No Sports Experience: How Can I Prepare for Rugby Tryouts?

[U1987]

I've had a growing interest in Rugby for a while now, watching games online and such, and I think it's something I think I want to get into. I want to tryout during my college rugby team's next tryout session. The thing is, I have no idea where to begin or start.

 

I never did any sports growing up or in high school so I have no experience. I know how the game is played and am getting into shape, trying to bulk up and such, but I don't have anyone to practice with. Also, is that something you need, I dunno, "sponsors" for? I don't know anything about collegiate sports tryouts.

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Jaytb]

Find some people already on the team and find out what the coaches are looking for in the tryouts, like if they're looking for a certain mile time or bench press or something. Then try to meet those requirements. You can maybe try it as an intramural if that's an option.

[tman666]

How much lack of experience are we talking? Are you in good shape? If it's simply a matter of never having played many team sports before, I'd say you'll be fine, simply because playing rugby is unlike any other sport.

 

I played both prop positions and lock in college after walking on the team without any previous experience. I mean, I hadn't even seen a rugby match. There was definitely a learning curve involved because the game is so much different that most of the sports we (at least as an American) grow up playing or seeing.

 

Be prepared to run a lot (up to around 7 miles a game, depending on your position). If you're a bigger guy (or slower), you'll probably be put in a forward position. If you're one of these fast, maneuverable guys, you'll likely be looked at as a back position, which is great because you'll probably get more playing time.

 

If you're not a very athletic person right now, collegiate rugby will be a rude awakening. I've seen orbital bones smashed and moving around underneath faces, lots of joint dislocations, smashed noses, messed up ears, broken feet/fingers, knocked out teeth, etc. There's a certain sense of pride that comes with playing the game, but you have to ask yourself whether or not the pain and potential for long term injury is worth it to you. Eventually, I decided that I wanted to live my entire life being able to do active, athletic things, and quit (my senior year of college was also so hectic that I didn't have the time to devote to both school and rugby, and well, you gotta graduate someday). That's not to say that some people don't play for many years, well into their 40's and 50's.

[Feelin Frisky]

Offer yourself to a local high school football team as a tackle dummy. That should prepare you for Rugby.

[Cee]

I did rugby in college as an intramural sport. No tryouts. It was more of a drinking club, but the injuries were real. A couple of the women got fractures.

 

The solid players were mega strong for the scrum. And the star athletes did offense.

 

The only suggestion I can think of is doing touch football with people. Similar skill set. And if you want to do defense, practice pushing a car up a hill.

[tman666]

I like Cee's suggestion about pushing a car. This translates especially well for the scrum (if you're trying out to play a forward position). Make sure that you work on sprinting too, not just long distance running (though that is very important too).

 

Practice moving drills such as lunges (jump lunges are great too), karaoke, bear crawls, fence hops, etc. Shuttle run sprints can help develop your power and coordination as well.

 

As far as lifting goes, stick to high intensity and low volume. Your goal is to develop peak strength and speed. Staple exercises should be things like rows, deadlifts, squats, pull ups, push ups, and some overhead presses. Don't go overboard with your pressing movements. You're not training to be a football nose tackle. Your ability to generate pulling and pushing power with your back/legs will be a much larger deciding factor. Try to lift as explosively as possible (with good form).

 

You can also practice tackles pretty easily if you have a willing buddy. You can go at these pretty softly, and you don't necessarily have to bring each other to the ground, even though you might as well get used to it. The goal is to get used to the positioning (head on the outside of their body, getting low, driving up and through them). Rugby tackles are not like tackles in American Football. You have to wrap up. You cannot simply peg them with a shoulder. Your coach and teammates should help you learn how to do a proper and safe (for you) tackle. A real easy way to get the tackle is by wrapping up at their hips and lifting one leg off the ground. Make sure that you have your head on the outside of their hip (for your safety). Going lower can work too, but you run a higher risk of being kneed in the face. Going higher leaves you more open to getting bulldozed (plus, high tackles are against the rules).

 

You can also practice passing with a buddy. Find a long field and run up and down passing to each other (remember, no forward passes). This teaches you to not only pass and catch the ball, but to learn how to position yourself to receive the ball quickly (which is just as important to putting plays together in a real game).

 

If you have a group of 8 guys or gals that are wanting to have a fun time, you could set up a "ruck and run" match. It's basically touch rugby without contact scrums or lineouts. The purpose is to help learn to flow of the game, i.e. where you need to be, what you're supposed to be doing, setting up good defense, ball handling, and of course, making a fun way to get some extra running in.

[seren]

I asked my H who is now a veteran rugby player, we in Wales take our rugby very seriously, even though we haven't done so well as a team lately. H trains on sand, lots of running up and down sand dunes to strengthen the legs and core strength. The team have access to a state of the art gym, but nothing beats outside training, he also skips, says it gives him an aerobic workout while making him light on his feet.

He does gym work 2 hours daily, concentrating on different body areas in each session. Different positions require different skills, but he says not to neglect leg work at the expense of building upper body strength, also that being able to run for short bursts in the gym is vastly different from being able to on a muddy pitch in the rain.

 

Have you read the mag Rugby World? lots of training hints there. Most teams welcome newbies, just join the club and tag along to training sessions. They will also have access to the scrum machines and the like. But he says that exercise is just one area to look at, diet is also important. During the season he eats lots of carbs, little and often and while he is a big man, the skipping keeps him light on his feet.

 

Anything more I will ask him. Oh forgot, core strength is very important to strengthen the back as it takes a lot of pumelling.