Week 1
Tuesday – Rugby training
Three-on-two passing. Three people attacking and two people on tackle bags. We finished off with a match – forwards against backs. This training session has obviously helped me practice with my passing skills.
Thursday – Rugby training
We were divided into forwards and backs. The forwards practised line-outs and scrums. Finished off with a match – once again, forwards against backs. This session has helped me with my basic forwards skills and I practised my passing and tackling in the match.
Saturday – Rugby match
Home match against Gowerton. I felt I had quite a good game until injury forced me off. I had bruised my shoulder. Although they turned up with only eleven players, the game still went on (because of a mix-and-match
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game) but we still lost. In this match, I was able to practice my passing and tackling in match situations. This has also helped to improve my fitness and stamina.
Week 2
Tuesday – Rugby training
More practising with scrums and line-outs. Today we used the scrum machine which helps a lot. Unfortunately we never get the whole seconds team so we always struggle in matches because most of our players need a lot of practice. It would help tremendously if we could get the whole pack to practice the line-outs because we are very poor at them. It doesn’t really help practising with the firsts because we won’t have them in the match. Once again we finished off with a match. This training session has once again helped me with my basic forwards skills and I practised my passing and tackling in the match.
Thursday – Rugby training
Practised up-and-unders and grubber kicks, today. I felt I did well in this as I have practised quite a lot of this anyway. We then finished off with a match. This was our last training session on Thursdays but the Tuesday training sessions will carry on. Today has helped with my tackling and once again tested the skills in a match.
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Saturday – Rugby match
Today was a match against Glan Taff High School away. This was a hard game because I played second-row for the firsts and seeing as I am not a very tall player it wasn’t a very good position for me but despite that I still felt I played quite well. We narrowly lost. My passing is definitely starting to improve as I made a lot of decent passes during this match.
Week 3
Tuesday – Rugby training
Quite a big turn out today so we had a match between seconds and firsts but they outnumbered us so we had four players from the firsts. I scored two tries. I made nearly all of my tackles and I thought that most of them were quite hard. This practice match has helped me with my tackling, passing, fitness and my stamina.
Thursday – Gym
Today I had done a varied work-out. I started off with a warm-up and then spent half an hour on aerobic exercises such as running on the tread-mill, cycling on the cycling machine and rowing on the rowing machine. I then spent an hour on the weights. Between each exercise, I had a five minute rest. This has helped me with my fitness, stamina and strength.
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Saturday – Rugby match
Away match against Ochta in Swansea. This was an embarrassing match. We turned up with only twelve players and only had six forwards. I had to play no.8 for our scrums and open-side flanker when it was their scrums. To make matters worse, our hooker came off with concussion and by the end of the game we had three backs playing in the forwards. We got absolutely demolished by our opposition but they were a very good team anyway and deserved the win. More practising with passing and tackling, today.
Week 4
Tuesday – Unable to attend rugby training due to revision for examinations
Instead I have done twenty minutes of isotonic weight training. This included reps, curls, ankle weights and hack squats. My training today helped with strength which will improve my impact in tackling.
Thursday – Cycling (continuous training)
Today I went cycling from Caldicot to Caerwent to Crick to Portskewett and then back to Caldicot. This took me half an hour but I also took a five minute rest when I reached Crick. This has helped with my fitness and stamina.
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Saturday – Rugby match
Another away match. We played Cardiff High School but once again we lost. However, we actually had a full team although we actually had a back playing second-row. I actually thought we played rather well and we actually worked as a team which is probably why we only lost by a small margin but an injury to our captain and scrum-half was a huge blow but we still carried on trying but couldn’t quite get the points.
Week 5
Tuesday – Unable to attend to rugby training due to revision for examinations.
Instead I have done twenty minutes of circuit training. I included thirty-five press-ups and thirty-five sit-ups, twenty bicep curls and fifteen reps. This has helped with my strength which will improve my tackling.
Thursday – Gym
Today’s work-out was to help with my stamina. I started off with a warm-up and then spent the rest of the evening on the cycling machine, rowing machine, tread-mill and step machine. The whole work-out took an hour and forty-five minutes.
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Saturday – Rugby match cancelled due to bad weather
Seeing as I only did one activity this week, I went on a run from Caldicot to Caerwent. This took me forty minutes and was very hard because it was raining quite hard and there were steep hills. This was continuous training and helped with my fitness and stamina.
Week 6
Tuesday – Rugby training
Today, we worked on our passing and practised set pieces. We went in groups of five and from touch line to touch line we ran and passed the ball down the line without dropping it. We also had to practice switches, loops and slices. A forwards against backs match finished the training off.
