Rugby fitness

How fun is rugby compared to football? I would really like to give it a try, but nearly everyone around me doesn't know what it is.

Ayy freshman here as well, you won't regret it, I joined my RFC for my uni last semester and feel like I have a social circle, and you're already a little gay from browsing Veeky Forums, you're good to go.

LEGS mostly, everything in rugby has to do with legs.
shoulders (for hitting)
and make sure you cardio is up to check

I played both in high school and I preferred rugby.

>tfw sister was a hooker
some laughs from the lads but she was pretty gud

I think some kind of PL plus cardio and sprinting + plyos is what you need.

Might need some neck extensions and that kind of shit too. I'm thinking of picking up rugby come summer too and this is what I'm doing.

Your squat is also shitty. It's probably a form issue as much as anything.

You probably want to gain weight as well. Even backline players benefit from being over 200 lbs. It shouldn't slow you down any. Usain Bolt is 215 lbs and pretty fast.

Don't listen to this faggot. One's squat is probably the single most important physical attribute for a rugby player. Scrums, rucks, mauls, line-outs, carrying the ball, and tackling is ALL dominated by your ability to produce force from your legs and up your torso.

Obviously, cardio is important too. About 4-6 weeks before training camp/season/whatever starts, you'll want to focus on sprints and sled pushes and running and the like to get ready to play 80 minutes of rugby. Lifting at that point would be done as best as you can in order to keep the gains you've made. This is best done by lowering the volume, but keeping the intensity high.

For instance, on Texas Method, do 3x5 on volume day, 1x3 on heavy day, and TRY not to decrease the weight anymore than is necessary for you to actually do the reps.

When I played, I didn't do deadlifts in-season because playing front row was rough enough on my spine. And you might move "intensity day" (probably at a 90% of what you were doing out of season) to Thursday, since matches are usually Saturday.

From my experience of knowing club players, you'll want a solid foundation in weightlifting; Cleans and Snatches (exercises for triple extension) will give you better explosion. You can also train parts of those movements, like power shrugs, which suit the sport well. You'll also want to be mobile, and knowing how to Snatch will make you so. Your big four compound lifts (Squat, Bench, Deadlift, and Overhead Press) are important, but you'll want to start jogging at least a mile a day and focus most on squat variations, shrugs, and presses with a lot of auxiliary back work.

Something like this might be to your benefit -> exrx.net/WeightTraining/Weightlifting/BasicWeightLifting.html

It's not like football where you're trying to gain size; you'll want to be pound for pound strong. Anything extra is deadweight.

I suggest you start working on your mobility and flexibility in advance and start jogging now. Also, learning how to overhead squat would be to your advantage (seriously underrated mobility exercise)

Different user here, thinking about playing this summer. Wondering how I'll stack up
>weight: 240
>bench: 320X1
>squat: 455X1
>DL: 485
I had potential to play D2 American football, but I'm focusing on academics. My cardio is ass rn too.

Fix the cardio. Its tempting to think that rugby is like football but in terms of cardio its completely different. You aren't gonna get many breaks while you're on.

Ah fuck. I've still got the spring to train I guess.