• Help Support The Rugby Forum :

Advice for a newbie

covbaker96

Academy Player
Joined
Dec 7, 2015
Messages
8
Country Flag
England
Club or Nation
Northampton
Hi all,

I am new to this forum and i'm not entirely sure if this is the best place to post my discussion.

I am 19 , 5ft 6/7 tall and weigh 15 stone... i played rugby back in school as a TH prop until i got told i wouldn't be able to play cause of injuries but i've had an operation and now looking to get back into it again, ideally start of next season which will give me time to improve my strength etc etc.
I want to play as a TH prop but throughout my research am beginning to doubt that i'll be able to play in that position because of my height yet i'm determined to be successful as a TH.
Is there any advice for me as to finding a better position to play or advice that anyone can provide me on what's the best training and strength+conditioning to do for being a good/solid TH. :)

Thanks.
 
Welcome!

There's some good news - some of the most damned awkward props on the planet are short. All 5'8" of Thomas Domingo probably still keeps Dan Cole awake at night. Unless you've got serious ambitions, I wouldn't be put off by the 6'5" monsters you often see at the top level. Technique, skill and a reasonable pain threshold can take you a very long way. Tall people with long backs bend easily!

No-one from this forum can give you any specific advice, but if your physique and skills are best suited to the front row, give all 3 positions a crack. I played mostly TH at school, then mixed it with some LH before finally converting to hooker. Assuming you're only considering the pack, if you're quick and skillful enough, open side wight be worth a look as well.

Don't go looking for your position, try a few out and it'll find you! Enjoy working it out.

PS Hopefully your Doc has cleared you to resume playing post op.
 
That's excellent thanks!
i've only really thought about playing TH as mentioned i played it throughout school but hooker is a position i would definitely look at but as you say best to try them all.
I'm only really interested in playing in the front row regardless of my speed as i feel that's where i'm best suited.
Doc will be giving me all clear April time once i've done physio and proven it's strength so i'm very much looking forward to playing again as i miss it so much:D

Thanks for your reply!
 
In regards to strength movements you want to be hitting big compound lifts often and heavy: squat/press/bench/deadlift and also some olympic lifts to help your explosiveness.
However make sure you are using correct technique. A good coach will be invaulable.

I know a lot of props do a lot of neck strengthening exercises. However I cant really comment on that. I'm a powerlifter who has become an armchair fan in recent years.
 
In regards to strength movements you want to be hitting big compound lifts often and heavy: squat/press/bench/deadlift and also some olympic lifts to help your explosiveness.
However make sure you are using correct technique. A good coach will be invaulable.

I know a lot of props do a lot of neck strengthening exercises. However I cant really comment on that. I'm a powerlifter who has become an armchair fan in recent years.

Thanks man!, would it be beneficial for me to get a programme at my gym which is tailored to those?
 
Theres plenty of programs on the internet designed for people looking to build strength. Give Stronglifts 5x5 or Starting Strength a google. Both were at least partly planned as assistance routines for sports.

You're likely to need help with olympic lifts. If you have a gym anywhere around you with those sorts of facilities/coaches it may be worth paying a little extra. Training in the right environment can do wonders for results.

However at the end of the day you are playing rugby, not weightlifting. If you can work on the core skills for your position all the rest is just bonus.
 
In regards to training - work very hard on your core before you start throwing weights around.
Throw yourself into pilates (or stick with the pysio specifically looking at getting back into front-row play; a proper sports therapist should be able to help too, if you get a good un) to build it up in the first place; and progress as rapidly as you can without loosing form.

If you don't do that, then I'm afraid the chances are that your injury will return and return and return.
Basically, learn how to hold your spine together before you start trying to tear it apart.


I've heard good things about http://elite-therapy.com/ and http://www.simsonsportstherapy.co.uk/; both local to yourself (and nothing to do with me personally - I'm about an hour away, and a generalist rather than a specialist).

ETA: Hope those links don't break any board rules - feel free to remove them if they do mods
 
Last edited:
Elite therapy is literally down the road from me ha ha ha!
Thanks for your advice!
 
Both are Coventry - I was making an assumption based on your name.

May I ask what the original injury was and what the operation? I'd be better able to advice on the likelihood / sensibleness of returning to rugby if I know - but feel free to tell me to sod off with the personal questions.
 
Original injury was playing rugby for a local club where i slipped over and landed right elbow first on the ground, very very sore indeed and obviously had triggered something.. i had been playing rugby for 2 years at that point. a few weeks after the fall I somehow managed to properly dislocate my shoulder while sleeping, luckily enough it went straight back in.. this happened maybe once a week and i left it for 3 weeks maybe more, then decided it was best to go doctors about it. My GP referred me to hospital where i started a course of physio therapy to help strengthen the shoulder up and minimalism the chance of it 'dislocating' again.. so after 3 months of weekly sessions plus exercises at home i got cleared to play rugby again, at this point it was April so no more training till august. During the summer holidays i went swimming and unfortunately i dislocated it again.. got taken to hospital and had it put back in for me as it wouldn't go back in on it's or with my force ( bad idea as i could of trapped nerves) after it'd been put back in.. i went on another course of physio which.. didn't work as i went back into rugby and it happened again.. so then went back to hospital and they then suggested i had a small operation to put metal plates and screws in as i have no cartilage in my right shoulder. Had the OP last summer so 2015 and so far the progression is good.. i'm on phase 3 of my rehab so starting to do some gym based weights and putting more pressure on the shoulder.. which for now is holding out okay.
 
OK, cheers - still do the core stuff, as you will have lost plenty whilst not playing; but obviously concentrate on the shoulder core (rhomboids, Serr.Ant, rotator cuff).
Absolutely no problem at all with you returning to rugby; though prepare yourself to move to backrow though; chances are you'll be fine up front, but if the shoulder only heals to say 95%, the pressures of the front row may not be the best place for it - not to mention issues with binding (basically, what signalled the end for Flatman a year or two before he admitted defeat)
 
That's the thing, i watch countless scrummaging vids and the binding is very reliant on the shoulders being mobile and as you say if my shoulder only heals 95% i'll struggle so as long as i let it fully heal and take all the right pre-cautions and strengthening then no reason why I cannot play in my desired position.

Also.. with the binding side of things.. LH could be more beneficial as they bind a lot lower than TH do and might suit my shoulders better? or is that just down to me being too cautious and not really feeling confident?
 
On that, you're better off one of the local fatties - I just fed you the ball and hoped you didn't take the feeding part too literally, and let me have the ball back once you were done with your macho posturing. :)
 
On that, you're better off one of the local fatties - I just fed you the ball and hoped you didn't take the feeding part too literally, and let me have the ball back once you were done with your macho posturing. :)

ha ha ha :D
 

Latest posts

Top