Anyone got a good sprint workout for rugby?
Yes. Run fast, stop, repeat. Holding funny ball optional. 
I’m kidding of course, but really, do you need a “special” sprinting program for rugby? Can’t you just go do sprints once every 5-6 days in place of hammie work in the weight room? Whats the goal of the sprints? To build muscle or run faster? If it’s the latter, then read Coach Davies stuff about game speed vs. track speed. It was in one of his interviews at T-mag. Davies programs may be better suited for you.
(To TEK)Whats the name of that article…I used the search feature but couldn’t find it. Yes, the purpose is to run faster, not necessarilly build muscle also. As for your proposed program “run fast…stop, etc…” if I could run fast I wouldn’t be asking for a sprint program…
Either “Gun for Hire” or “Sunday, Bloody Sunday.” Both by Shugs I think.
rugby’s not about sprints, it’s intervals. You gotta get used to jogging, then running hard, then sprinting. i do a ratio of 2:1, jogging to sprinting, until I can barely breathe. Take a 10 min break, and repeat. short sprints, 15-30 yds, do increase acceleration, but you need to last 80 minutes. Who do you play rugby for?
Try a long run with sprint intervals. It’s easy to do with telephone poles as markers. Jog for 3 poles, sprint for one, run for one, repeat. Since the game is so varied you have to just be able to turn it on whenever, and it’s nice to hear a hooker wants to run (ugh my team’s hooker kinda ‘rolls’)
I play for a DII mens club in the Northeast Territory…I’d better not say which one, as I have posted several comments in the “steroids and other drugs” section…I’ve been to the ITT’s 2x, so I guess you could say I’m pretty serious about it. From some of the comments I’m hearing, you guys run the hooker=3rd prop style, huh?
Try these workouts…they may help build acceleration and top speed (you may want to focus more on acceleration due to the close-quarters nature of forward play):
Get an old tire and about 30 feet of rope. Tie a knot in the rope so you have a big loop, then hitch one end onto the tire. Throw the other end around your waist. Optimal distance for a resisted sprint like this is probably about 20-25m. Keep in your “acceleration” posture the whole time (ie. torso semi-bent over, short, sharp strides). You can use more weight by using a bigger tire or fitting a piece of plywood in the middle of the tire and piling rocks/weights on top. For pure acceleration, perform at 100% (about 5-8 reps or until you begin to significantly slow down) with complete rest in between reps.
Angle change acceleration drill (aka Gears). Set up 5 to 7 cones about 15 to 20m apart down a level field. You want a random zig zag pattern, but don’t make the angle changes too drastic (which would take away from total speed). The idea is to run/sprint at different speeds through the cones…for example, if there are 5 spaces between cones, start with 1st gear, go to 3rd, 5th, 2nd, and 5th. This will teach you to explode out of turns as well as working on accel/decel’n.
Some research has shown that specifically training for directional changes when sprinting directly improves performance when directional changes are necessary (sounds reasonable, right?). So you may want to always include angle changes in your program as it is rare that you will run more than 20m and not change direction. If you want more drills, let me know…Good luck!