Rugby

I have never played rugby before, and i want to try out for a club team. The coach said that about 70 percent of the players didnt know how to play when they began, so thats not really a problem. But i wanted to know if there is any training (more cardio or specific exercises, etc.) i should start doing now to get ready, and if i should expect to get my face rearranged or just a black eye. By nature im a big guy, and i lift a lot, but i think that i may have to change some things. thanks in advance

egocide

[MrTrik]

I played all through college. You can kinda split a rugby team into two groups. The 'big' guys that participate in the scrum and the 'littler' guys that comprise the wing. The 'big' and 'little' tags are relative, but the wingers like the inside, outside, full, etc are the faster running and kicking guys and the scrum guys are usually the taller much larger individuals. Both are equally important in the game.

Anyway ... if you are looking to play outside of the scrum group (I mean on the wing) I'd work on footwork, sprinting, and ball handling. Lot's of kicking as well. Standard punting, dropkicking, and kicking from the ground. Work on the ball on ground techniques -- these take time and the experienced wingers can do amazing stuff in the open field.

For the Scrum types -- footwork and strength. Especially leg streangth and shoulders.

Either way, the more endurance and burst speed you have the more effective you'll be.

Oh, and real game experience is the ONLY way you'll perfect the techniques. So be patient.
Good luck.

[MrTrik]

I forgot to adress the black eye part of the question.

In rugby everyone on the field gets banged up a great deal. Playing in pain is one of the most valuable abilities any rugger can have. Expect to bump heads, head to knee, deep quad bruises, and occasional blood. I had an issue with sub-dural hematomas on my shins and routinely had to have them drained. The game is so fun it's easy to forget about a cut or bruise here and there during a competition. The real pain comes the next morning after the games are over and your team 'won' the party which usually comprises way over-indulging in beer, gin, or whatever your taste dictates.

The hardest part of the aches and pains is rugby is usually a full weekend event. With games on Saturday, party that night, games on Sunday, and party that night. Sundays are the much more painful days. I'm not sure if your league will do it like we did, but we always played 4 team (or more) weekend tourneys either at our own pitch or on the road a various college towns or just towns with a club.

[SoCalRugger]

I'm assuming you'll be a forward, since they're the bigger guys. Definitely work on leg strength for the scrum. And work on endurance, since you'll be expected to go a full 80 minutes most of the time, and there are no breaks like football. As a forward you won't be expected to make long sprints down field with the ball (that's left to the backs), but you do need to move around the field to hit the rucks and mauls. You also need to get used to getting hit hard, then getting right back up and running again.

Generally, injuries aren't much worse than cuts and bruises. Sometimes there's concussions, broken noses, or someone messes up a knee or ankle. But as long as you learn the proper technique for tackling and going into a tackle, those don't happen as much as someone new to the game might think at first.

[diebitter]

There's a saying about this:

Soccer/American Football is for boys
Rugby is for men
(and Ice Hockey is for maniacs)

[rusty JEDI]

Rugby is for all the fat kids who think its all muscle. You probably know the type. They are the fat pieces of [censored] that become bouncers at dumpy bars.

Its basically all the kids who didnt have any skills to make a real sports team.

rJ

[brendons31]

[ QUOTE ]
Rugby is for all the fat kids who think its all muscle. You probably know the type. They are the fat pieces of [censored] that become bouncers at dumpy bars.

Its basically all the kids who didnt have any skills to make a real sports team.

rJ

[/ QUOTE ]

Lol, what the [censored], you should make a trip over to new zealand and say that. Rugby players are fine athletes, and it takes a lot of skill to be a good rugby player. Here rugby isn't just a sport, its pretty much a religion.

I see you come from canada, and its well known that canadian rugby is a joke, so maybe what you say is the case over there but not elsewhere.

[rusty JEDI]

Yes, I can agree with you. I have watched it on TV and it does seem the leading nations are quite good and seem to have the top athletes entering that sport.

However, even at the top levels it still looks like just a bunch of oversized sweaty big guys bumping up against each other.

rJ

[SoCalRugger]

It's clear you have absolutely no idea what the [censored] you're talking about.

[Yeti]

I assume everyone in this thread is referring to Union, not League? If so, you all suck.