Rugby League Coaching Manuals

By AIS, Department of Sports Nutrition ......Rugby league is a game of strength, skill and speed, dominated by short bursts of running and heavy tackling. Four substitutions are allowed per match. Games consist of two 40 minute halves.
Training - The rugby league season is divided into three phases - pre-season, competition and off-season. At the professional level, the off-season is usually a short break of 1-2 months where no formal training is scheduled. Some players may continue to do their own conditioning work during this period.

  Pre-season generally begins late November - early December. Strength and conditioning is a primary focus, with skill and match play becoming more important as the season approaches. The competitive season runs from March to September. Teams typically train 4-5 times per week for 1-3 hours. In addition, individual and recovery sessions may be scheduled.

Competition
The National Rugby League (NRL) competition involves 15 teams and is played as a weekly competition. Games are primarily played on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, although night games are also scheduled. In addition, selected players compete in the State of Origin series, a City versus Country match
and an International match.

State, junior, club and women's competition follow a similar season. Rugby league involves short bursts of play rather than continuous activity. The game is physically due to heavy body contact and tackling but is unlikely to deplete fuel stores.

Games can be played in a variety of conditions from heat and humidity to rain and even snow.

Physical Characteristics
Muscle bulk and strength are important features of rugby league players. Forwards need to be able to run the ball offensively and to tackle. They are typically heavy with a large muscle mass and relatively high body fat levels.
Backs are typically 10-20 kg lighter with lower body fat levels.

General Nutrition
Rugby league is becoming more professional and making greater use of sports science. However, many outdated ideas and practices persist due to tradition and folklore.

Players exist in a close-knit environment and many attitudes and behaviours are shared due to the persuasive power of peer influence. Professional clubs now recruit players at a very young age, requiring them to move away from the family environment.

Often players with limited knowledge and cooking skills share houses and try to cope with heavy training schedules plus study or work. Lack of nutritional knowledge and cooking skills can be compounded by lack of time and post-training fatigue, making irregular meals and fast foods an easy routine to fall into. Astute clubs utilise sports dietitians to support players with education, cooking lessons and ensure appropriate food is provided post-training and matches.

Carbohydrate Requirements
Rugby league players need a diet which focuses on nutrient-dense sources of carbohydrate, includes moderate amounts of lean protein and smaller amounts of fat and refined carbohydrate.

Rugby league is often not as aerobically demanding as other football codes, however players still need to work at consuming sufficient carbohydrate to recover between training sessions and prepare for the weekly match.

A single game of rugby league is unlikely to exhaust fuel stores provided players begin the game with a full supply of muscle glycogen.

However, players who eat poorly through the training week will struggle to perform optimally for a full match.........