This site is intended to provide coaches, players and the general public with information on physical fitness in relation to Rugby.

The content provided is divided into two sections as follows:

1. The Young Player
2. General

The Young Player

The Young Player section seeks to provide information about developing the fitness required for Rugby appropriate to the Young player. It very important to recognise the particular needs of the young player. The young player is not a mini-adult. While the young player's needs will vary from player to player, it is clear that teenagers nowadays are less physically active than their parents were two decades ago. This is readily seen in the disappearance of informal play from the lifestyle of the young player. The impact of this reduced activity in our youth poses a challenge to all of us. Therefore, it is particularly important that we expose our younger players to training methods that emphasise skill and motor fitness as opposed to intense heavy training regimes.

General Fitness

The second section will include general articles on Fitness covering fitness training, fitness testing, diet and nutrition, recovery strategies and other topics related to Fitness devlopment. The content in this particular section will be suitable for the general public and the senior player.

It is our intention to keep you updated with the latest fitness information as it becomes available.

Yours in sport

Liam Hennessy, Director of Fitness, IRFU