Thursday – Cycling (continuous training)
Today I went cycling from Caldicot to Caerwent to Crick to Portskewett and then back to Caldicot. This took me twenty-five minutes and I didn’t need a rest until I was in Portskewett, which shows me that the training is really helping me. This has improved my fitness and stamina.
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Saturday – Rugby match
A home game against Ysgol Strady gave me another chance to prove myself for the firsts and I think I played quite well. I had a whole game in my preferred position and it was nice to be on the winning side for once. I made all my tackles and actually came close to scoring twice. We beat Ysgol Strady by eight points which was a good win.
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Weaknesses
I think that my main weaknesses are my fitness, tackling and my passing. My fitness is the worst so I am looking to build on that the most but I always make my tackles but I think that I need to put a lot more strength into them. I will do this by going to the gym and building my muscles by using the weights. My passing can be improved by practising to pass off my right.
My fitness is actually quite poor. I still manage to put in a good performance for most matches but I still feel that if I improve my stamina I will improve my performance by a lot more.
Although my passing is very accurate and fast off my left, I still need to improve my passing off my right. I think that since I joined the senior team my passing off my right has improved but I think that my passing should be good which ever way I pass.
Although the main thing is to make my tackles, which I do, I would also want them to really know about my tackles by making them a lot harder and stronger. Although this is not crucial, it would be a very beneficial improvement to me.
Different types of training methods I could use could be continuous training, fartlek training, isotonic weight training, circuit training (I would use fixed load circuits) and I would also use callisthenics.
Summary: Therefore the main skills I need to develop are my tackling skills, passing skills and my fitness and stamina. I will work on these during my six week training programme.
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Factors Affecting Performance
One main thing that affects performance is fitness. If you are not fit enough, your performance will suffer. If you are at peak fitness your performance will be at its highest standard depending on how good you are at the sport. Feedback can also improve a performance; it can come from a teacher or coach or from within yourself. The eight types of feedback are:
This is feedback you give yourself, it maybe immediate or after the performance
This comes from outside sources e.g. the manager saying “well done”
This is how well a performance is going e.g. a gymnastic routine
This takes place at the end of a performance
- Knowledge of results (K of R)
E.g. did you win or lose? Did the shot go in or not?
- Knowledge of performance (K of P)
This is how well you performed not just the result e.g. how was my technique?
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Information received about the success of your performance
Information received about negative aspects of the performance.
The environment may also affect performance. Two main things that will affect a performance due to the environment are:
Playing rugby can be very difficult when the pitch resembles a bog and the ball is too slippery to hold on to. This usually decreases performance but when the weather is nice then your performance may increase because most people feel better about themselves when the weather is nicer. Of course weather may not be an issue in some sports such as indoor athletics, darts, boxing etc. The main types of weather that may decrease standard of performance are high wind, extremes of heat and extremes of cold.
This too can affect a performance. Some sportspeople may get nervous when performing in front of large crowds. Some people may feel that they perform better with large crowds. This is usually because of the encouragement from the spectators. Some people may get put off by the spectators, especially when they play away games. This happens a lot in football. Fans usually intimidate the opposition to make them perform worse. A good example for this would be the Cardiff City supporters known as the ‘Soul Crew’.
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My Improvements After
The Six Weeks
Training
First of all, I think that the main thing that has improved is my knowledge of the game. I feel I know the game a lot better and I can position myself better as well.
I believe that I have improved tremendously. I feel a lot fitter because I can cope with a whole match a lot easier. I also think my passing has improved. I have passed a lot more off my right but although most of my passes find the recipient I still think I could improve them by making my passes quicker and sharper.
My main improvement is my tackling. In my last match I made two dump tackles which I am very proud of. Knowing that I can do these tackles makes me more confident which obviously improves my game.
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Rugby
The game
Duration:
A game of rugby consists of two halves of 40 minutes with injury time added on at the end of each half. This is not as long as you might expect because physiotherapists are often allowed onto the pitch while play continues.
Players:
Each side consists of 15 players, divided into eight forwards and seven backs. A total of seven substitutes are allowed for international matches. (There are also seven and 10-man versions of rugby union, played almost exclusively at tournaments.)
Officials:
There is one referee assisted by two touch judges, who mark where the ball goes out of play, adjudge kicks at goal and inform the referee of foul play.
A fourth official controls replacements and substitutes. A video referee has also recently been introduced to the tournament, after a successful trial in the southern hemisphere.
