What can a new player do on the off season to learn more about the game?

RugbyLad99

Hello,
As some of ye may know I have only started playing in January and been barely to training and each training I am learning more? So what can I do on the off season to learn more and get to play first match quicker? I am going to talk to the coach about it but I would like to continue learning the rules and how to play even if training is over for the close season? Any resources? When does pre-season training usually start and what does it involve for under 18s?

Thanks,
RugbyLad99

NiallBoo

Play tag?

CatFromHue

There used to be a rugby league league in Ireland, not sure if it's still going, but playing RL would help you with your fitness, passing, tackling, and timing so wouldn't be a bad idea.

I'm not sure if there's underage RL though.

The Lost Sheep

RugbyLad99 wrote: »

Hello,
As some of ye may know I have only started playing in January and been barely to training and each training I am learning more? So what can I do on the off season to learn more and get to play first match quicker? I am going to talk to the coach about it but I would like to continue learning the rules and how to play even if training is over for the close season? Any resources? When does pre-season training usually start and what does it involve for under 18s?

Thanks,
RugbyLad99

Get a rugby ball and practice with it as much as possible. Watch rugby on tv as much as possible. While season is still on get to as many games as possible.
Its hard to say when pre season will start. Especially if you are still under 18 next season. If you can join your clubs adult team in pre season training. Pre season will start mid july though could be later and there could/is likely be some sort of training in your club before that.

Water John

Have the ball in your hand every day. This is so it becomes second nature to you and becomes an extension of yourself.
Keep practising passing both right and left so that you can do it without thinking. This applies no matter what position you play.
As others have said tag rugby.
Learn the rules. Lots of players don't know the rules.

Podge_irl

Play Jonah Lomu Rugby

awec

Is tag rugby any use if you want to learn the laws? Tag rugby has pretty much all of the complicated laws of rugby stripped out, it's like a distant cousin to the real sport where the only real similarity is that you run with a ball?

The Lost Sheep

awec wrote: »

Is tag rugby any use if you want to learn the laws? Tag rugby has pretty much all of the complicated laws of rugby stripped out, it's like a distant cousin to the real sport where the only real similarity is that you run with a ball?

Tag rugby is still helpful for playing game. It takes the tackler out of the game like in full union. Helps with running lines. There is plenty other benefits...

mistdub

There are some good youtube videos that go into depth on basic skills. I would focus mainly on passing and tackling technique, learning to pass at pace with good technique off both sides and tackle well with both shoulders is essential. Many adult players still cant do this and it will put you at a massive advantage. (practicing tackling doesnt mean heavy contact, its just the technique that needs to become second nature. planting your leading leg etc)
Playing tag would be good but it can lead to bad habits as its so light-hearted so if youre playing try to constantly implement good technique and running lines.
Learning good ruck technique is also very important. I think theres a long video on youtube where steve hansen shows how he coaches the ruck, very good if its still there.

*insert link here*
some very useful tackle technique tips, it may seem remedial but having proper technique will make you so much more effective regardless of size.

Laws wise there is a good irb app that lets you read all the laws which i find useful for clarification. Learning the laws of the ruck properly is essential.
*insert link #2 here*
This 2 part video explaining ruck turnovers is great and changed the game for me.

Other than that just watch as much rugby as you can handle. Observe the breakdown and the referees interpretations. Listening to the ref mic can provide useful insight. Watch the lines players run and which ones are effective in getting through defences. Watch how teams move through phases around the pitch to break down oppositions. Where linebreaks/tries are scored try to identify why the try was scored and if/where the defence could have done better, this will help your understanding of defence greatly. The Dead Ball Area on youtube have some great in depth videos analysing attack and defence.

I dont know what level youre at physically but if you dont have much gym experience id recommend doing a good bit of mobility work. Loosening up your hips and shoulders will prevent injury and give you a headstart with gym work come preseason. If youre in the gym already focus on your basics (bench, pullup, squat, deadlift) with perfect technique. I lifted heavy with sh*** technique and besides the injury troubles i ran into my strength did not translate onto the pitch as i didnt have the core stability to use my strength effectively in game situations. I wouldnt spend too much time in the gym at the expense of working on skills so only if you really are eager and have the time.

Wow this ended up being quite extensive, i should really start coaching or something.
Tried to post links didnt realise i couldnt, theyre called 'The Ultimate Guide to Winning Turnovers - Part 1' and 'Rugby Smart - Tackling technique tips' (pat lam is the coach in it!!!)

rsh118

Never have a ball not in your hands. Be juggling, chucking, spinning, whatever. The more you are familiar with the rugby ball the better.

