Learning to squat

Squats are regarded as a key fundamental to improving a players strength & flexibility for many of the movements involved in playing rugby. Any exercise that can involve adding weight needs to be done safely and using the correct techniques

Squat Piggy Back

A good warm up for contact that also gets players thinking about their body position for tackling.

Base Strength - Squat Circuits

Squats are one of the most important whole-body exercises for rugby players, and as with all strength training, it's vital to perfect the squat technique before adding weights. Here are a few examples of a good squatting technique along with other exercises to put into a quick body-weight circuit.

Fitness - Body squats

Body squats are one of the four main exercises recommended by conditioning coaches to increase your strength & power. This clip shows you the techniques you need plus the progressions

Front Squat technique

Lifting weights is a complex method of developing a young player's power and strength. Following specific guidelines with specialist coaches is the only way to learn. Here, the 'squat' is implemented in a safe and secure environment with a qualified coach to support

Techniques for squatting

Getting techniques right for using weights is the first thing that should be practised and mastered as part of any strength & conditioning program

Warm up standing exercises

An effective way to prepare the body for working out is using the body weight exercises such as the squat - here use a partner to work with

Body Climbing

In this warm-up exercise, one player squats and holds up their partner, as they climb all the way around their body. Players must work together, and engage key muscle groups in their entire body.

CCRU Game - Passing Pairs

Aim of the game: In pairs, walk, jog or run around the grid, passing to their partner only when they call for the ball. Other players will be obstructing their vision and the flight of the pass, so decisions on when to pass will need to be developed

Fitness - Bodyweight Circuits

When players have mastered the squat and plank techniques, they can incorporate them into a bodyweight circuit, that can be developed to suit various fitness levels. Challenge yourselves to decrease the rest time between sets and perform each exercise for longer as you progress.

CCRU Game - Hare and Hounds

Description of activity: Arrange the players so one player in each pair has the ball. The players stand next to each other, inside the marked out working area, with the rest of the group. On the call of go the ball carrier tries to lose his partner. After a short while, the coach blows his whistle to stop all the players. All of the players must stand still and not move their feet. If the hounds can tag the hair, without moving their feet all going off balance, the hound gains a point–if not, their hair games the point. You can now reverse the roles. This can be repeated a number of times and each individual should keep their own score

Back To Back Pre Contact Wrestle

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.

Modern Coaching at Oaklands College

This clip provides a summary of how coaches at Oaklands college - Saracens academy partners - approach training and provide some examples of both "What to coach" and "How to coach"

Broncos Agility - Mirroring

Trying to copy or mirror the movements of your training partners works on both your attacking and defensive skills, small steps and fast feet are terms and techniques used to improve the players movement. In this exercise a unit of forwards trains with focus but in a fun and competitive environment

Back-to-back Wrestle

Players sit back-to-back and link arms. The coach calls either left or right, and the players try to get the corresponding shoulder to the ground; thus fighting against their partner. A great warm up before going into contact.

Learning to Tackle - Under 9's & Up

The RFU new rules of play have completely changed the approach of introducing young players to tackling. A phased approach may challenge previous methods however by viewing the practical session on this video you can see how the process works

Piggy Back Warm Up

One person in a strong squat position, other player in the piggy back position. Player on the back tries to work round the other players body to the start position without putting their feet on the floor.

3-man lifting practice with pads

Progress lifting practises with more movement as is required in matches. The coach can alter things to make the exercise easier or more demanding. Key factors : Communication - Fast feet - Straight back - Squat / bend the knee's - Lock out arms

Fitness - Jumps for power

The best way to increase your power without expensive equipment is to integrate power-jumps into your training programme. S&C coach Jack Crehan explains how certain jumps can increase your power and how and when do do them

Training for Power

Power is essential for performance on the rugby field, and should be a part of every rugby player's physical training. Here are some 'power jump' exercises that you can include in your personal S&C programmes.

Scrum Factory - 2. Tower of Power Demonstration

Good body posture is essential and applicable to all players regardless of age and gender
This posture transfers to the tackle, ruck, maul and in a vertical plain the lineout, so it is important that all players are coached to adopt good posture in contact

Scrum Factory - 7. Isometric Neck Stretches

It is important to note that with these exercises, the neck pushes against the arm and not the arm pushing against the neck

Scrum-half Passing Exercises

Some useful exercises for scrum-halves to develop their passing skills.

Scrum Factory - 3. TOP With Rugby Balls

Expensive training equipment is not necessary and the simple rugby ball can provide an excellent technical and conditioning work out

Fun Tackling Games

Try these fun games for any junior team. They are a great way to introduce tackle safety whilst keeping your players entertained.

