RUGBY UNIVERSITY:

Creating the Rugby

Student-Athlete
Justin Goonan, CSCS
MSc Strength & Conditioning
 TOPICS:
Weight Training Periodization

Lifestyle Decisions
Energy Systems
Development
For coaches
Training routine
Recovery Game-day routine
 WEIGHT TRAINING
Principles:

Mobility and technique > absolute load

Use Ground-based movements

Speed and power in sport is about one’s
ability to generate force into the ground

Athletic Lifts not isolation lifts

Multi-planar movements:
Develop the ability to control the body
in different dimensions
 WEIGHT TRAINING
Wake Forest Categorization of Strength
Development and Preferred Lifts
Development Area Primary Lift Secondary Lift Secondary Lift

Total Body Power *Power Clean *Power Clean-n-Jerk Power Snatch

Power Shrug (from
Total Body Strength *Dead Lift
floor)
Hip and Knee
*Front Squat *Back Squat Lunge/Stepup
Extension
Hip Extension Power *Hang Clean Hang Snatch Kettle-bell Swings

Hip Extension Romanian Dead Lifts Stiff Legged Dead

Glute-Ham Raises
Strength (Rdls) Lifts

Upperbody Push *Standing Press *Bench One Arm Bench

Upperbody Pull Chins Bent Rows One Arm Rows

Sample Post Season Three Day Per Week

Program
 WEIGHT TRAINING
Time:
Should not exceed 60-minutes

Frequency:
In-season: 2-3 days per week
Preparatory: 3-4 days per week

Plan:
Daily
Weekly
Annually
 WEIGHT TRAINING
Session Structure:

3’ Mobility
5’ Stability/Activation
2’ SAQ
10’ Power/Explosiveness
20’ Strength
10’ Energy Systems
Development
5’ Flexibility
55’ Total
Upperbody Push *Standing Press *Bench One Arm Bench

WEIGHT TRAINING
Upperbody Pull Chins Bent Rows One Arm Rows

Sample Post Season Three Day Per Week

Program
Monday Wednesday Friday
SandBall Clean SandBall Clean SandBall Clean
KB Clean-n-Press KB Clean-n-Press KB Clean-n-Press
Low Hurdles High-Low Hurdles Low Hurdles
CalisthenicsRope Skipping Calisthenics-Rope Skipping CalisthenicsRope Skipping

*Power Clean *Dead Lift *Hang Clean

Hang Snatch & Power
*Bench *Standing Press
Clean-n-Jerk
Bent Rows (Superset) One Arm Bench Chins (Superset)

*Front Squat One Arm Rows (Superset) *Back Squat

Lunge/Stepup/One
Jumps Work Jumps Work
Legged Squat

Rdls Jumps Work Rdls

Chins-Dips-Pushups Chins-Dips-Pushups Dips-Pushups-Curls

Stretch Stretch Stretch

 ENERGY SYSTMS
DEVELOPMENT
Rugby is an intermittent high-intensity sport, in which activities
that call for maximal strength and power (e.g. scrummaging and
sprinting) are interspersed with periods of lower-intensity aerobic
activity and rest1.

The average amount of time for continuous play at the

Collegiate/University level in the United States will last 45
seconds up to 2.5 minutes 2.

1.  Nicholas, C.W. (1997). Anthropometric and physiological characteristics of rugby union football
players. Sports Medicine, 23, 375± 396.
2.  2. Kerr, H A et al, Collegiate rugby union injury patterns in New England: a prospective cohort
study, Br J Sports Med 2008; 42:595–603
 ENERGY SYSTMS
DEVELOPMENT
Stick to your objective
(i.e. increase speed, improve endurance, etc)
Speed:
Train while you are fresh and fully recovered
Never train AFTER a training or weight session
Once speed/performance 10%, muscle recruitment shifts
from fast-twitch to slow-twitch

