Issue 178

Rugby’s one of the few sports that matches MMA for intensity. Training in both is a dream-ticket combination.

Rugby is a good occasion for keeping thirty bullies far from the center of the city,” famed wit Oscar Wilde once said.

Perhaps that’s because the goal of the game is to feign an interest in getting an oval ball across a white line, while dividing your time between bashing, tackling and hurting a selection of 15 opponents.

It’s widely regarded as one of – if not the most – dangerous sport in the world, especially if you look at the injury rates calculated by the labcoats. A study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine rates rugby union as more dangerous than Australian rules football, soccer and ice hockey, showing that, on average, in every English Premiership game at least two players from each side were lost for 18 days thanks to an injury.

Those are some pretty tough odds to overcome, especially when even amateur scrumcap wearers play up to 35 games in a season.

And even seasoned fighters give props to the props (defensive lineman). “To be honest fighting is a lot like rugby in the sense that you get a lot of bumps and bruises,” says UFC hardnut John Hathaway who was a former flanker for Hove Rugby Football Club.

“I wouldn’t say any sport’s worse. I think sometimes you get hit harder in rugby because you don’t always see it coming. In here [the Octagon] it’s just you versus one person so you always keep your eye on them and don’t get hit when you’re blindsided or tackled hard unexpectedly.

” So you may want to rethink of it as a sport reserved for soft-nosed preppy boys because these days even MMA fighters are learning from rugby. TUF contestant Andre Winner pumps iron at the Leicester Tigers Rugby Union Club, and Roy ‘Big Country’ Nelson played regularly in his pre-UFC contender days. And hanging out with other mouthguard-wearing athletes seems have rubbed off on their performance. 

Like MMA, rugby is governed by rules and a gentlemanly code of conduct. Unfortunately for the players, these rules aren’t always respected and there is a lot of underhanded scrapping the refs and television cameras miss.

So much so that in rugby circles, banging off a few cheeky punches without conceding a penalty is considered the conversational crown jewel, worthy of being bought a pint. (Large beers, while not necessarily approved of in MMA, were once mandatory in rugby).

And that attitude extends as high up as the big leagues. After biting former New Zealand captain Sean Fitzpatrick’s ear, South African Johan le Roux had this to say: “For an 18-month suspension, I feel I probably should have torn it off. Then at least I could say, ‘Look, I’ve returned to South Africa with the guy’s ear.’”

With opposition in that kind of headspace it’s easy to understand why players are now arming themselves to the teeth with all sorts of combat-specific skills. It’s even true at an amateur level because you only have one referee and he can’t keep tabs on what every player is doing all the time. 

Professional outfits, like New Zealand’s infamous All Blacks, have attributed their hard tackling skills to a regular diet of judo classes. “There’s a lot of empathy between judo and rugby,” says Neil Adams, an Olympic gold medallist in judo who is the former advisor to the Welsh rugby team.

“They are very similar in their requirements. It’s all about physical contact and some of the close-quarter stuff is essential for rugby players.” Judo techniques can maneuver bigger opponents out of the way, something that’s vital at the breakdowns in rugby. This is because it helps you bowl your opponents off balance using their own momentum. “The good thing about it is we can throw somebody who is heavier and bigger. Weight does make a difference obviously but a lot of it comes down to skill and technique.” 

And if the world’s best are using it, that should give you the incentive to increase your ‘big-hit’ quota and boost your performance by giving a selection of MMA techniques a try.

What follows is your guide to mastering the best rugby-specific fighting techniques to turn you into your team’s MVP (‘most valuable player’).

As a bonus, you’ll also add a little extra snap of power to those punches you don’t want the ref to see. So keep reading to earn yourself a few extra pints. 

FITNESS

The average rugby player runs anywhere between 4 -10 kilometers in a game that lasts 80 minutes. That may not seem like a lot, but that entire distance is covered in sprints, tackles and hit-ups.

