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Rugby Workout

November 2, 2005 Print This ArticleShare

Author: Michael Greeves


Rugby - The Sport

American Football and rugby are fast-pace, intermittent, collision sports. The players in both sports are physically tough, strong, fast and often brutal. But two major differences exist between these sports: First, although rugby players sprint, jump and contact with exceptional forces, they don’t adorn protective pads and helmets like American Football players. And, second, the rugby game is more continuous, with no rest after tackles -- the action continues until the ball goes out of play, a technical infringement is made, or a penalty is committed. The level of strength and conditioning must be high in order for players to remain strong and explosive for the duration of an eighty minute game, divided in half by just a little rest.

Role differences in rugby can be split into two categories: forwards and backs. The strength requirement for both roles differ slightly, with the forwards engaging in scrum and lineout at the restart phases, therefore requiring more maximal strength then their counterparts. Regardless of position, all rugby athletes must possess a high level of strength, power and endurance, because if they don’t the game will at worse swallow them whole, or at best it will spit them out as losers.

Rugby - The Demand

The fast, explosive actions during the game requires high-velocity muscular contractions, and the high tension involved in scrumming requires maximal strength to push opponents. The stronger group of players has the advantage of pushing and hooking the ball. The jump at the lineout requires good timing, but it benefits greatly with high power output of the legs. The continuous high-energy workload through both halves of the game lasting forty minutes each requires incredible oxidative (aerobic) and glycolytic (Anaerobic) conditioning. The team that has greater aerobic and anaerobic capacity can remain mentally sharp, perform at a higher level late in the game, and commit fewer technical mistakes. The high-contact nature of rugby requires anatomical strength for optimal structural support to lower the risk of injury.

Rugby - Injuries

Rugby injuries occur mostly from tackles and collisions (Bathgate, 2002), distributed generally evenly between tacklers and players being tackled (Garraway, 1999). Injury types and distribution are similar in rugby league and rugby union, with lower limb injuries most common, followed by head and neck, and finally arms and shoulder complex (Gissane, 2002; Bathgate, 2002). Knees and ankles are injured frequently, so strength of these joints and of muscles surrounding these joints must be optimal for increased protection. Neck strength must be high to prevent hyper flexion (chin moving to chest) when the head is pressed downward by teammates or opponents during the collapse of a scrum, maul or ruck. Most contact occurs at the shoulder complex, so shoulder strength and stability must be addressed.

The Rugby Workout

The contact and sometimes high impact nature of rugby requires a structural foundation of the body that can safeguard against injury, or at least lower its risk. Adequate hypertrophy of muscles and connective tissues must be ensured through the use of moderate weight, higher volume resistance training, the goal being increased structural support in injury-prone areas like the lower limbs, neck and shoulders.

The high tension situation in a scrum requires maximum strength in players in order to push against the opposing scrum team, therefore strength-building exercises such as the squats, deadlifts, bench presses, and their variations are used to build maximum strength.

The explosive actions in this game also demands that the rugby athlete trains with high-velocity muscular contractions using power-generating exercises such as Olympic-style weightlifting, medicine ball throws, and plyometrics. The training effect of these exercises allows the athlete to move on the rugby field with incredible power, to tackle or outmaneuver opponents.

Possessing the ball means that the athlete has the opportunity to sprint for the try, so maximum speed is trained using sprinting drills of varying distances, mostly through the acceleration phases (10 meters and up to 40 meters) but sometimes maximal speed training is trained for the mechanics of fast, all-out running. Possessing the ball also sometimes means that the athlete must maneuver to avoid being tackled, so agility must be trained using cone drills, ladder drills, and pattern runs.

The metabolic demand of rugby is extremely high, given the fact that the play is continued after tackles are made, resulting in multiple phases of plays. This requires repeated high-intensity bouts that are best trained through skill-based conditioning games as structured by the rugby coaches. Skill-based conditioning games elicit similar cardiovascular, motor strategies, and mental rigors that are found in rugby matches.

The Rugby Workout utilizes exercises that achieve the crucial strength qualities that increase performance in rugby players, so that they can play at their best and contribute to their team’s winning potential!



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