Too tall to play in the backs?

[matt.price]

Hi, i'm matt and new to this forum.

I've been playing rugby for my highschool since year 7 (i'm going into year 11 now) but due to poor sports department we had very little games, however i'm joining a rugby team this year and i want to play in the centres.
However i'm abit of a freak for my age and i'm now 6ft4-5 (i'm a naturally sportsmen and good at football, badminton, basketball and others so i'm quite athletic and mobile for my age.

I'm quite fast and this summer will do some training this year to improve sprinting and speed.
Where do you guys think i should play?
Will going centre be an advantage and will help me get noticed by county? (i'm really serious about rugby).

i'm quite mixed up and confused,
oh and i'm from south shropshire, is there many opotunities here to get noticed by anyone?

thanks loads in advance!

matt

twitter - @_mattprice_

 

[TRF_Olyy]

I don't think so at all - George North is 6ft4 after all!

 

[big ginger 8]

How are you built are you lanky or what? Look HMS Banahan is 6 7 though bot exactly great. You'd probably be fine some more I can remember are SBW is 6 3 and Roberts is 6 4 if you're a basketball player you're probably alright and are probably strong enough. I mean you should have the ball handling skills and mobility. Just work on tackling ecspecially as you'll get a lot of people shorter than you running at you make sure you don't high tackle. Sorry about the phrasing.

 

[markshaw]

use your height in the fowards man. you will get noticed more in the fowards and used for your height in rep teams

 

[matt.price]

How are you built are you lanky or what? QUOTE]

i'm quite well built, just under 15 stone, this summer holliday i'm running to work off excess fat and do my best to build up muscles for power, unforntunely i dont have any weights, so i just do situps, press ups and lunges.

Can anyone help me with training? Any personal trainers on here want to give some tips.

cheers for the help guys and to reply to the guy who said play in the pack..

i love attacking, i live the country side so i can't play with my friends, so normally i work on skills, chips, up and unders, passing both ways, passing out the pack door, place kicking and others.

I just love to attack and create. However if i keep growing i wont really have a choice and will have to go into the pack

 

[matt.price]

and markshaw what do you mean about rep teams?

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Rep teams will be like your county side - next step up from your local club

 

[matt.price]

oh, i still feel i love the excitment of comingin from a line of backs, and how do i get noticed? do county's have try outs? and what happens after county if i ever get there ?

 

[big ginger 8]

You still get to attack in the forwards except it's a lot less subtle.

 

[markshaw]

I'm a personal trainer/rugby player. If you want to condition yourself for footy, get fit, that means short sharp stuff and long distance. your on the right track with pushups and lunges they are great. try doing chinups where you can too. eat low fat high protien diet and good luck

 

[matt.price]

GREAT! cheers for that ! can you give me some high protein foods please, i would google , but it can spurt out some rubbish sometimes:L

do you think rep teams would prefer a big man or a average man in the centre position? i know the likes of jamie roberts and sonny bill in senior level but what about now?

cheers for all your help !

 

[big ginger 8]

By the way Fish great food source and egg whites are pure protein.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

It depends more on how well you perform

Best thing to do is play for your local club and school (if they've a team) and play your socks off - give it everything in training and matches, and hope for the best



Good foods are things like tuna, skinless chicken, fish, eggs etc.etc.

 

[big ginger 8]

Also it depends on your style of play.

 

[matt.price]

i like to play with excitement and to be creative, but if needed, i'll just go into power house likejamie roberts.
I just want to do whats best !

if it helps. my idols , are brian o'driscol, jamie roberts, jonathon davies (the current scarlets centre) , hook and shane williams

 

[big ginger 8]

Don't copy BO'D at all. When asked about the best player he ever played with Elsom said O'Driscoll always did what seemed like the wrong thing at the wrong time but only he could pull them off.

In the same interview he said Mortlock at his peak obviously is the ideal player to copy.

 

[matt.price]

what player do you guy think i should copy? i'm think hook , quite tall but has got skills as well, i feel i can offer more than just a game line runner, sorry if i sound like a stuck up tw*t, i'm just saying what i think which is probably wrong

 

[The_Welsh_Idiot]

what player do you guy think i should copy? i'm think hook , quite tall but has got skills as well, i feel i can offer more than just a game line runner, sorry if i sound like a stuck up tw*t, i'm just saying what i think which is probably wrong

Hi Matt.

I've seen your post on twitter and joined here myself. I'll try to tackle your questions as much as I can, but the other guys on here have given you great advice.

Firstly, whereabouts in Shropshire are you, and where is your nearest team with an academy?

In terms of copying other players, the simple answer is, dont. You seem a littl struck with names, so let me give you a few examples, if Shane Williams had copied other wingers he'd have looked for contact everytime. Jonah Lomu would have never tried to take on a man in a charge, or Sonny Bill Williams would play at number 8. What all of these players did was identify their own strengths and weaknesses and worked on both over time.

You have a natural advantage other other lads your size but you may soon come up against lads just as big. Try to work on what you are good at, and spend more time on that. Dont worry too much about diet yet, it doesn't need to be perfect, just good.

The natural inclination any coach will have will be to put you in the forwards, so to maximize your potential. If that happens, let it be so, but keep in mind and work toward what you want to be. Lomu started as an 8, for example, conversely, Victor Vito (Hurricanes 6), started as a winger.

Invest in a smaller ball. That will help you develop a spin pass off either side of your wrists, and improve your catching.

Work on sprint training. Use google to find interesting training methods. A good start is to look at conditioning coaches for professional teams, in the rugby world or the American football leagues. A lot of these trainers will have regimes (available for free online or on youtube) where you may surprise yourself.

Hope this is a small start for you.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Great first post

Welcome to the forum!

 

[matt.price]

that is just amazing! thanks so much for that! if i coach trys to but me in the pack can i resist at first and see what they think? i have no idea what my local team is, i'm in bishops castle in south shropshire if that helps