Fitness & Conditioning
Fitter teams win more games – it’s as simple as that. Of course, we know that most clubs will not have a fitness trainer or a well-equipped gym.
But there is a lot you can do yourself. Whether you are a player or a coach we have lots of exercises designed specifically to improve your training and get you rugby fit.
The fitness and conditioning drills in this section look at how you can help your players to get fit, stay fit, avoid injury and recover more quickly, take a look to see the impact it can have on your training.
How many times have you seen a close game decided in the last 10 minutes because one team is fit and the other is running out of energy?
Don’t be a part of that losing team! Working on fitness is something every rugby player can do to improve results for their team.
Rugby Training Drills for Players
Rugby Training for Coaches
Want more information on training for rugby fitness?
Take a look at our complete guide to rugby workouts and nutrition, Rocket Rugby.
Or if you’re looking for a quick training boost check out our Rugby FitFiles which allow you to target areas from Flexibility to Strength and Power.
in Fitness & Conditioning
The Wilf Paish rugby tests – named after the late British Olympics athletics coach – examine a player’s general fitness. All you need is a pitch, cones, 30m tape measure, stopwatch and a helper… MORE
in Fitness & Conditioning
Before you begin training in earnest, you should establish what base your players are starting from. In the first of two articles on testing, we look at different ways to measure running fitness levels… MORE
in Fitness & Conditioning
There’s no need to go to the gym to perform the simple press-up, which should be part of any rugby conditioning programme. Here are 10 types to integrate into your players’ training… MORE
in Fitness & Conditioning
What you do just before your workout begins can have a big impact on what you are able to do during your workout. Many athletes prepare for a training session by carrying out some routine stretching exercises, but it's important to remember that stretching helps to improve your static (non-moving) flexibility and may not do such a good job at preparing your body to move quickly and efficiently. That's why I recommend that you focus on 'dynamic mobility exercises' before every workout. MORE
in Fitness & Conditioning
Initial power gains from the gym will soon drop if you don’t adapt your training programmes. So make exercises more specific to give your players the most transferable gains before the season starts. MORE
in Fitness & Conditioning, Podcast
Andy Hamilton, long-time editor of top sports training magazine, Peak Performance, outlines the importance of recovery, and how you can help your players to recover more effectively. MORE
in Fitness & Conditioning, Podcast
Rich Clarke, a highly qualified S&C coach, university lecturer and evidence-based trainer, talks us through how we can make simple changes to improve our agility training. He explains how we can use constraints, ensure a specific stimulus and where we might start with less athletic players. MORE
in Defence, Fitness & Conditioning
Combine conditioning with skills drills. In these two activities, the players will work on line-speed as a group, then in the next activity, on line speed and a part of tackle technique. MORE
in Attack, Fitness & Conditioning, Footwork and evasion
Combine footwork, support, passing and decision-making skills in a highly pressurised activity. MORE
in Fitness & Conditioning
Coaches need to take precautions with their players’ necks to prevent injury and ensure longer careers. Dr Sally Lark, a sports rehabilitation expert, explains the misconceptions and what you should be doing. Rugby players suffer from poor neck motion compared to other athletes – and forwards are far worse off than backs. That’s the conclusion... MORE
