Irritating for an attacker? Yes. Invaluable for you? You bet.

The aim of any defender is to stop the attack, and the poke tackle is one way to do it. The key is to approach the attacker, getting low and slow to apply pressure, then getting close enough to poke the ball away. You can use the inside or outside.

You can use the poke to slow down the attacker, force a mistake or win possession altogether. If an attacker is shielding the ball, a stealthy poke from the side or back can be equally handy.