Rugby Performance Society: Periodisation

Periodisation can be defined as the breakdown of an annual training plan into various phases in order to prepare for competition. For the purpose of this article we will only refer to the physical preparation of rugby players. The ultimate goal of a periodisation annual training plan is to improve performance, however, the structure also allows the coaching staff and trainers to reduce the risk of injury and rotate the players to allow they to get adequate recovery.

Nowadays, the modern game of rugby requires players to play in multiple leagues that play in various tournaments through the entire year. This makes periodisation slightly trickier but for this article we are going to assume that the player is only playing on one league or at club level. This would meant that a periodised plan would typically have a preseason phase, an in-season phase and an off-season phase. These are referred to as macrocycles. These phases are not equal in length and the physical requirements of the phases are also different.

Of particular interest is the pre-season phase in rugby. This phase is prior to the competition year kicking off and would be after the off-season phase. This phase usually involves a larger squad of players as well as the returning players that may have picked up injuries in the last playing season. The pre-season phase can be split into two different sub-phases. The first and furthest away from competition would be the General Athletic Preparation phase (GAP). This phase would have a large emphasis on building the aerobic base as well as strength base of the players. It would have a low-intensity focus which includes large volumes and heavy resistance or weight in the gym. There is a low emphasis on skill development in this phase. Players would generally do very similar resistance training programmes in this phase. GAP builds the foundation on which all the training will occur.

Following GAP, the players would move into the Sport Specific Preparation phase. This phase would shift the focus onto more specific conditioning that are in alignment with the specific skills that need to be trained. The volume of the resistance training session would decrease and the field-based skill training would appropriately increase. The type of training that would occur in the gym would shift to a power-based focus. The ideal repitition scheme for this would be low, specifically 4-6 reps per exercise, however the focus would be on the speed and quality of the movements performed. Therefore players should be encouraged to move completely through the particular movement with as much effort as possible.

The idea is that at the end of the pre-season the players would be physically ready to start their in-season and their physical conditioning should be able to be maintained from that point on through the season.

*Please note: the above periodisation plan is purely used as an example and is not to be followed. 

The Sports Science Institute exists to translate, simplify and embed science in sporting and health practice. SSISA has developed the Rugby Performance Society with the aim of providing best practice insights that positively impact athletes, coaches, teams and organisations. To bring you the most appropriate sports science, SSISA works with the UCT Research Centre for Health through Physical Activity, Lifestyle and Sport (HPALS), whose aim is to optimize human performance and promote health and well-being through physical activity, sports participation, healthy eating and sleep hygiene. The Rugby Performance Society is committed to sharing the highest standard of digestible research through regular Performance Insights.

Should you be looking for more information on this please get in touch with Cleo Pokpas at cpokpas@ssisa.com

Yours in Sports Science,

The SSISA Performance Society