Rugby Articles   

It is believed that rugby was born from the imagination of the ancient Greeks, as common origin of many other games, however the game was not considered a sport until the French adopted this game in which two teams were disputing the possession of a ball introducing a prize for the winners.

Sometimes you just have to be there. Television is great but can only capture so much. The joy of seeing your team winning is all the sweeter when you can say you were there to witness it.

England rugby international Mike Tindall’s recent horrific injury has brought into focus just how dangerous it can be to play the game, and reminds amateur players that they should ensure they are adequately insured before they take to the field.

The rugby world cup starts in France on Friday, 7th September and anyone considering going to any matches needs to ensure that they have planned ahead for tickets, accommodation, and transport

Players at a leading Australian rugby club who undertook a high-intensity off-season strength training program experienced dramatically fewer non-contact injuries during the playing season than their less committed club mates. It is suggested that the lower incidence of injury might be attributable to an emphasis on improving basic strength and the use of rugby-specific strength equipment.

Strong hip flexors provide an advantage in a wide range of sports and athletic activities but they are the most neglected muscle group in strength training. The problem in developing hip flexor strength has been the lack of appropriate exercises, but the development of flexor-specific apparatus offers great potential for fully developing these muscles.

The body height of rugby players in mauls tends to be very much higher than in scrums. High body positions are inefficient for generating forward momentum. There would be advantages in training players to pack at thigh height rather than waist height.

Rugby football involves prolonged physical engagements between players where they are subjected to loading substantially greater than their own body weight. An ability to very rapidly generate force is advantageous in these areas of physical engagement. In addition to basic strength training, players need to undertake activity-specific training for explosive strength.

Rugby players are more involved in physical contact and for longer periods than players in other forms of football. With the exception of American football, they tend to be significantly heavier than other footballers.

Strength training in rugby has tended to focus on hypertrophy or maintaining strength levels rather than achieving full potential strength, but in the future there is likely to be a concentration on heavy, very mobile players who possess very high-range explosive strength.