SetPiece

Rugby playbook software

A pitch, not a whiteboard. Plays that actually run.

SetPiece's rugby playbook software is geometry-first. Actors snap to lines, passes draw as arcs with a real flight time, and the app tells you if the move you've drawn is physically possible — before training, not after. Save a play once. Attach it to a drill. Animate it on the touchline.

Free private beta. We'll email you when it opens.

The SetPiece play canvas on an iPhone, showing a play called 'Slider'. Across the top: Back, the play title, and a Save button; a toolbar offers Select (active), Actor, Line, Pass, with the helper text 'Drag from a player to draw a line. Shift+drag for a pass.' The green rugby pitch fills the body, with five gold actor dots in a backs alignment — one ringed to mark the lead receiver — and black running and pass lines arcing out from them. A timeline strip at the bottom carries a play button, a 0.00 / 5.70s scrubber, and speed toggles.

How it works

Plays are geometry, not arrows on a board.

Most playbook tools are just drawing apps with a pitch background. SetPiece treats a play as data: who is where, who runs which line at which intensity, when the pass lands. That changes what you can do with it.

Per-segment line intensity

Real rugby runs don't happen at one speed. A decoy walks, then jogs, then sprints onto the ball. SetPiece lets you paint each segment of a running line with its own intensity, so the animation honours the change — and so the player watching it can see when the gas is supposed to go on.

  • Three intensities per segment: walk, jog, sprint.
  • Drag a handle on the line to split a segment, change intensity, move on.
  • Animation playback matches the painted speeds — useful for showing a decoy line vs a hard runner.
Close-up of a single running line on the pitch. The line starts at the 12 position and curves toward the 13-channel. Three colour bands segment the line: a short grey band labelled 'walk', a medium amber band labelled 'jog', and a long red band labelled 'sprint'. A drag handle is visible at the boundary between the amber and red segments, with a small tooltip reading 'Split / change intensity'.

Pass and kick arcs with flight-time validation

Draw a pass between two actors and SetPiece arcs the ball between them with a calculated flight time based on distance. Then it checks: will the receiver be at the catch point when the ball arrives? If the pass overtakes the receiver — or arrives after the runner has gone through — the editor warns you. The catch-point problem, caught at the table.

  • Pass arcs labelled with flight time in seconds.
  • Kick arcs use a higher arc and a longer flight; useful for exits, contestable kicks, cross-field plays.
  • Validation chip on the play: OK, tight, impossible — so you know before training, not after.
Detail of a pass arc on the pitch. The arc curves from the 9 position to the 10 position, with a label '0.42s' floating above the apex. Below the receiver, a small ghost outline shows where the receiver will be when the ball arrives, with a checkmark indicating the catch point is reachable. A validation chip in the corner reads 'OK'.

Attach plays to drills. Run them on the touchline.

A play in a folder is just decoration. Attach the play to a drill in your drill library, and the animation plays inline when you start that drill in Run mode. Show the team the move on a phone, then run it five seconds later.

  • One play, many drills — attach the same lineout call to a unit drill and an opposed shape drill.
  • Looping playback during the drill so the next group sees it without you cueing up the video.
  • Read-only share links for assistant coaches and the head of rugby.
The SetPiece play canvas on a tablet — the editor a coach uses to assemble a play before sending it to a drill. Header reads 'Slider' with Back and Save controls; a toolbar offers Select, Actor, Line, Pass, Kick and Delete. The pitch fills the workspace, with five gold actor dots in a backs alignment and black running and pass lines drawn between them. A timeline strip at the bottom carries the play button, a 0.00 / 5.70s scrubber, speed toggles (0.5×, 1×, 2×) and a zoom control.

Why geometry beats arrows

You don't coach arrows. You coach humans running lines.

Whiteboard before training

  • No animation. The team has to imagine the timing.
  • No record after training ends.
  • No way to share with someone who missed it.

PowerPoint / Keynote diagrams

  • Arrows, not lines. No notion of intensity.
  • No flight-time check — every pass looks plausible.
  • Doesn't live with the drill that uses it.

Generic play-design app

  • Built for hockey or basketball — wrong pitch, wrong roles.
  • No lineout or scrum primitives.
  • No tie-in to a training session.

SetPiece

  • Geometry-first: lines, intensity, pass arcs, flight times.
  • Lineouts, scrum strikes, backs moves, defensive shapes — same primitives.
  • Animations play inline in Run mode during training.
  • Share a play with one tap.

Common questions

Rugby playbook software FAQ

What is rugby playbook software?
A tool for designing and storing rugby plays — backs moves, lineout calls, scrum strikes, defensive shapes — and replaying them as animations. SetPiece's playbook is geometry-first: actors snap to lines on a real pitch, passes arc with a calculated flight time, and per-segment intensity captures walk/jog/sprint changes.
Does SetPiece animate the plays?
Yes. Every play plays back as an animation. Attach a play to a drill in your drill library and the animation plays inline when you run that drill.
Can I draw lineouts and scrum strikes?
Yes. The pitch is blank — you place actors wherever the play needs them. Same primitives cover backs moves, lineouts, scrums and defensive shapes.
How does flight-time validation work?
The editor calculates where the receiver will be when a pass arrives, given the painted line intensity. If the pass overtakes the receiver or arrives after, you get a warning. The whiteboard-impossibility check, done at the table.
Can I share a play with assistants or players?
Yes. Read-only share links work without sign-in. Plays attached to drills run as animations in Run mode during the session.

More from SetPiece

Rugby practice planner →

Plan a 90-minute session in 90 seconds, then run it from the touchline with Run mode.

Rugby squad management →

Players never sign in. Coaches hold the squad, positions, bands and availability.

Rugby drill library →

Structured drills that drop into a session in one tap and can carry a play.

Rugby recruiting →

Shareable team page + prospect pipeline. Fill next season's squad in the off-season.

Draw a play that actually runs.

Drop your email — we'll let you know the moment the beta opens.