In many cultures outside of the United States, rugby is an ancient institution. Small children play barefoot, bigger children play flag, and touch rugby is a constant presence in school yards or neighborhood streets. Solid rugby skill sets are often second nature for players by junior high.
The United States rugby culture, at one time a rich and vibrant one, has for the most part been forgotten. Limited rugby exposure at youth levels often leaves high school athletes without the basics. Unfortunately, many Takkle blog readers may not receive sound coaching until the college or men’s levels.
Luckily for you, we know a guy who can help. U.S. international Kort Schubert has certainly navigated the professional and world rugby paths, which can seem dark and lonely for the few Americans who travel them. This week we asked Kort how to accelerate the learning curve. After picking Kort’s brain for a while it becomes clear why he’s moved from the High School fields of Sacramento, Calif. to Wales’ Cardiff Arms Park, one of rugby’s most hallowed grounds.
RZ: As a high school rugby player, what are the things that an athlete should concentrate on in order to successfully transition to the college rugby level?
KS: A high school athlete looking to play college rugby should focus on core rugby skills – passing, catching, tackling, and evasive running, etc. These are skills that every player has control over, meaning that they don’t necessarily need to play an actual game of rugby to improve. Other skills like field positioning and running lines can be learned and honed with game experience. I’ve found that high school players sometimes lack these core skills when entering college and find themselves struggling to compete, especially when fatigue sets in. So, my advice would be to find a training partner and practice the basic core skills such as:
1) Passing off both hands while running full speed (varying the speed of run and distance between each player to practice short and long passes)
2) Making 1-on-1 tackles in a 5 or 10 meter channel (varying between right and left shoulder tackles)
3) Beating a defender in a 5 or 10-meter channel by being evasive (i.e., using your feet to offset the defender)
RZ: Fitness is an obvious key to succeeding in rugby. What are some of the things you emphasize in your conditioning so that you can be a factor for all 80 minutes of a match?
KS: I emphasize mixing up my routine to include aerobic and anaerobic sessions along with speed and agility exercises. For example, on one day I may run 2-to-4 miles on a treadmill and then 2 days later, run 10-x-100 meter sprints with a 1:2 work to recovery ratio (meaning I would rest twice as long as it would take me to run the sprint before starting the next run). Having had multiple knee surgeries, I also like to incorporate low-impact sessions like boxing and pool workouts which allow me to reach my target heart rate without putting too much strain on my knees. Ultimately, each individual player needs to cater their conditioning workouts to address their own strengths and weaknesses. For instance, if you can maintain roughly the same times over 10 100s but tire easily after running 1 mile then you might want to focus on improving your aerobic fitness levels by doing longer sessions at lower intensity.
RZ: How much does weight training factor into your training regimen?
KS: The amount of weight training I do usually depends on the time of year. If I am in-season, I will try to get in the weight room at least twice a week to maintain my strength levels throughout the season. During the off season, I try to lift 3-to-4 times a week with the goal of increasing my overall strength and power levels. Because of the knee surgeries, I also incorporate some low-impact exercises into my routine to strengthen my quad and core muscles to help support my knee joints.
RZ: Of the rugby clubs you have played for, which had the most demanding practices, and what did the training consist of?
KS: Training sessions at Northampton and Cardiff would have been most demanding in terms of fitness and physicality. Players are constantly battling for positions and thus the intensity levels remain high throughout the week. In contrast, most of the sessions with the National Team are focused on preparing to play a test match that weekend and result in more tactical and structured drills and team run-throughs. Overseas, fitness sessions were constant in order to maintain high fitness levels throughout a 9-month season. We would usually train hard the first 2-to-3 days of the week and then taper off towards game day. Sessions would include a series of anaerobic games and rugby specific fitness drills where we would hit pads, run sprints, play touch, etc with the goal of reaching and maintaining our target heart rates for a set period of time before recovering and repeating.
RZ: When watching professional or international rugby, what are some things a young rugby player should concentrate on to elevate their own game?
KS: Earlier in my career, when I had a lot of free time to watch Tri-Nations and Six-Nations matches, I would always focus on the backrow – their positioning after set pieces and in open play, running lines, tackling technique, etc. When watching top level matches, individual players should focus on players in their position and how they approach different situations. For example, if you are a flyhalf, you should always take notice of when a flyhalf kicks, when he passes, when he runs and why. If a 10 is in his own 22 and the opposing wing is playing up, he will most likely kick to the open space in behind the wing. American born players sometimes overlook these key aspects of the game and instead focus their attention on the big physical runs and hard tackles. I would watch Lawrence Dallaglio, Zinzan Brooke, Olivier Magne, Josh Kronfeld, among others.
-Rugbyzone
Schubert watched loose forwards Lawrence Dallaglio (left) who played for the London Wasps, England and the Lions, and legendary All Black Zinzan Brooke to learn how to handle game situations.
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1 comments:
It is interesting how you talk about the skills a player can control. This is very true. In order to be a good player, forget about hits and tries at first. Get good at those things and the hits and tries will come in droves. Well put Kort.
Zinzan Brook was not a bad person to look to for how to play the game.
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