The only true “sports specific” training is to play that

particular sport at “game speed”
 RECOVERY

A) Performance Improvement B) Overtraining C) No change in performance

 RECOVERY
Hydration
1L of water per 1kg
of BW lost

Sleep
7-9 hours each night

10-20 minute naps

throughout the day

Maintain consistency
 RECOVERY
Cross-training
•  Cycling
•  Swimming
•  Flexibility (yoga)

Hydrotherapy
•  Ice bath 5-10min max
•  Contrast showers
•  Cold:Hot – 1:2 or 1:3
 June
PERIODIZATION July August September October November
Phase PREPARATORY PRE-COMP COMPETITION (15's)
Mesocycle (RT Zone) REHAB & RECOVERY END-LT STR END-HVY (Hyp) STR-GEN (Max) STR-SPECIFIC
EXP-HVY EXP-L MAINTENANCE

Micro cycle Type A I St St St St Sh R/I St St St Sh/I St St St St St St R/I St St St R/I St

Intensity L L L M L M H M M M H H X X M H H X L M M H X X
Volume L M H L M H H L M H M L M H M L M H M L M H M L
Load (%) N/A N/A 30 50 65 75 80 80 85 90 90 95 75 50 80-95 80-95 80-95 80-95 80-95 80-95 80-95 80-95 80-95 80-95
Sets 1-2 1-2 >12 >12 6-12 6-12 6-12 6-12 1-9 1-9 1-9 1-9 3-5 4-5 1-3 1-3 1-3 1-3 1-3 1-3 1-3 1-3 1-3 1-3
Reps 12-15 12-15 1-9 1-9 6-10 6-10 6-10 6-10 1-6 1-6 1-6 1-6 2-4 4-5 2-6 2-6 2-6 2-6 2-6 2-6 2-6 2-6 2-6 2-6
Recovery (sec) 90-120 90-120 60 60 90 90 60 60 180 180 150 180 240 180 90-180 90-180 90-180 90-180 90-180 90-180 90-180 90-180 90-180 90-180
Density
7/8 or 4-6, 0-3,
RPE <3 <3 3-4 3-4 5/6 7/8 10 5/6 8-10 8-10 8-10 8-10 Final <8 Final <5 6-8 6-8 6-8 6-8 6-8 6-8 6-8 6-8 6-8 6-8
Speed Develop Plyometric Maintain Plyometric
Conditioning AZ1 AZ2 Maximum Velocity Interval Maintain
Nutrition Improve Body Comp (P:C=.75) P=2-2.5g/kgBW Maintain Habits, Hydration, Pre/Post Training, Rest/Recovery (P:C=.45)
Mental Training Recovery Technique, Vision Reactive, KPI, Analysis
Testing

! December January February March April May

Phase TRANSITION PREPARATORY PRE-COMP PRE-COMP COMPETITION (7's) TRANSITION
Mesocycle (RT Zone) REHAB & RECOVER END-LT END-HVY (Hyp) STR-GEN (Max) STR-SPECIFIC
EXP-HVY EXP-L MAINTENANCE REHAB & RECOVERY

Micro cycle Type R/I A I St St St St St St St St St St St St R/I St St St R/I St St R/I A

Intensity L L L M M M M M H H H H M H H X L L M H X X L L
Volume L M H L M H M H M L M H M L M H M L M H M L L M
Load (%) N/A N/A 30 50 65 75 85 90 90 95 75 50 80-95 80-95 80-95 80-95 80-95 80-95 80-95 80-95 80-95 80-95 N/A N/A
Sets 1-2 1-2 >12 >12 6-12 6-12 1-9 1-9 1-9 1-9 3-5 4-5 1-3 1-3 1-3 1-3 1-3 1-3 1-3 1-3 1-3 1-3
Reps 12-15 12-15 1-9 1-9 6-10 6-10 1-6 1-6 1-6 1-6 2-4 4-5 2-6 2-6 2-6 2-6 2-6 2-6 2-6 2-6 2-6 2-6
Recovery (sec) 90-120 90-120 60 60 90 90 180 180 150 180 240 180 90-180 90-180 90-180 90-180 90-180 90-180 90-180 90-180 90-180 90-180 N/A N/A
Density
4-6, 0-3,
RPE <3 <3 3-4 3-4 5/6 7/8 8-10 8-10 8-10 8-10 Final <8 Final <5 6-8 6-8 6-8 6-8 6-8 6-8 6-8 6-8 6-8 6-8 <3 <3
Speed Develop Plyometric Maintain Plyometric
Conditioning AZ1 AZ2 Interval/RSA Maintain AZ1
Nutrition Improve Body Comp (P:C=.75) P=2-2.5g/kgBW Maintain Habits, Hydration, Pre/Post Training, Rest/Recovery (P:C=.45)
Mental Training Recovery Technique, Vision Reactive, KPI, Analysis Recovery
Testing
 Lifestyle decisions
Create a routine
 For Coaches