So rather than a leisurely canter through the park, it’s more like doing a high-intensity interval sprint training session in the park while trying to stop yourself from being mugged. 

But being fit isn’t quite enough. The South African springboks who are the current rugby world champions are the expected to run 3km in under 12 minutes while being able to bench press 1.5kg for every kilogram of bodyweight and sprint a sub-six seconds 40-meter dash.

That’s a three-point checklist for speed, strength and endurance, without factoring in the need to punish your opponents.

And just like an MMA bout, when a contender lacks fitness, his concentration dips and that’s when he’ll feel the brunt of his fitter rival. But becoming match-fit for all aspects of rugby isn’t always such a simple proposition. Getting in shape for the running part is easy, you just need to sprint. Getting strong is also straightforward, you just need to fling a few weights around.

But getting fit enough to throw your opposition to the ground and wrestle for the ball in a tight situation, while falling so you don’t injure yourself isn’t something you can easily train for. Unless, of course, you cross-train in the MMA gym.

“The wrestling and grappling aspects of MMA training have helped players find a way to safely build up their fitness and strength for situations on the rugby field where you’re battling a group of people face on, such as in rucks and mauls,” [physically rough contests for ball posession] says Brad Morris, an Australian heavyweight MMA fighter and wrestling coach to the Australian National Rugby League team the Penrith Panthers.

“This is what taxes a rugby player’s energy supplies the most because, it’s nearly impossible to train for it using conventional fitness methods. But a little work on the mat not only increases stamina, fitness and flexibility but also strength that can readily be used as soon as the whistle blows.” 

Fortunately, it’s not a totally foreign environment for rugby players who are used to the mental aspect of standing toe to toe with another guy. “There are similarities between wrestling and rugby, and it’s obvious how one can help the other,” says England international rugby union player James Haskell, who regularly dips into MMA conditioning.

“The attitude in the [MMA] gym is great, very similar to rugby. It’s a cool atmosphere where everyone is extremely pleasant. Initially I thought it was odd because one minute you’re beating each other up and the next you’re shaking each other’s hands. But that’s just like rugby.”

The big difference is that rugby players have to go at it for 80 minutes rather than for a few rounds. So a little wrestling will give you all the fitness you need to go full steam ahead while the rest of the pack are floundering. 

BALANCE AND CONTACT

The All Blacks initially used judo to condition their players' soft tissue (muscles and tendons) against the impact of falling.

But it had welcome side effects: improved balance, grip strength and the ability to throw opponents. “All MMA conditioning will teach you to control your own bodyweight and to recognize when you’re falling so you can adjust your position to gain an advantage,” says sports scientists and Leeds -based MMA trainer Brendan Chaplin. 

“If you’re a rugby player you probably already do this without knowing, but there’s always room for improvement.”

For example, when a 250lb prop forward runs at you, you know that tackling him head on will probably leave you on your ass.

But if you move sideways to matador him past, then tackle him from the side; you’ll bring him down every time.

“This is an example of using opponents’ bodyweight against themselves by creating leverage,” explains Chaplin.

MMA techniques will teach these kinds of skills that are useful in open play as well as in confined setups like rucks and mauls. 

MMA will also give you a sense of how to fall correctly and help you use the ball carrier’s momentum to turn him so your team can ruck the ball.

It teaches good body position in those mauls too, and when taking the ball into contact. But probably the biggest asset will be the ability to bring opponents down while staying on your feet, which will let you steal the ball off them. “It’s all about core stability and weight transfer,” says Kate Howey, an Olympian in judo and advisor to the England international rugby union team. And when you need to get back to your feet quickly you will – MMA training is vital for helping you do this so you can join the attack or spin into a defensive position. 

FLEXBILITY

The stretching routine for MMA and rugby are both based on a single principle: be flexible everywhere. Here’s the lowdown on the best methods for doing this. 

