So much talk, so little action.
If you listen to the media too much, that is what you get about lots of sport in Australia at the moment. Australian Rugby in particular has copped a really hard time over the past few years in particular.
So, how important is the physical aspect or the physical being in rugby?
“It’s not what you have, it’s how you use it” is one of my favourite sayings. So, to me, this means, what is the point of some big fat guy playing if he cannot run fast, cannot produce a massive force in a straight line and physically dominate REGULARLY. Once is not enough. It has to be over and over again.
So, if you play Rugby Union especially, but really any contact sport, then this is put towards you.
Some of the questions that I get asked by players, coaches and parents are:
1. When should I start doing “weights”?
This is how I would respond to this. The research, and position papers talks about the age appropriate to start is around the 10 year mark. I would tend to agree most of the time. You should be able to move your own bodyweight in a variety of directions, so for example, to push your bodyweight with your feet, your hands and then pull with your hands. Exercises that can be used are squat, lunge, one leg squat, push up, crawls, bracing exercises, Medicine ball slams and then horizontal and vertical pull up exercises. If you are playing a game where you are constantly bearing more than your bodyweight in collision, then it would make sense to make your body stronger to handle this? It would to me. So, please stop with the 80’s attitudes of “weights stunt your growth” along with the mountain of other excuses we hear as to why NOT to do strength training early in life.
Most rugby players are bigger than the average. So, if you do not start young, then how the hell do you expect a 14 year old who has never done a proper squat, or push up in his life, who weighs 100kg to start just throwing his bodyweight around. I see too many teenage rugby athlete who pardon the french, are just piss weak. They survive in the game due to size, NOT strength, power or any other special athletic prowess. What happens when every other kid catches up to them, and all the smaller kids at 14 turn into bigger 17 year olds and can move their own bodyweight around plus some.
2. How strong do you need to be to play Rugby?
Ashley Jones, who is in my opinion, one of the experts in rugby union strength and conditioning, recently did an interview where he spoke about size versus strength, speed and the ability to make an impact in the game. There is no good being a monster of a human being if you cannot act that out on a field. If you really struggle to move your own bodyweight you have two choices. 1. Get in the gym and start lifting – get damn strong and do not stop until you are unstoppable. 2. Lose some weight, cut off body fat and work really hard at being strong first, then grow in proportionate to strength, power and speed improvements or at the very least, maintain your speed at least relative to bodyweight.
I would say that sometimes the strongest in the gym is not necessarily the strongest on the field. I believe through my experience that it takes the understanding of movement and how to apply force in the right direction to be able to use as much strength and power on the field as possible. The gym is predictable, weights tend not to turn sideways or run away! Therefore, it is about more than just strength. Anticipation, knowledge of the game and skill level play a part in creating massive impact on the field!
Success does not come easily. It comes with hard work. It comes through following a well laid out plan. You need to have self-belief to be the best. Every training session has to be dedicated to bettering yourself. If you are the best, it is your doing. It is not someone elses. So, my advice to all young rugby players is to get in, get strong, get fast, be able to repeat great effort and impact over and over again. Be skilful, know and perfect the basic skills that apply to your position in the game. Every time you rest, someone else is not. Everyone time you stop because it is hard, someone else is embracing pain, and being rewarded.
So, when I see the media openly criticise our home team, it is frustrating, because we all know that the players, coaching staff and everyone who supports the team is working their butts off to be better.
We have a rugby program running in the school holidays, which is specifically targeted towards regional and rural rugby athletes. It is condensing our already successful rugby performance program into a one day program to provide high quality and focused education on the key points of physical development for rugby. We aim at teaching, then showing and then giving you time to practice the skills that we want you to improve to help you create more impact on the field.
To indicate your interest please go HERE and we will contact you to discuss a time to speak on the phone to meet and discuss your goals for the clinic. There are only 8 spots available for players 15 and over and 10 spots available for players 10-14 years of age so please hurry to avoid missing out.