Rugby Union is a very demanding game, placing very rigorous demands on players physical and mental attributes. Most amateur players however perform very poorly in respect of rugby-specific fitness tests, due predominantly to poor training habits and lack of correct skills training by coaches. It’s stop-start nature demands that players have high levels of speed and explosive power, as well as having the ability to recover quickly between sprints.
Rugby is such a simple game – score more tries than your opponents. To achieve this, your team must win possession of the ball by dominating lineouts, scrums, rucks and mauls, and every other facet of the game where the ball is contested. For YOU to dominate a game, you need to be competent in the skills of evasive running, kicking, passing, catching and tackling.
Strength is an obvious requirement to play the game, however it is not the only goal for a player. Exposive power is equally as important to develop speed and acceleration and to develop the fitness demands for tackling and jumping.
As a player, it is your responsibility to put in the time and effort needed to master the basic skills and be in best physical condition. As in life and other pursuits, absolute commitment is required if you want to be the best you can. To excel nowadays, players must master the basic skills AND improve speed, strength and power. Fitness, strength, power and mastery of the basic skills is what makes one player stand out from the rest of his team-mates.

Attention rubgy fans! Are you an aficionado of “the ruffian’s game played by gentlemen?” Are you thinking about heading to France for the 2007 Rugby World Cup? Surely you want to be on hand to see if England will keep their champion standing, or watch as some other country wrests the top spot away from them. France, Australia, and New Zealand were right in there for the 2003 Cup; they will surely be back in force. And who knows? There is always the possibility that a team could come out of nowhere and prevail. No way you want to miss any of that action!

If the thought has turned into a definite plan to attend some if not all of the September 7-October 20 mega-event, you better get your tickets (one place you can try is the main event site at www.france2007.fr). But don’t stop there! Now is also the time to nail down your living arrangements. Wait too long, and the search for good accommodations will make you feel like you’re in the middle of a scrum yourself.

If you are anywhere near serious about getting as immersed in the games as you can, the last thing you want to do is deal with arranging multiple accommodations and then bounce around from venue to venue with luggage in hand. Your best bet for maximum rugby enjoyment is to rent a short term apartment for the duration of your visit and use it as your base camp. And your best bet for base camp is Paris.

With the great train service and central location of the French capital city, having an apartment that you can call home will let you make forays into the countryside to take in however many games your stamina can handle and then return to regroup. You can easily ride the Chunnel train to get the Cardiff and Edinburgh games if you are a real hard core fan. Sometimes, though, you won’t have to travel too far: A number of games (including the semi-finals and finals) are scheduled at venues in the Paris metro area.

With all the advantages of Paris (oh, and there are other interesting things there besides rugby stadiums), there is one disadvantage: vacation apartments will be at a premium, if they aren’t already. Places with good amenities in interesting neighborhoods and enough space for your whole party are getting snapped up as you read this.

If you are any kind of rugby fan, you have a responsibility to be in the best shape possible to go nuts rooting for the team(s) of choice. This means that you need to pay as much attention to your between-game experience as you do to your in-stadium one. Your best strategy? Follow up your ticket purchase by nailing down a place you can hang out between games. Right now.

Rugby has always had a strong core of support in the UK, but the success of England in the World Cup and Wales in the Six Nations has elevated the sport to even higher levels, making household names of many of its stars.

Talking of household names, how many people will struggle to find a suitable and original present for their dads this Father’s Day? GettingPersonal.co.uk, the web-based gift shop, might have the answer for rugby loving dads.

Some dads fantasise about being behind that amazing last-minute drop kick that brings home the cup for their nation or club. Since it’s a fantasy that’s unlikely ever to come to fruition, he can at least have his dreams propped up with a little digital imagination. GettingPersonal.co.uk have launched a rugby-lover’s calendar just in time for Father’s Day.

What makes this calendar special is that the dad’s name or a short message can be made to look like part of a spectacular rugby event with new levels of realism and seamlessness.

So come Father’s Day, dads will be able to see stands and stadiums named after them, themselves as team sponsors, their name in the sports headlines or they could even have their name spelt out in finest Twickenham mud next to a battle-worn pair of boots. And as the calendar starts on Father’s Day, it’s got a whole 12 months till full time.

The Personalised Rugby Calendar is available in either a desk or a wall hanging version and is only £14.95.

Brand new from GettingPersonal.co.uk – the calendar also has a front cover message of up to 150 characters so it’s even more personal!

