9 easy tests to monitor fitness
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
VIDEO: Two defensive-based conditioning drills
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.
DRILL ONE
- A line of around six players start on one set of cones. They are about arm’s distance apart.
- A coach touches a ball on the ground (as an attacking scrum-half might).
- This triggers the line to race forward to another set of cones. They then realign to another set of cones ready to come forward.
- They realign backwards and diagonally.
- The pattern is: 10m forwards, 5m backwards and diagonally two times and finish with one 10m forwards.
DRILL TWO
- Three players race forward, triggered by a coach touching a ball.
- They run about 5m towards a tackle tube (or ruck pad holder). They promote their right foot. They complete three right-hand punches on the tube, replicating a right shoulder aggressive tackle.
- They run backwards and repeat, with a different foot forward.
- They repeat six times.
This video is part of the DVD from Keith Holifield and Gethin Watts, Skills conditioning and fitness for rugby.
