Technical

It is very evident that sides who dominated the breakdown situations in a game invariably come away with the win. Was it coincidence when Richie McCaw did not play a game against the Brumbies this year in the S14 that George Smith got the upper hand at the breakdown and the Brumbies narrowly sneaked home against the Crusaders? There are more breakdown contests than any other type of contest in the game, being conditioned to be effective in this area for 80mins is a crucial part of winning games. So how do you get conditioned specifically for the breakdown contest?

Firstly you need to be mentally conditioned. By that I mean you need to understand the correct techniques that will result in maximum effectiveness when you are contesting in this area, and understand the laws that govern it, as this is also the area that results in the most infringements in the game. To analyze the physical conditioning requirements we need to look at the nature of the activity that occurs at the breakdown and try and replicate this in a progressive way in training in intensity and varied application.

To have maximum functional transfer from training to performance in the game you will need to be as specific in your conditioning as possible. In other words it doesn’t matter how much you can bench press if you cant get into a contesting situation and be effective. You must train that skill and conditioning component specifically.

What happens at the breakdown? There is a physical contest for the ball between two or more players. This contest is either one of attempting to wrestle the ball away from an opponent or of trying to remove or clean out other players attempting to steal the ball. Wrestling, rucking and counter rucking at various angles and body positions. Good core strength and upper body strength and endurance are vital for effectiveness at the breakdown. Players need to be doing lots of core strength work (see conditioning section in Rugby IQ) as well as drills and activities that mimic the breakdown situation. This could include wrestling drills, specific shield clean out drills, unit drills with players competing “live” against each other and specific gym training to improve upper body and core strength. In the drills section in rugbyiq.com you will find many drills to assist you with game specific preparation for the breakdown.

Spend time conditioning yourself to dominate the breakdown; you will see the benefits on the scoreboard!

Steve Mac
Rugby IQ Strength & Conditioning Specialist