves from the side of the court you dread to the side you trust.
Find a club near you, book a coaching session, and start turning that unreliable backhand into a weapon you reach for on the biggest points of the match.
