I’m 22 years old, recently transferred to university of new mexico as a junior.
Stats:
Height: 5’10"
Weight: 225 lbs
Bench: 345 lbs
Mile: 6:25ish (After 1 mile im dead, longest run in past 6 months was 4 miles)
Never played Rugby but was wondering what position may work best for me and/or if a guy with no experience would even have a chance in joining a college rugby team (its club but apparently still competitive)
Also, if I do have a chance at making the team, what conditioning would i want to focus on? My long distance conditioning is pretty poor, I was an all conference swimmerin highschool though and can get back into cardiovascular shape.
Would focusing on leg strength and just cranking out miles on the treadmill with some agility work, be most effective?
You’re going to be one of the strongest guys on the pitch in college/club rugby. I play division 1 club rugby, and a lot of the guys just don’t hit the weights. They do however run their asses off. You can be strong as hell but (unless you play prop) you’ll suck without great endurance. Remember that rugby is played in two 40 minute halves with very few stoppages.
You need to work on both aerobic and anaerobic endurance. Don’t just crank out miles on the treadmill. Rugby is an “intermittent sprint sport” - it’s mostly staying mobile to get to certain spots on the field and then a few seconds of violent, max effort (repeat).
You will be well served by HIIT and barbell complexes for endurance.
I was the league MVP for Fraternity Football the past two years at my old school playing both sides. I played MLB on Defense and split time between RB and FB on offense.
Not sure my exact 40 but no one is going to confuse me for a D1 100m sprinter on the field. I am agile and quick for my size though. I don’t think I really ever got beat by someone in the open field when I was playing MLB. I made most of the tackles on kickoffs.
My hands are ok, but not great. Was fine with controlled sweeps and triple options in football, but I didn’t take kickoffs. My footwork is fairly good. My footwork is pretty good, used to box, can juke in the open field, and played select soccer (the league above A) leading up to highschool.
Would intervals work, say 90% for 1/8-1/4 mile, slow jog 1/4-1/2 mile, repeat, or 75 meter sprint, slowly jog back, rest 15 seconds, repeat?
Centre if you like the try line, but you wont see much action on an edge. It is for the glory boys haha.
If you like to roll your sleeves up and be close to the action, I would suggest flanker. Plenty of work in the middle, fast to the breakdown and pilering but best of all picking off the 9 and 10 at the scrum.
You have enough size to do the job and your athleticism will make you dangerous in both defence and attack.
Centre - pros include getting the ladies, getting all the credit and keeping model good looks.
cons include not much football somedays and being laughed at by the Rugby community.
Flanker - pros include being part of the engine room and the most respected part of the team. High work rate and an opportunity to belt people.
cons include end of the modelling career and possibly lining up against the pound for pound best player on the opposition.
Great centres in history include - ?? Some glory boy who noone remembers.
Great flankers include immortals like Richie M (NZ), Phil Waugh (Aus) and George S (Aus)
Ideally I think I’d like to play flanker. Hitting is by far my favorite part of contact sports, and I’d rather be crushing someone then standing around waiting to go for a try untouched. And matching up against the pound for pound strongest guy on the other team would be a welcome challenge.
While I’m a decent enough looking guy, I think I gave up my modeling career about 15 bar fights ago, so not an issue, haha.
Conditioning wise you will need to find the balance between speed, strength and endurance.
In most rotations you will likely to be expected to play the full 80 minutes. Unlike the other pigs, you will also be expected to be first at the breakdown to pilfer, meaning you will need to have an even better motor (not hard, especially compared to the front row)
You will need speed off the scrum and pretty good footwork to pressure the 9 and 10. This speed will also help when you are expected in cover defence (usually after a missed tackle from a back).
Hands, feet and agility is what you need with the footy. Modern flankers along with the number 8 are ball players these days. While you will help the pigs with dirty go forward, on set plays you will be expected to run cold lines and hit holes at pace created by your play makers.
PM for the NSW Waratah’s pre season program for flankers if you like.