Rugby: Wrestling off the floor | Contact Conditioning Circuit Exercise 1

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? 

This is the third 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 in pairs, one player holds a tackle bag behind a tackle sausage.
• The other player makes a low tackle on the sausage and then drives through, clearing out the player holding the tackle bag.
• This player then goes to ground and gets back up to complete another repetition in the other direction.
• It is the job of the player holding the tackle bag to lift up the tackle sausage after each repetition.

This drill will increase players overall fitness levels while being very relevant to game situations. 

0.21 - Why is this important for players?

• Groups of 3 
• Ball

One Player lies in a Long placement on the floor. 

Another player (Jackaler) comes over the top of the player, to compete for ball. 

Another player pushes, pulls and tries to make the player off balance. 

• The players in their groups of 3 stand between the lines of the inner square with the working group stood inside the other players.
• The first group of 3 begins by running across the grid passing the ball. When they reach the centre the ball is put down an they then run at the players with the pads (on their left) each pushing their player to the outer square. The players then swap.
• The pad players run across to the tackle bags and push and tackle the bags to the outer square.
• Players swap again now the new 3 players (third group) run to the ball pick it up and take the ball turn right to face the 3 players on the 12 o'clock side of the square and run into contact for the ball carrier to present the ball.
• This ball is then picked up by the 3 players being pushed back and the drill starts again.
• Keep the tempo of this exercise high.

Note: You can change the position of each activity within the training area - but that will impact on the instructions to coaches. Players can basically go in any direction, but they do need to communicate and work as a unit. Don't get to hung up on where players should be going, or in what order.