Scrum Half Passing with Chris Cusiter - Wrist Warm-Up

Sale Sharks and Scotland scrum half Chris Cusiter leads a session on passing from the base of a scrum or ruck. In this first video, Chris addresses basic technique in a couple of exercises that warm up the wrists and arms.

Ground work is crucial to retain possession

It is important for players to practice working hard on the ground to get the ball presented back to their team. This session uses bodyweight exercises to practice the movement and enforces it with a conditioned game.

Scrum half pass with Lee Dickson

Lee Dickson leads a passing session at the Northampton saints summer training camp. The focus is on doing the simple things well and progressing the practises to make things more challenging

Ground Work and Ball Presentation

It is important for players to practice working hard on the ground to get the ball presented back to their team. This session uses bodyweight exercises to practice the movement and enforces it with a conditioned game. Log in to see the full video.

Training at Home

Players can develop their ability by putting in extra work outside of their rugby training sessions. Premiership coaches explain the benefits of training at home.

Scrum Technique Progressions for youths

Working from a single players body position to a full scrum can be daunting for some coaches. In this clip there are simple steps to progress and the technical points are consistent

Conditioning for Young Players

Even if players are too young to go to the gym, it can be beneficial for them to do bodyweight exercises that help to prepare their bodies for more physical rugby in future years. Sam Bennett from Leeds Carnegie highlights some of the key points for young players to consider, which apply to all players at amateur or competitive level.

Training at Home

Premiership coaches discuss the benefits of extra-curricular training at home and participation in other sports to develop skills.

Fitness - Body circuits are crucial

All elite fitness coaches will recommend body circuits for all rugby players. No player should be using weights unless they have followed a good core body weight program. This body circuit can be applied to junior players and senior players. We have other video clips that show the techniques in more detail

Conditioning - Warm-up & Speed Work

Warm up exercises and techniques are used to teach the body the mechanics of movement and potentially how to improve. Accurate technique is important and the trainer uses a variety of games and races to make it fun and competitive

Quins - Warm up Wrestling for defence

This exercise can be used as part of a general warm up or specifically in preparation for contact. It can be fun but also physically demanding and good for conditioning. Younger players may benefit from the confidence of ground contact prior to learning how to tackle

Learning to grubber Kick

A series of technical exercises and games to coach the grubber kick. The coach is clear in his explanations and uses questioning with his players to reinforce the key points. The games include some fun moments

2v1 Creating and Executing

This video takes you through how best to execute 2v1 situations as well as how to create more opportunities for your team.

Falcons - Grip skills & ball control

The more control you have of the rugby ball, the more accurate you will be with your handling. Practising your grip and ball control is important for all players but especially for younger players to avoid getting into bad habits. These are practises that can and should be done anywhere, at home or in the garden.

Harlequins Academy - Warm-Up

The warm-up is an essential part of training and match preparation. Here's an example from Harlequins Academy on how to prepare for a handling session.

Teaching minis to pass backwards - full session

Learning to pass backwards is fundamental to rugby newcomers. This session brings minis out of a game for a few minutes to focus on that key skill, before taking them back into the game. Note the emphasis on questioning, development and how feedback changes depending on the ability of the child.

New Scrum Laws - Tips and skills

A current professional prop works with Under 18's to explain the new laws and challenges their body positions and how to improve them

Learning to punt Kick

The coach explains the technical points to enable players to deliver a punt kick. The coach uses examples and questions the players for feedback and confirmation of understanding

Seven's - Speed Training

See some of the exercises the England 7's players go through for fitness & speed

Kick accurately - Technical Points

The box kick is an important tool in modern rugby tactics. A well-executed box kick along with a strong kick-chase can put teams under a lot of pressure, forcing errors, gaining territory and often reclaiming the ball. This video focuses specifically on how the ball should be struck for distance and accuracy. This can be transferred to punt kicks as well.

Functional Movement Importance - Example Routine

Here we highlight the importance of functional movement and core exercises in developing a stronger, more athletic Rugby player. Including a quick circuits routine.

Ball Balance - Core Stability

Get in pairs. One player starts in a plank position with a rugby ball placed under each hand trying to stay in the plank position. The other player walks around a gently nudges and pushes the player working. The work aims to stay stable on the balls.