If you've a flat wall somewhere you can spiral passes at a circle drawn in chalk on it off both hands. If you are accurate enough it's easy to catch. After you get really good start trying to hit it on the run. Then make the circle smaller...

Tim Robbins

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

Tag rugby is still helpful for playing game. It takes the tackler out of the game like in full union. Helps with running lines. There is plenty other benefits...

One thing I think is dreadful about tag is that it encourages bad habits. When you tag, you don't get your shoulder or feet close enough to the ball carrier (your pinged if you do) and instead you arm reach - which is a good way to tag someone but a terrible when to approach a rugby tackle.

I was actually pretty good at tackling when younger, gave up. Played tag for a while when older and was pretty good at it. Then, when I went back to play rugby I had some terrible habits from tag. My tackling was all over the place.

Also, sometimes in rugby when you are coming close to contact you need to accelerate and take the contact on your terms. In tag, you have to stop and make sure you don't run into the other person. Again, this can give you another terrible habit

If you want my advice, I'd say play a bit of GAA. Good for hand to eye and you shoulder lead when you tackler. Or else play tip with some rugby players who don't mind if you bash them a little bit. Whereas, in tag you will just be penalised for doing it.

After that like others say I'd watch games on TV and try to understand positional play more by watching the Rugby championship etc.

The Lost Sheep

Tim Robbins wrote: »

One thing I think is dreadful about tag is that it encourages bad habits. When you tag, you don't get your shoulder or feet close enough to the ball carrier (your pinged if you do) and instead you arm reach - which is a good way to tag someone but a terrible when to approach a rugby tackle.

I was actually pretty good at tackling when younger, gave up. Played tag for a while when older and was pretty good at it. Then, when I went back to play rugby I had some terrible habits from tag. My tackling was all over the place.

Also, sometimes in rugby when you are coming close to contact you need to accelerate and take the contact on your terms. In tag, you have to stop and make sure you don't run into the other person. Again, this can give you another terrible habit

If you want my advice, I'd say play a bit of GAA. Good for hand to eye and you shoulder lead when you tackler. Or else play tip with some rugby players who don't mind if you bash them a little bit. Whereas, in tag you will just be penalised for doing it.

After that like others say I'd watch games on TV and try to understand positional play more by watching the Rugby championship etc.

You say don't play tag and as alternative play GAA :rolleyes:. Great advice and doesn't help OP with all elements of rugby while tag gets OP used to plenty that is transferable to the 15 man game.

Tag if coached and ran correctly doesn't encourage bad habits. But finding groups who can run it correctly can be an issue at times.

RugbyLad99

Don't think I will be playing tag. I was told by coach as I have only started playing rugby(I'm 16) I should go to the summer camp in the club. The problem is they will be all younger than me. Advice? I will have no problem practicing with the black any chance I get. I love doing that all ready. But I will have to practice passing with both hands. Should I go to the gym? And also should I go online to learn the rules? What can I then do to show the coach when the season starts again that I have been working a lot on it at home to ensure I can play my first match quicker? I will also be working on my fitness, I won't be making the mistake of leaving it until pre season. I know I have to work on my sprints but also for endurance long distances.

Losty Dublin

RugbyLad99 wrote: »

Don't think I will be playing tag. I was told by coach as I have only started playing rugby(I'm 16) I should go to the summer camp in the club. The problem is they will be all younger than me. Advice? I will have no problem practicing with the black any chance I get. I love doing that all ready. But I will have to practice passing with both hands. Should I go to the gym? And also should I go online to learn the rules? What can I then do to show the coach when the season starts again that I have been working a lot on it at home to ensure I can play my first match quicker? I will also be working on my fitness, I won't be making the mistake of leaving it until pre season. I know I have to work on my sprints but also for endurance long distances.

Fitness, fitness, fitness. That's what you need to work on off season. I'm not talking about hitting the gym as you are young and a bit too green to get into specific workouts but general stuff will do you. Some mid range endurance runs a few days a week and I'm talking 5-10KM runs and not cross country marathons.

As well, get in some 10-30 meter sprint sessions and get in some of the basic exercises you do at training, like sit ups and squats and press ups and stretches and warm ups. You need not break your back at this but if you get in some work here then you will find the pre season far easier and your confidence will improve as a result.

Some say playing tag is good and some that isn't good but IMO playing some rugby is better than playing no rugby atall. It will leave you short in many areas like contact situation but it helps with your close-on spacial awareness, gap making and teamwork and some defensive tactics.

MrDerp

As lots of people have said I'd concentrate on fitness and any drills you can do alone.

I always remember nearly puking after the first few pre-season sessions of underage rugby. Immediately flags to the coaches who has done nothing (and/or been drinking) all summer. Also, being fit might get you some game time ahead of more skilled players in less important matches.

