Workout August 10, 2010 - Rugby Pratice and Active Recovery Sprint Training

My work schedule finally cycled off Tuesdays, so yesterday was my first practice in a few weeks, and my first 15s practice since 7s ended. We covered tackling, passing plays, clearing defenders off the ball, and offensive plays from the line out. Playing and practicing with the Grizzlies in Denver greatly improved my tackling technique and confidence. I was able to key in on the attackers hips, stay low, wrap the legs and keep driving through them to the ground.

The passing plays not only gave me more practice with ball handling, but also an opportunity to practice reading my teammates body language and looking for visual cues to anticipate their movements. This is especially good, because the last half of practice they moved me to a new position, full back.

With the limited time I have played, I previously played in the forwards as either a lock or a flanker. Locks are the second row of the scrum and are its engine room. They also generally jump in the line outs. These are two of my favorite things in rugby. As a flanker I had a bit more freedom to move around, which was also nice. As much as I love being a forward, I found with sevens that I really like having more space and freedom to run around. Well, the fullback has the most freedom of anyone on the field. One of the responsibilities of the fullback is to be the last line of defense for any attackers that break through the line. I loved being the sweeper in sevens. I got to chase people down, which as always fun and along with outrunning people are two of my other favorite things in rugby. For me though, it also simplified my defensive positioning - someone breaks through, go get 'em.

The difference between the forwards and the backs in 15s has been described as the difference between a wrestling match and a chess game. As a fullback though, now I'll be responsible for reading the defense, filling in any gaps, and properly positioning myself to be an extra attacker on offense. All this while reading the other team and staying in position to field the ball in case they decide to clear it with a kick. This means I need to increase my understanding of the game in a hurry, work on fielding kicks, and learn how to kick. There's about 3 weeks before our first match of the season to get this done.

So plan of attack, watch as much rugby as possible paying attention to the the fullbacks, read "Rugby: Steps to Success" downloaded to my ipod via the Kindle app, reread "Rugby for Dummies," and whenever possible commandeer any willing person to practice passing and fielding kicks.

Also, it looks like the conditioning and fitness demands for a fullback are very similar to those needed for sevens. This makes me very happy. After practice was over I sprinted 5x50 yard sprints, max effort jogging back to the start. My watch wasn't working so once at the start I'd rest for 5 breaths and then start the next sprint. While it definitely got the heart rate up, it proved to be easier than expected, with my recovery rate improving as well.