Rugby- Flank/8 questions.?

Question

Hey. I'm going to be joining u15s soon, i've got 3 years of previous experience from school and a club. I really, REALLY want to take it up in the future (professionally) and soon scouting begins for academies. I want to be on top game, so i was wondering what the best training for Flank/8 would be, which could improve my speed and strength quite a bit aswell as fitness.

Also, would i want to have a six pack like stomach or a chubby one? Odd to ask, but it's for the "mass" and for more weight behind tackles.ect. and it's confusing me.

As i said, i would like to know the best training methods, i lift 18kg weights and i'm going to start uphill sprints.ect. (For extra information, i way 12 stone something, and i'm nearly 5 foot 10. I'm quite fit i guess but could be fitter.)

Thanks guys! I'll reply to this if i have any more questions :)

Answer 1

flanker/ 8 has to be very very very fit. and preferably fast.

to be fit you have to run. long distances. on a treadmill. around a track. 30 or 40 minutes at a time.

but to maintain speed you have to exercise your fast twitch muscles. which means no long slow runs. so in your long running, you want to mix in some sprints, some interval training. so jog X distance, and sprint the same distance, then jog Y distance, and sprint Y distance and so on.

for increasing your speed try doing some stairs. sprint up, jog down. hop up. jog down. hop on one leg. etc.

sprints; do ten 20 meter sprints, followed by ten 30 meter sprints, and then ten 50 meter sprints, then ten 70s etc.

plyometrics. look em up online.

running in the pool.

running at the beach

swim (since youre going to be running in the pool anyway) this stresses your cardio vascular system by employing muscles you dont normally use. the "fitter" your lungs and heart are, the easier it is for you to recover.

rock climbing

etc etc etc.

Answer 2

Well, I've been playing on the flank for a while now and I discovered one good training programme I use pre-season and in season to improve my fitness. I found it in Rugby World magazine around '97. It was used by Neil Back (I hope you know who he is). OK, so warm-up and then: do 150m in 19-22sec, rest for 90 sec - repeat 6 times / pause 3 mins / do 120m in 17-19sec, rest for 60 sec - repeat 6 times / pause 3 mins / do 100m in 14-16sec, rest for 45 sec - repeat 6 times

Very rewarding, also good to measure improvement. Measure distance with steps (120 steps=100 meters, if not very fit take 100 steps as 100 meters ;)), measure all marks in advance and mark with branch or plastic bottle or piece of paper so you can see it clearly (you will be dying to catch a breath, eyes half closed ;)

Another one, simple and a bit easier:

6x25m, 4x50m, 2x75m, 1x100m, walk back to start for recovery (simple to do on pitch, use try, center and 22m lines as marks).

One simple plan for fitness before you start sprints (if you are not fit, start with these): go jog for 12mins then turn around and run to the start (same distance) under 10 mins. Next time do 14mins jog and run same distance under 12mins. In time increase to ratio 16/14 even 18/16.

Don't run longer than 40mins it will slow you down. Keep training short and intense (like game is).

If doing upstairs or uphill sprints you MUST run the same distance on straight (how do you say? Horizontal, water-level?) ground. So for example, if you do 5x100 stairs sprint in the same session do 5x100 meters sprint. Also run 2 stairs each step - or you may end up running using retarded small steps in game, and people think you are a weirdo (that happened to me, too much upstairs, one stair at a time, not running on level ground after). But there is no better way of improving fitness than UPSTAIRS - you will die, but when playing, when everybody else is dying, you will still be able to go (like Duracell)!

Running is most important for flanker (and rugby in general) but you will need strenght also. Do pushups - you don't need weights. Start with maximum repetitions, practice until you can make 50 reps x 5. Then you are ready to move on to the weights. Best strenght excersise is lifting yourself on a bar (don't know the english name for it, maybe lift-ups?) do it regularly and you willl be an animal.

One more thing- listen to your body - if you are tired, don't train, train the next day :)

Good luck!

Answer 3

Well the best way of getting fit to play flanker or No.8 is to do alot of running and short sprints and kick your footie around were ever it lands sprint up and grab it and do some sit ups and then repeat this over and over and I promise you this technic will work I use to play rugby and made the Queensland development squad because of the training i put my self throw and that technic I told you to do will make you more alert and quicker on the field cause thats what No.8's and flankers are for thats there job on the field to get to the ball first and on the breakdowns.

Answer 4

I am going up into u15's too, but unlike you i have played rugby all my life. I have lots of experience in the second row, but i'm extremely fit and fast so i can play openside-blindside too. I have changed clubs, been captain for a year, i played for a district team last year, and im currently training with the under 15's swansea shcoolboys team, very intense, very mentally tough sessions. i train everyday for at least 2 hours, but i'm out most of the week with rugby anyway. I too play for the school team. Fitness is everything this year, the fitter you are the better your game will be, and easyer. if you're a very good player and not fit you will not succed in the style of rugby you want to play. Stopping and starting is sjut as important as long runs. If you think, say you go for an hour's run  well if you think you're not running for a n hour in arugby game are you? you are htting rucks, stopping for lineouts, sprinting mostly, so i'd say if you were too do some sprints, go for a run everyday at  least half an hour , cardio is very important, at this age you should not lift heavy weights, al though very heavy ones are great it will do you growth a lot of harm. Lighter, more reps are they key, you are highly likely to get ***-kicked in rugby from now on if you don't do any core stability or any weight training, even the "little guys" in international rugby nail those beasty second -rows don't they? take shane williams, of wales he kills those bigger guys simply because of strength and "no fear". Most people can get away with a big stomach in rugby, but the six-pack is not essential, you probably want to be jsut liek your favourtite player with the perfect body don't you?>

well that is a sign of extremly hard work and healthy eating. TRy and watch a few games, lookat your position, try do what he does. Does he run around at a decent pace doing nothing , or is he the 1st person there (the ruck) a lot of sprints will help you a lot!The more weight training you do the more weight you will be putting on anyway, by running you will sacrifice muscle but that's not a prob if you do running and weights, your body will need to work twice as hard when you are heavy, adjsut to your weight work as hard as you think you  need to. I understand you mate, as someone your age it is frustrating right?

we all wanna be pro's. See you :)

good luck :)

Answer 5

Try urgent speed. Lie on the ground, put different colours on the ground with numbers stick to a cone or something. Then lie on the ground facing the other way to the cones. Get a mate to shout out a number or a colour and then you have to get up and run to the colour or number he calls out. This will help your speed and your concentration.

Answer 6

Coincidentaly i play u16s,5'10 and play the loose three or any position for that matter.

But the best excersises are polymeteric as they build your fast twitch muscles allowing you to have bursts of high speed and agility just what we need at are fast positions.

Dont go "oh i want a six pack" your not a back son! your abs arent really a key muscle group in rugby its more back,legs and upper body strength orientated with abs usualy being formed when your doing all the training.

For strength training try decent amounts of wieghts but your looking just to be doing your traps(shoulders) legs, pects(chest) and arms are key for flankers etc.

If you haev anymore qusetions you can send me an e-mail.