Attacking Lines: Unders and Overs

Using different angles of running confuses tacklers and pulls a defensive unit out of line. Learning the skills to both run these lines and pass the ball accurately is key to any ambitious team looking to attack and offload

Tackling Aussie Style

Australian coaches across all age groups have a slightly different approach to teaching the tackle, or do they? You can take a few of their tips and integrate them into your coaching process

Breakdown - Win the collision

A series of progressions that develop the skills required for players to manage and possibly dominate contact

The Breakdown Battle

The breakdown is becoming more important in rugby and elite coaches are delivering more detailed training sessions to teach the basic skills required to be effective and make decisions quickly and accurately

Lineout Lifting Fundamentals - Get started

An effective line out is based upon the fundamentals of movement, jumping and lifting. James Cannon from London Wasps takes some amateur players through the basic skills and techniques

Adapt Your Coaching Style

There are significant changes in the approach to "How best to coach" with regards your coaching style and delivery skills. Here are some examples from some of the Premierships top coaches

Building the scrummage

The new scrum laws are providing a challenge for all levels of the game, here Jon Curry from Northampton saints questions junior players on their knowledge, clarifies his interpretation and provides some practical answers and solutions to executing an effective scrum

Scrum - Tighthead tips for Senior Players

The dark arts are not for all of us, but the minority of specialists will benefit from this clip. You can share this video with those who should see it. Go into the video library where you can send it on - RCD Video Library

Running Lines in Attack

Modern defensive lines are well-organised and hard to break. It depends on the quality execution of attacking fundamentals. A good introduction is 'unders' and 'overs' running lines. Log in to see the full session.

Expert Passing

Elite Sixth form players showcase that good passing technique is essential to become a good rugby player. The pass has some simple but very important components that need to be practised

How Gloucester academy prepare for matches

See how the Gloucester academy manager prepares his squad prior to an academy fixture. The warm up includes lots of games, stretching and unit skills with a gradual increase in intensity

Contact Conditioning Intervals

Get your players ready for contact with these exercises, warming up the body for a season of collisions. Start with 1 minute on 1 minute off and play about with the intervals!

How to Invite Club Members to Join

This video walks you through the simple process of inviting members to join your club.

Teaching minis to pass backwards

Learning to pass backwards is fundamental to rugby newcomers. This session brings minis out of a game for a few minutes to focus on that key skill, before taking them back into the game. Note the emphasis on questioning, development and how feedback changes depending on the ability of the child.

Kicking - The Drop / Ball Placement

Dropping the ball properly is considered the main priority for many kickers, if they get the drop right then the other techniques fall into place. Dave Walder from the Newcastle Falcons explains some of the skills

Managing the Referee

When it comes to senior rugby, managing the referee becomes a big part of the game. You can practice your discipline and execution of tackle and breakdown technique or competing for high ball, but it is also important to have players who can talk to referees in the correct manner.

Coaching tackle technique in groups

The ability to move from 1 to 1 tackling exercises into unit & group skills can be tricky. Here are some tips that you could use

Tag Game - Hare and Hound Sausage and Bacon

Keep mixing up the the different versions of TAG to keep the players interested and experiencing new challenges

The Lineout Game - Lifting techniques

The Lineout Game - Lifting techniques

Scrum Factory - 15. Binding

The bind should be secure as opposed to tight. A secure hand grip will enable the players to react to pressure whereas a tight bind may limit the ability to respond and change position

Scrum Factory - 6. TOP Stick Work

By using sticks and poles, the players are encouraged to self assess their body shape. Peer coaching is also a valuable process in this area and players can work in pairs, quickly learning from each other

Defence - Tackle Progressions

Understanding tackle techniques and the progressions is integral for all coaches as a basic fundamental in coaching contact. The IRB "rugby ready" course provides a step by step approach to compliment the technques in this section

Complimentary Attack

Complimentary Attack

Level 2 - Second Row Bind - Walk Around Bind

Level 2 - Second Row Bind - Traditional Bind

Level 2 - Second Row Bind - Traditional Bind

Introduction to tackling - Step 2

The transition from practicing tackling on knees to tackling on feet starts with the tackler remaining on their knees and the ball-carrier walking past. Then progress to having both players on their feet, but still executing the tackle at a controlled, walking pace.

Quick Ball Presentation Drills

Use these quick and competitive games to practice good and strong ball presentation. Practice with high standards and it will come naturally in the games!

Quick Ball Presentation Drills

Use these quick and competitive games to practice good and strong ball presentation. Practice with high standards and it will come naturally in the games!

England Sevens - Tom Mitchell - Conditioning Circuit

7s training

Gloucester Warm Up

Coaching is constantly changing and so does the "Warm Up", this clip goes inside the Gloucester academy squad during their end of season finals at the Allinaz stadium. You should find some new ideas

Using Questions to Coach (Kicking Technique)

How to coach - The coach uses questioning as his main coaching style. The players identify the technical points with the coach providing prompts and reinforcement