Don’t stretch before training 

Pre-exercise static stretches (the type where you touch your toes and hold) decrease your muscle power, according to a new study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Instead do light aerobic activity followed by three or four moving stretches where you flex your muscles through their full range of motion. 

Stretch during your workouts

“The best muscles to stretch are the ones opposite to those you’re working because this can actually make you slightly stronger,” says Morris. So if you’re training biceps then stretch your triceps. 

After your workout, use weights to go deeper into stretches 

This will help improve your range of motion and flexibility more than the garden-variety bodyweight stretches, found a study in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. “Instead of trying to touch your toes, grab a 1-2kg dumb-bell or a light rock to help you hold each stretch for 15-30 seconds,” says Morris. 

Try other stretching disciplines 

Even though you’re dead tired after training, being in a room with flexible ladies will ease the next day’s stiffness. Doing a yoga session after muscle-damaging workout significantly reduced muscle pain, found research in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research.

And the quiet time will also ease your aches because a study in the Journal of Pain found that meditation reduces your perception of pain. Even if yoga is for sissies, it’ll actually toughen you up. 

STRENGTH AND MUSCLE

When meeting a rugby player it’s not his broken nose and cauliflower ears that makes him stand out from the rest of the punters in your MMA gym – it’s his size. The average player weighs about 220lb, which puts him firmly in the heavyweight division. And they got that way by sticking to mostly to conventional weight training exercises.

“These usually require you move in up-and-down, or side-to-side, movements,” says Chaplin. Unfortunately, strong as these exercises make you, this power doesn’t always transfer to the field because it’s not the way you move your body during play. 

MMA training, on the other hand, forces you to strengthen, with the resistance created by battling another fighter – your muscles through every possible angle. “If you’re lacking strength through a particular range of motion then you’re opponent is likely to exploit it because it is, after all, a weakness,” says Chaplin.

So grappling and practicing takedowns against someone means you’ll strengthen your weak points will make you stronger from every angle.” And you’ll feel the difference on the field by handing off your opponents easier and hearing the sweet crackle of bones bending when you tackle. 

THE BEST MMA EXERCISES FOR RUGBY 

Use these tried and tested MMA moves to make your name the first pick on your club’s team sheet.

Sprawl to tackle-bag hit 

(Perform 16 reps in 25 seconds) 

Why? “This replicates the demands of rugby in that you need to repeatedly pick yourself up and do wrestling-style takedowns against the bag,” says strength and conditioning trainer Brendan Chaplin. “Work with a partner, with one person holding the bag, the other facedown on the floor facing the bag.

How to do it: On the bag holder’s call, explode up from the floor and drive your shoulder into the tackle bag maintaining your upright, solid posture. Repeat on both shoulders with a sprawl between each repetition.

Heavy bag takedowns 

(3 sets of 8 reps) 

Why? “You condition your lower body, core and hips to the demands of wrestling,” says Chaplin.

How to do it: Stick the heavy bag on the floor. Grab it with both hands and pick it up using your hips, legs and back. Drive upwards and balance the bag momentarily on one shoulder before dropping it and restarting. Alternate the shoulder for each rep. 

Brad Morris’s top 2 moves

Bear crawling 

(4 sets of 20-40 meter crawls) 

Why? “This is great for core strength as well as strength through the shoulder girdle,” says Morris. 

How to do it: This is a simple drill where all is required is to ‘crawl’ on your hands and feet either for distance or for time. Crawling should be done in four directions (up, down, and side to side). Do 20-40 meters in each direction – that’s one set. 

Holding a partner down from side mount 

(4 sets of 30 seconds)

Why? "This creates resistance for both people and will help you get to your feet quicker from rucks and mauls,” says Morris. “This will challenge you in all facets of your strength, fitness and psychology.” 

How to do it: Get your training partner to lie down on his back, then from side mount (your knees on one side of his body with your chest pressing down on your partner’s chest) hold your partner down and don’t let him get up for 30 seconds. The person on the bottom should be trying to get to his feet.