Life as a rugby player is not easy, but if it was easy it wouldn’t be worth it, now would it? Whether you are serious about the game or love playing it because you just enjoy the social side of it, we love to share this life with you.
Rugby players come in all shapes and sizes. Some fast, some a little slower. Some with amazing skills, some with not so many. The great thing about rugby is that just about anyone can play and you are always welcomed as a rugby player by other rugby players around the world.
In some of the classic Tier 1 rugby nations (South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, the UK…) kids start playing at the age of 5 or 6. In many Tier 2 and Tier 3 rugby nations players only start playing at a much later age. With the strides made in recent years by the smaller nations, this tiering is becoming only academic.
That said, regardless of your age or experience levels, we would like to help you to become a better rugby player.
How can we help you improve as a player?
Our goal is to help you through the years of knowledge built up as players and coaching this amazing game. It is easy to learn by trial and error, but rarely quick. Rather than getting frustrated by the process, we would love to give you some ideas of how you can grow as a rugby player.
Our aim with the advice we are giving is NOT to claim we know everything. It is more aimed at getting you thinking about how you can improve as a player or how you can help others to improve.
The common hurdles for a rugby player
We are not always in the lucky position as rugby players to have access to all of the equipment we need. In fact, it is often only at professional clubs, top universities and top schools where everything is in place to train carefree.
Should that stop you from training and getting better? HELL NO!
Here are some of the topics we will cover throughout the site specifically for players:
- Training by myself – we often find ourselves in a situation where there is no one to train with. This is however not a hopeless situation and there are many opportunities to train by yourself.
- When I have one friend to train with – this makes things a little easier. You can still do many of the drills you will do by yourself, but this adds a level of competition. There are also loads of new options available when you have a friend to train with.
- If you have a small group – it happens sometimes that there is no coach available, but that there are a few players who want to train. This should never stop you from training, but rather make you explore new ways of improving
- A large group of players – when the group gets bigger it makes it easier to train game-specific situations as a full team. It does, however, become more challenging to manage
- Strength and conditioning – this is a crucial part. It helps to prevent as many injuries as possible while becoming the best athlete you can be. You can train by yourself, in a small group or even in large numbers
- Nutrition and supplements – hard work without the right fuel is a waste. This doesn’t mean expensive supplements are needed to succeed, but we will get into that…
- Rugby bursaries at universities and colleges – opportunities for rugby players leaving school are increasing dramatically. The great news is that it is not just from the traditional powerhouses of the game. Many up and coming rugby nations are joining in
- Playing at the next level – read this is you are ready to take the next step. The dreams of stardom and fame are very real and very possible to achieve. Getting there is however a whole different story
Knowledge is power and consistency is crucial
No one can ever know everything there is to know about rugby. I love being a student of the game. Being a rugby player for 27 years and coaching since 2005, I still love learning.
If you focus on continually learning and make that a habit you are on a winning path. The follow-through is the key to success. Consistency in executing what you have learned is what will get you to where you want to go.