Go on, make him smile with one of GettingPersonal.co.uk’s fantastic personalised Fathers Day Gifts…

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The Bledisloe Cup is a Rugby Union tournament, played between the Australian Wallabies and New Zealand All Blacks since 1931, although there is some dispute regarding this. While the Australian Rugby Union is of the opinion that the first match was played as a one-off in 1931, the New Zealand Rugby Union opines that the first match was played in 1932 when New Zealand toured Australia. The cup gets its name from the man who donated the trophy â?? Lord Bledisloe, the Governorâ??General of New Zealand in 1931. The silver trophy designed by Nelson Isaac in New Zealand and crafted by Walker and Hall in London is the largest trophy in world rugby.

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The Bledisloe Cup has seen frequent changes in all the years it has been played. From 1931 to1981 is was contested irregularly with New Zealand winning 19 times and Australia 4 times. Australiaâ??s victories include their first victory on New Zealand soil. The trophy was also â??lostâ?? during this period and then â??foundâ?? in a Melbourne storeroom. Between 1982 and 1995, the Bledisloe Cup contested every year, sometimes as a single match and sometimes in a three match series. During this period New Zealand won 11 of the 14 matches and Australia won the remaining.

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1996 onwards, the Bledisloe Cup contested as part of the Tri Nations Tournament between New Zealand, Australia and South Africa in a three match series. New Zealand won the cup in 1996 and 97; Australia in 1998. From 1999 to 2005, the third match was not played.

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Australia and New Zealand contested only two matches. If the series or each match ended in a draw, then the cup stayed with its current holder. This left the fans dissatisfied and hence in 2006 the third match was also played. However in 2007, the game reverted back to two match series due to the World Cup. In 2008, the Bledisloe Cup will be contested over four matches â?? 3 in Australia and New Zealand and one match, for the first time in another country i.e. Hong Kong. This is so as to increase awareness of this game in Asia.

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You can enjoy the Bledisloe Cup this year when you visit Hong Kong in November. Make sure you reserve your hotel in Hong Kong well in advance, as you wouldn’t want to miss out on this historical sporting entertainment event just because you couldn’t get hotel accommodation in time. The Cosmo Hotel in Hong Kong accepts advance bookings throughout the year, so get your reservations as early as possible.

The French were able to scrape their way to a victory in their opening 2009 Six Nations match. They scored a 22-13 win over Scotland at the Stade de France last Saturday, but it wasn’t an impressive performance.

Now France coach Marc Lievremont has to figure out how to get his team to play better of they will be in significant trouble against the powerful red tide from Wales.

The French sides are underdogs in this Six Nations match up, as expected, but the debate rages on about their level of play and the game plan employed by the coaching staff.

Punters are not feeling very confident. France can make the necessary adjustments, as sports books report money flowing in on the Welsh side.

Lievremont, who took over from Bernard Laporte in late 2007 after the last World Cup, stated “On the very day when our forward play and our combativity and discipline reassure us, it’s other problems that leave us exposed.”

It is generally acknowledged that the Welsh team is the best rugby team in Europe at the moment, and looking every bit the favorites to repeat as Six Nations Champions.

Can France, who will be hosting the first Friday night game ever in the Six Nations, find a way to slow them down? Doubtful.

There is a multitude of betting options for this match.

Keep watching rugby betting to get updates about Six Nations Rugby Betting 2009 at Betuk.com

Nutrition has a big role in improving performance in sport. Having a good nutritional plan aids your performance a great deal. Eating the right stuff to enable you to perform at your best is not hard but, just like any other diet, you need some discipline.

Training to play rugby, whether ball skills, aerobic or anaerobic fitness, contact skills or resistance training requires high levels of energy to perform; as do matches.

Most of the required energy should come from carbohydrates. You should eat foods low in the Glycaemic Index (GI) and either a protein blend or Casein, egg or soy protein early in the day before exercise. This will provide you with slow release energy you need throughout the day as well as providing you with a slow release protein. Just before exercise, you should consume high GI foods as well as high amounts of Whey Protein. The high GI food will provide a quick release burst of energy you will need and the whey protein floods your bloodstream with amino acids to aid recovery. It has been proven that athletes perform better when they consume a protein and carbs drink before and during exercise compared to carbs drinks and water.

Eating protein is as important as eating carbohydrates. It is essential for muscle repair and recovery. Each meal during the days should have a high amount of protein content and foods such as chicken, turkey and tuna are all excellent at providing a source of protein.

Everyone needs vitamins and minerals, but athletes may need a higher amount than the average person to aid recovery. Fruit and vegetables are a great source of these, as well as providing fibre and complex carbs. Foods such as spinach, watercress, courgettes, mange tout, peppers and apples are some of the most commonly eaten foods by rugby players.