If you're really serious about the fitness, you might like to try a 10 week couch to 10K plan.
http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51122/10K-Novice-Training-Program
My rugby playing days are a long time over, but I've enjoyed getting fit on these running plans. They're designed to improve both your aerobic and anaerobic fitness at the same time - and you can't improve one without he other. The anaerobic fitness will allow you to run hard for longer before lactic acid hits - that's the heavy feeling in your leg muscles after a sprint, and arm muscles doing work.

Getting those ready for the season will allow you to train hard during the season. If you train on slightly hillier ground you'll build power in your legs. When the season starts then, you could work stuff like hill repeats to build yourself up more. This involves finding a hill with a low but noticeable incline, and running up it before jogging down and running up it again.

You can do a lot of catch-up work in this way without hitting the gym - let natural resistance build your leg muscles up. Don't worry about arms and stuff at your level, concentrate on fitness and your game. Pushing your anaerobic thresholds and working on your power should give you a quicker start over the first 5m. I always found that most people could run at relatively similar pace in underage rugby - what differentiated the better players was reading space (you've a lot to work on to get there) and quick acceleration (you can work on this).

Fitness aside, it's drills drills and more drills. As others have said:
1. Try to practice spin-passing at a target. Practice hard flat passes and lobbed ones. Do this at different distances, 5m, 10m, 15m. If you have the bobs, invest in a second ball to keep this manageable.
2. Get a feel for the ball, if you're lounging around the greens with friends over the summer, have a ball with you and be tossing it up in the air and catching it
3. Your non-rugby friends will join in if you keep it casual, we're all bored on a lazy summers day and people will do casual passing back and forth.
4. If 3 works, try and bring in some kicking. Most young fellas in Ireland can kick a rugby ball from hand with reasonable accuracy, so try and get some kicking back and forth. You won't be kicking on the field next season, but learning to catch kicks well will make catching bad passes easier as it'll come at you from a distance and wobbling in all sorts of ways. You'll get a feel for what you can catch with your arms out vs what needs to be brought into your chest - learn to get your body behind the ball to increase chances of catching.
5. Same as 4, but with passing, try getting people to throw it around. Even piggy in the middle will improve your handling skills.

Unfortunately you can't get non-rugby mates to do tackling drills, or running onto passes, but you can get yourself comfortable with the ball, and it will show when you get to training and make the harder drills easier.

Some people mentioned tag, if there's a team that trains well and good but a casual bad team won't teach you much. A drilled team has its benefits as you'll practice spacing and defensive line work, but if it's just a team of people running off on their own trying to score tries there's not much to be learned other than some handling practice.

irishbucsfan

https://ruckscience.com/blogs/learn/90805638-how-to-lean-out-for-rugby-season

Get in shape. If you're going back to pre-season in August start in June. This is the only time you can prioritise it. As for learning about the game, watch as much rugby as you can and think about what the players in your position are trying to do, why they're trying to do it, and why they're being succesful/unsuccessful.

Tim Robbins

irishbucsfan wrote: »

https://ruckscience.com/blogs/learn/90805638-how-to-lean-out-for-rugby-season

Get in shape. If you're going back to pre-season in August start in June. This is the only time you can prioritise it. As for learning about the game, watch as much rugby as you can and think about what the players in your position are trying to do, why they're trying to do it, and why they're being succesful/unsuccessful.

There's a new variant of Tag fromNew Zealand which encourages a bit of offloading called Quick Rip: http://www.coachingtoolbox.co.nz/non-logged/quick-rip/

errlloyd

Tim Robbins wrote: »

There's a new variant of Tag fromNew Zealand which encourages a bit of offloading called Quick Rip: http://www.coachingtoolbox.co.nz/non-logged/quick-rip/

So it's tag without the ruck?

.ak

awec wrote: »

Is tag rugby any use if you want to learn the laws? Tag rugby has pretty much all of the complicated laws of rugby stripped out, it's like a distant cousin to the real sport where the only real similarity is that you run with a ball?

Tag is great for improving your handling and attacking the space not the man.

Also great way of dislocating your fingers! :pac:

Tim Robbins

errlloyd wrote: »

So it's tag without the ruck?

You have a second to get the "ball away" after a tag. Also some form of lineout, scrum and playing on fullsize pitch.

jacothelad

2 things.
1) Bulk up. here is Ulster's fitness and diet guru (not Rodders btw). You will get the drift.





2)

Buy this book. It's the best rugby book ever written, has sold 250.000 copies and has been in continuous print for 50 years. It covers every eventuality you will ever encounter.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Coarse-Rugby-Michael-Green/dp/1861050011