Rugby: Ball Balance - Core Stability

*AUDIO DESCRIPTION ON*

Players sit back to back, arms interlocked and knees bent. The coach says left or right. The players must battle to pull their partner to the floor on the said side.

Involve a ball in your warm-up.

Get players to pass the ball around their head to flex the neck and shoulders.

Players stand back to back with coloured cones either side. When the coach shouts go both player run around their white cones. The coach shouts a colour and the ballc carrier runs towards that cone. If the attacker runs to the tacklers left hand side they must tackle with their left shoulder, if they run right they must tackle with their right shoulder.

This is the second exercise in a series of three that can be put together to form a contact conditioning circuit. The circuit can be sets of 30 seconds of hard work followed by 30 seconds of rest. Swap in this circuit for your usual fitness routine to give the players something a bit more interesting and transferable to a game. 

Alternatively, this would be a great exercise to include as part of a warm up.

• Players work individually, picking up a tackle sausage and driving it into the ground. 

• Repeat for the whole 30 seconds.

This exercise will develop your players core strength, which is immensely important in most areas of the game.

Moreover, this exercise simulates how players will have to maintain power in a game. For example when going from making a tackle to then contesting the ruck.

0.40 - What is the purpose of these conditioning circuits?