RFU Conference Review- speed training

The RFU annual fitness conference was held yesterday at Twickenham, and the theme was speed.
I haven't been in a couple of years, but it was worth the trip yesterday.

All the presenters had lots of experience and talked about different aspects of speed development, there were two practical demonstrations, the one by Frans Bosch being outstanding.

Some of the rugby specific points that were covered included:

• the back 3 make more than 40 high speed sprints in a game, the average high speed sprint is for 8 metres for forwards and half backs, 16metres for the outside backs, most of these are not in a straight line- training should reflect this.
• Guys who run quickest push against the ground hardest and have the stiffest springs. Training on harder surfaces than grass does provide a training effect and can lead to stiffer springs. A progressive pliometric programme could also be adopted to improve this.
• Repeat sprintability , including some down and up movements should be trained.

Some of the speed points covered by Bosch ( and there were many) included:

• Train the body to elimintae waste of elastic energy through technical work and strengthening work- preferably together.
• The pelvis is a major area that loses elastic energy through poor control- forward\ back rotation, up\down tilting and left \right rotation should be controlled.
• Use a "whip from the hip" action where the foot is held in a neutral position until justbeofre impact with the ground then hit the forefoot of the ground into the floor. You should hit the floor, not wait until the floor hits your foot.
• The key to acceleration is not stride frequency, but making sure that each stride is finished properly and to maximum extension.

I don't often change my practice at the drop of a hat, but Frans Bosch certainly taught me a thing or two, and I will be adopting his principles immediately.

Bosch's technical lecture lost me in places, but that is good as it was nice to feel challenged and stretched. There were some good examples of Coaching on display, especially developing motor control through knowledge of results and by using building blocks of different activities to develop learning.

One important point was making the athletes feel good about what they were trying to do. The placebo effect was present, with athletes thinking they were going faster and gaining confidence, but that does not mean that it is any less important

Enhancing Sports Performance
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