Tips for a winger?

[Ninja_Buffalo]

I'm fourteen, about 5 ft 5" and I weigh about nine stone. I play 14 for my local club but I'm not very good. I am easily one of the fastest on my but my tackling, kicking and passing are pretty mediocre.

What I'm asking is, how can I improve the aforementioned aspects of Rugby and how can I improve all-around as a winger.

 

[munstermuffin]

Tackling - Depends on bravery and technique. Maybe start slowly on a mate and try perfect getting head down to side and arms around legs. Try gym for strength and gradually build. Kicking and passing are simply just practice and keep doing maybe 30 mins a day on each but be patient for results like it'll be big difference in weeks not days

 

[Zed]

I'm fourteen, about 5 ft 5" and I weigh about nine stone. I play 14 for my local club but I'm not very good. I am easily one of the fastest on my but my tackling, kicking and passing are pretty mediocre.

What I'm asking is, how can I improve the aforementioned aspects of Rugby and how can I improve all-around as a winger.

Passing:
- get someone to teach you how to pass i.e there are probably a few basic things you are not doing. Try throwing the ball up in the air and spin it as it goes, that will help with you applying 'spin' to the ball. Then start passing to someone, but have a hand at each end of the ball on the tips and spin in that way, you'll almost just be using your finger tips. Once you've mastered that, move your hands to a more central position. To make longer passes, wind up - i.e don't pass the ball from in front of you, if you're passing right, pull it the left, then pass it across your body, you will get much more power. You can buy weighted rugby balls that help with your passing, but basically you have to practise, practise, practise.

Kicking:
- don't kick torpedos, do aussie rules punt, very accurate and easier to do. Jump on youtube and have a look at "how to kick aussie rules punt" that's what most international players do now, as opposed to the torpedo. Start with lots of little kicks, making sure you are getting the ball to backwards spin correctly. Then build up to bigger kicks. Again practise.

Tackling:
- technique is very important. Most weak tacklers tend to be lacking in confidence and have a fear of getting hurt. If you go into a tackle with the right technique and right attitude you will be fine. The biggest and most common mistake poor tacklers make is going in to high and trying to 'grab' the player, usually resulting in them getting handed off. Legs, legs, legs! Right it down on your hand next time you play, and constantly remind yourself of that during a game. When your opposite man is running at you, stare at his legs, line yourself up and dive at a spot roughly around the knees. Ankles are better, but more chance he can skip out of the tackle. For front on tackles (the hardest ones) again poor tackles go in way to high and get 'bounced', get low. Next time in training, get someone to run at you, put one knee on the ground, your shoulders will be at his waist height and you will be able to easily bring him down. If I've got a powerful guy running at me, that's what I do, my knee is almost touching the ground.

 

[jkUNCAcap]

It's been mentioned a couple times, but you have to be brave. Even if it's a prop, or a flanker, or 8-man that's two or three times your size, you gotta be able to step up and at least slow him down, if you can't make the tackle. Ankles and knees are good places to hit, but you've got to be able to put your body on the line. (Safely, of course.)

 

[Twebby]

Playing.

At 14 the best thing you can do is just get as much rugby under your belt as possible. Make sure you get as much match time for school and club as possible. You will soon improve every facet of your game, especially positioning as a back 3 player. You also learn what you are best at, when to back your pace and when to look for support.

As people have already said, a lot of tackling is bravery more than anything else. As for kicking - sadly no instant fix, you just need to practice, practice, practice. Go for accuracy without worrying about distance too much to start off with. Once you are used to striking the ball cleanly and it going roughly where you want, then you can start looking to put more power into it.

 

[Jaguares]

Passing and tackling are the most important components of the game, not so much the kick, you can see that there are many players playing at the highest level who can not kick properly. Not many wingers who can shoot with the effectiveness of an fly-half, if you don't want to be fly-half or centre, don't waste your time trying to fix your kicks.

Passing:

Something that can really help improve your technique, it's something I did as a child. Get old rugby ball, fill it with sand, rocks or something heavy inside and make it a seamstress sewing. The ball will be much heavier than a normal ball, that ball training for 1 month without touching the ball when you get back to normal and use the normal ball will seem much lighter, and you can make longer passes and better. Don't try to learn things difficult as a reverse pass, you should concentrate on the simple things.

Tackling:

This is a very important part of the game, someone who can not properly defend can not play in any position, is essential to the game. The technique is everything, ask someone to explain how you should position the head when you tackling, to avoid injury. The position of the head is very important. You must train your strength and endurance, you should go to the gym to gain muscle mass and you go running to withstand the whole game, as someone said here, don't try to hit the top opponents bigger than you, you have to hit well down on his knees and if possible at the ankles.


Tackling your shoulder to knees or ankle of your opponent, try to raise your legs with your hand, place your head properly to prevent injury and passion. In this sport you need a lot passion and character. If your opponent is very big, like a Jonah Lomu or Sonny Bill Williams, remember that it's easier to hit from the side or from behind, as well your opponent is less likely to make you a hand off.

Kicking:

If you don't want to be a fly-half, fullback or center, don't worry about this. Many wingers of world rugby kicking not know, focus on learning how to passing and tackling properly, it's more important than this.

Regards