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Scoring
Duration:
The object of the game is to score more points than your opponents. There are a number of ways to achieve this.
Try:
A try is worth five points. It is scored when a player places the ball on the ground with downward pressure in the in-goal area between the try line and dead ball line of the opposition's half.
Tries can be scored in a number of ways, other than running over the try line and putting the ball down.
They include the pushover try, scored by driving the opposition's scrum back over its own line; the momentum try, where a player slides into the in-goal area; and the penalty try, awarded when a team illegally obstructs the opposition to prevent a certain try from being scored.
There is no such thing as an "own try". If you touch the ball down in your own in-goal area, it results in a kick or a scrum.
Conversion:
If a team scores a try, they have an opportunity to "convert" it for two further points by kicking the ball between the posts and above the crossbar - that is, through the goal. The kick is taken from a point level with where the try was scored.
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Penalty kick:
If a side commits a serious offence, a penalty is awarded and the opposition can take the option of a place kick at goal from where the infringement occurred. If successful, it is worth three points.
Drop goal:
A drop goal for three points is scored when a player kicks the ball from hand through the opposition's goal. But the ball must touch the ground between being dropped and kicked.
Set plays
Infringements
Knock-on/knock-forward:
The ball goes forward off the hands or arms of a player and hits the ground or another player. This results in a scrum with the put-in to the opposition.
Forward pass:
The ball fails to travel backwards in a pass. Scrum to the opposition.
Ball not released:
When the ball becomes trapped in a pile-up of players, a scrum is awarded to the attacking team if the ball is in contact with the ground and to the defending team if it is held up off the ground.
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Scrums can also be awarded if the ball is not thrown into the line-out straight; a restart kick is carried incorrectly; the ball is thrown into the lineout incorrectly; a player carries the ball over his own try-line and touches down in-goal; for accidental offside; or a scoring player fails to ground the ball properly in the in-goal area.
Offside:
Hideously complicated. Basically, players not involved in rucks, mauls, scrums or lineouts must remain behind the back foot - that is, behind the last attached player.
Penalty:
Penalties are awarded for serious infringements like dangerous play, offside and handling the ball on the ground. It is signalled by the referee with a straight arm raised in the air. Players can also receive red and yellow cards, as in football.
The offending team must retire 10 metres for both penalties and free kicks. A team can either kick for goal, run the ball or kick directly into touch with the resulting line-out awarded to them.
Free-kick:
This is a lesser form of the penalty. A team cannot kick for goal (unless it is a drop goal). The normal 22m rule applies for kicking for position from a free kick. It is signalled by the referee with a bent arm raised in the air.
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Moving the ball
Passing:
All passes in rugby must travel backwards. There are different varieties of pass, including the flat, direct spin pass; the short, close-quarters pop pass; and the floated pass - a long pass which an advancing player can run onto at pace.
Kicking:
Kicking forms a major part of rugby and is used to start and restart the game, score points, win territory, launch an attack or get a team out of trouble (known as a clearance kick).
If the ball is kicked directly into touch by a player from behind his own 22m line, the resulting lineout is taken where the ball crossed the touchline.
But if he is outside his 22, the lineout is taken level with the place from where the ball was kicked (except in the case of penalties).
Players must be behind the kicker for all set-piece kicks, such as kick-offs. But if a kick is made in loose play, then players can be in front of the kicker, although they must not advance towards the ball until the kicker has put them onside by moving in front of them.
Players use a wide range of kicks, such as the high, hanging up-and-under/garry owen/bomb; the end-over-end grubber kick; or the speculative chip-and-chase.
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Tackling:
Only a player in possession of the ball can be tackled. American football-style blocking is not allowed. A tackled player must release the ball after he hits the ground. Neither he nor the tackler can play the ball until they are on their feet.
It is illegal to high tackle above the shoulders, or to "spike" a player by deliberately upending him onto his head. The same goes for the late tackle - taking the player after he has passed or kicked the ball.
It is also illegal to punch, gouge, stamp on or kick another player.
Heavy tackles are colloquially known as dump tackles, while an attempt to prevent the ball being released quickly is sometimes called a smother tackle.
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Contents
Contents…………………………………………………………………..1
Brief Introduction to Participant………………………………………….2
Rugby…………………………………………………………………….3
The Rugby Pitch………………………………………………………...11
Important Skills for my Position………………………………………..12
Strengths………………………………………………………………...14
Weaknesses……………………………………………………………...16
Six Week Training Programme…………………………………………17
My Improvements………………………………………………………24
Factors Affecting Performance………………………………………….25
