![]() |
![]() |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stamina - the unwelcome word in rugby trainingSteve Johnson explains six stamina and skill-based rugby training activities. Stamina work is something that most players love to hate and finding an effective way to develop stamina, one that the players will accept and do willingly (happily is not the best adjective), is a vital area of the coach's job. When we broached the subject at my club last year and talked about the need for running, our captain growled, "I did not join the rugby team to do track and field!" Other players nodded, and the search for hard-working, yet rugby-based, stamina activities began. The key element is the players' willingness to participate with a positive frame of mind and a desire to see the task through to the end. How much do you move in games?Accepted research indicates that the amount of actual playing time has, in recent years, risen to about one-third of the total game time. So, in an eighty-minute game, we should be looking for between twenty-five and twenty-six minutes of full-time activity, undertaken at top speed and full power. The target, therefore, is to create/build a series of activities in which the players would be active for a certain period, and the rest/recovery time would be double. For example, a one-minute activity would be followed by a two-minute recovery period. Few plays last that long, though, so we focused on a thirty-second activity followed by one minute for recovery.
What skills can we include in a stamina-based programme?All skills can be practiced in a stamina-based activity, but the key point here is that we are not coaching/developing the skill itself - although I do not think one ever stops doing that. We are providing a situation in which there is a more than fair chance of success so that the stamina aspect can be fully completed. In a passing activity, for example, we play touch (not tackle) so that the runners can carry on running. The stamina-related aspects of play we work on are:
In the contact work, we want the players to keep going, so we use contact shields. Whenever we can, we use arm-free contact shields such as the RadPads advertised in the Technical Journal a couple of years ago. Defence stamina-related work is undertaken with tackle bags and shields. It is the running to get into defensive positions that we are working on rather than the tackle itself - although we do keep an eye on the correct technique. If it is not right, we will pull the player out after the stamina session is over and go through the weak point again. Run/pass play. Activity 1
There are four attackers positioned about ten metres from the goal line (one is a scrum-half who is about fifteen metres out). The best number of defenders is three. If there are six in a group, have four attackers and two defenders; seven, four, and three; eight, five, and three. The first defender is a 'flanker', who taps the scrum-half when the activity starts and then runs a covering course backward to pressure the attacking players. The second defender starts on the halfway line, and the third defender is on the far twenty-two-metre line. The attackers' job is to score without:
Flanker(s) and defenders chase back all the way, trying to defend their line. Failure by the attackers can be greeted with great hilarity by the defenders, and the attackers have to either:
This depends on the ability of your players, and only you can be the judge. As a guide, I make the top team run back to the start goal line, and the lower-level players do not have to. TimingBall travelling time. If you assume that the longest time it will take the ball to get from start to goal is 30 seconds, start the second and each consecutive run after 90 seconds (60 seconds recovery). That is slow, though, and you should soon see your team going at 20 to 25 seconds with a 40 to 50 second recovery time. Each attack group goes out and back, then attackers/defenders change. You can put more than one group in the channel and start them every 15 seconds. Number of repetitionsYou set several rotations, and one rotation works like this: (7 player group)
If this type of activity is new, start with just one rotation and, as players' stamina improves, add more rotations. My team usually does 3 sets, which is 21 runs.
Front row variationFor front-row forwards, especially heavy props (and even for heavy, less mobile locks), the activity goes from goal line to halfway line with a 30 second recovery period. This is not to disparage the front row, but research indicates that in a game, the stoppage time for front forwards is about 30 to 45 seconds. So, a shorter run and shorter recovery period are appropriate. Of course, the number of rotations is double that of your long-distance group. CommentThis is hard, but it is very enjoyable, I promise! I maintain that this activity is real rugby, and it is the players' chance to play the game. I have never had a group that has been unhappy with this stamina activity. Run/pass play stamina activity 2 - 6 versus 3 and 3
They attack for one minute. Defenders can come forward to pressure the attackers, but when the attack on their goal line is over, they must retire to the goal line until the next wave of attack comes to them. After 60 seconds, teams have 10 seconds to take up new attack/defence positions, and the whistle goes for the next attack to start. Number of repetitionsI suggest five times per team for the first session and see how they go. This can be increased as appropriate. My team usually asks me to set it for about ten runs per team (20 minutes in total), but we have done 15 runs each; only you can decide what the correct load is. Competitive elementThe losing team has to piggyback the winning team to the goal line, but the coach can make up anything. Contact play stamina activitiesActivity 1: 3 versus 2
The activity should take 30-35 seconds, and Group 2 starts immediately afterward. Group 1 changes attackers and defenders, and as soon as Group 2 has finished, they go. With five players there are 5 rotations for one set (attack 123 then 451, 234, 512, 345) - about 10 minutes for one set of 2 groups. The coach can decide the number of sets. Activity 2: 3 versus 3
If you make 3 groups of 6 they will be pretty busy. We like this as one of our warm-up activities and we do about 5 rotations. Defence-based stamina activitiesActivity 1: Continuous "through the gate" tackles
On a dummy pass from the coach, the players break to the cones, and then they go as quickly as possible back to station 1. The lead defender, T1 (tackler 1), goes through 'the gate' (around the marker) and dives on the ball. T2 and T3 clean out the 2 shield holders. T4 is the next defence leader, and he calls T1 into position. When the coach does a dummy pass, T1 and T4 hit the tackle bags. All 4 then run back to the next station and repeat, continuing until station 4.
|