Match Fitness drill
Tackle Bag RHIE Protocol
Train repeated sprint-and-collide efforts, which is what separates rugby conditioning from running fitness.
- Time
- 15 minutes
- Players
- 2 to 12 players
- Intensity
- High
- Equipment
- Tackle bag, partner
- Space
- 32m straight line
- Positions
- All positions
Setup
A start line, a mark at 30m, and a tackle bag or hit shield held by a partner 2m past the 30m mark.
How to run it
- Set a timer beeping every 30 seconds.
- From a three-point stance, sprint 20m flat out, then decelerate through to the 30m mark and wait there until the 10-second mark of the rep.
- Accelerate 2m and strike the bag at full intensity, then jog back to the start using the remaining 15 seconds.
- Repeat for 12 reps, and time the sprints - those are your score, because collision output is far too variable to measure reliably.
- Forwards should prioritise this over pure running work, since roughly half their high-intensity match efforts are collisions compared with under a quarter for backs.
Coaching cues
- Three-point stance on every start
- The collision is a maximal effort, not a formality
- Score the sprints, feel the collisions
Common mistakes
- Easing off the contact, which turns this straight back into an ordinary repeat sprint session
- Skipping the wait at 30m and running the reps at your own pace instead of the clock's
Session plans that use this drill
Related drills
- Rugby Contact CircuitCondition the wrestle, drive and get-up qualities that no amount of running will build.
- Four v Four Conditioning GameReach high running intensity and near-maximum speed inside a game, which full-sided rugby never does.
- Two-Touch Transition GameDrive top-speed and high-speed running exposure by forcing constant turnovers and transitions.
- Seven v Four Overload GameMaximise acceleration and deceleration load, which is the demand that outnumbers sprinting in every position.
- Worst-Case Passage BlockPrepare for the longest, hardest passages of a match rather than the comfortable average.
- Ball-in-Play Passage RunsTrain the exact work and rest shape of a real ball-in-play passage, on your own with a ball.