Incorporating S&C into

team training
 What’s in a warm-up?
Should be:
*Short, dynamic
*Specific
*Skill-based
Re-emphasize technique using mini games:
increase repetitions
control intensity
“Wake up the mind”
30 seconds per activity
encourage focus
adjust from one skill to another
 WARM-UP: TRAINING
Know the Training Objective
Ball Handling
Single hand passing variations
Passing relays/running lines
Decision Making
reactive 2 v 1
3v2
Contact
Wrestler Pummeling
Rugby ball Take-away
Plank w/ disruption
 WARM-UP: TRAINING
Example:
1 min: Single hand passing w/ partner L/R
1 min: Leg swings & Arm circles
2 min: 2-hand passing across running
channels L/R
1 min: Lunges & push-ups
2 min: 2 v 1
1 min: Plank with disruption
(alternate partners every 10sec)
1 min: Resisted 10m run with partner
2 min: Mini ruck build-up in groups of 3

Total: 10 minutes
RUGBY TRAINING SESSIONS
Be Creative
Keep players mentally engaged
Make it competitive

Game-specific & Game Speed

 WARM-UP: GAME DAY
Objective:
Physically prepare the athlete to perform and
mentally prepare the team for the strategies outlined
by the group/coach

Remember:
Every athlete, and position, need to prepare
differently (tight 5, centers, wings/fullback)

Give individuals time to do their own stretches or

focus on their own specific skill set (throwers,
kickers, etc)
 SCHEDULE: GAME DAY
Prior to Kickoff
-60min: Stretching/Activation begins
(individual or group)
-50min: Skill positions begin warm-up and reps
(throws, kicks, etc)
-35min: Units work @ ~50% pace
used as a refresher of roles and tasks
-24min: Individual preparation (water, snack, etc.)
-22min: Team Warm-up
-5min: Jerseys on and final preparation
 WARM-UP: EXAMPLE
1’ - Unit passing: Backs make 8-10m passes, Forwards make 3-5m passes
1’ - 1 v 1 Footwork (attacker) Tracking (defender)
*partner up so maximum reps are done in less time. 5 reps, then switch
roles
1’ - reactive 2v1
1’ – Water & dynamic flexibility
3’ - Unit work:
Forwards get 3-4 lineouts/mauls/scrum engagements
Backs: 2-3 reps attacking and 2-3 reps defending
2’ - Team Run
1’ – Water & dynamic flexibility/activation
1’ - Grappling/wrestling
1’ - mini ruck cleanout drill
2’ - Defensive alignment & launch hitting pads’
2’ - Ruck clean-out circuit
1’ - Water/Jerseys on
17’ - Total
 PLAYER MANAGEMENT
Team Nutrition:
Post training
Pre/Post match

Bodyweight
Are athletes able to maintain throughout the season?

Fitness Tests

Rate of Perceived Exertion

OMNI-RES Scale
Session records
 THANK YOU!

Justin Goonan, CSCS

MSc Strength & Conditioning

usstrengthandconditioning@gmail.com
Facebook: Universal Sports Strength & Conditioning
Twitter: @UniversalGoonan