Finally, the most important thing. Plenty of water. You should drink a pint of water with every meal. Before training sessions or gym sessions you should have a hypotonic drink to compensate for the fluid you will lose during exercise and post exercise you should consume a hypertonic drink to replace lost fluids, electrolytes and carbs. During exercise, isotonic drinks are preferred by many top athletes as they replace the lost water and sodium.

You can make these easily at home without having to spend much money.

Hypotonic:

250 ml Fruit Juice (Orange, Apple, Pineapple etc.)

750 ml Water

Pinch of Salt

Hypertonic:

750 ml Fruit Juice (Orange, Apple, Pineapple etc.)

250 ml Water

Pinch of Salt

Isotonic:

500 ml Fruit Juice (Orange, Apple, Pineapple etc.)

500 ml Water

Pinch of Salt

World famous rugby player Jonny Wilkinson claimed he eats mostly chicken breast with a salad of mange tout, courgettes and peppers!

Pre-Match Preparation

Breakfast is important on an average day, but the morning of a match it is even more important. You should eat a big breakfast which, again, is high in carbs and protein. A bowl of cereal isn’t enough. You should try and have a bowl of cereal, eggs (poached, scrambled or an omelette, not fried), some fruit and at least a pint of water.

In the days leading up to a match, you need to drink much more water than usually to ensure you are properly hydrated. Drink a hypotonic drink the morning of a match.

You do not need a large lunch. A small portion of meat with pasta and salad is perfect. Eat a couple of hours before kick off. Just before kick off, some players like to eat a chocolate bar or a small packet of sweets for a quick bit of sugar.

Post Match Meal

This should be a complete meal. It should contain a high amount of carbs, protein and vegetables. Something such as Lasagne with a salad is good after a match as you have a good mix of carbs and protein in the meat and pasta.

Supplements For Rugby

I would consider the most important supplements to take to be carbs and protein. You can get these in the form of a “weight gainer” or you can obtain pure protein and complex carbs and mix them to the amounts you want.

Glucosamine Sulphate is commonly taken by athletes including rugby players to aid with joint maintenance. Due to it’s high impact nature, there is a big strain on the joints.

The eagerly-awaited Rugby World Cup kicks off on Friday, 7th September when hosts France take on fast-improving Argentina at the Stade de France in Paris. The mood in France is that they are hoping to repeat the surprise win that their football cousins managed at the soccer World Cup in 1998. But, win or lose, the French are working very hard to ensure that all visiting rugby fans will be made warmly welcome as they aim to impress with their tournament organisation and general hospitality.

Defending world champions England will be hoping to put recent dismal performances behind them and turn on the style for the competition which sees them in a qualifying pool pitted against Samoa, Tonga, USA and the mighty South Africa. However, the bookies think the team doesn’t have a hope quoting England at 28-1 to repeat their 2003 triumph and making them sixth favourites for the trophy. New Zealand are runaway odds-on favourites to be the eventual tournament victors, with South Africa second favourites but way behind in the betting at 13/2.

The other home country representatives Wales and Scotland are even less fancied than England and considered real long shots, but Ireland fare better – one spot above England in the pre-tournament betting. Recent performances from both Wales and Scotland have been poor and, like England, still have much to do to win over their own fans.

Despite the tournament being nominally based in France some of the games are to be played in Cardiff and Edinburgh, giving British rugby fans the opportunity to sample the thrill of the World Cup without travelling abroad. However, if you want the full experience you‘ll have to base yourself in France; and if you intend to travel throughout the country to see the games you’ll need to consider how you are going to get from venue to venue.

But, whether you wish to avidly follow one particular team or you just fancy a trip to the World Cup to experience the atmosphere and take in some top quality rugby then you need to get organised now. If you are planning to take in some games, securing car rental during the rugby world cup will probably be the last thing on your mind as you consider how your team will perform, where you are going to stay and how many Euros to take; but it will get ever more difficult to secure last minute car rental in France in an area where games are being played in the latter stages of the competition. So, if you are thinking of attending games you should try to organise your car hire for the Rugby World Cup as far as possible in advance.

Securing car hire in France is relatively simple and can be done online or by phone before leaving the UK, however getting reasonably priced accommodation at some of the more popular venues may prove relatively challenging as many hotels were booked up months ago. With over 10,000 campsites in France the ideal solution may well be to pack a tent and benefit from the flexibility of being able to pitch up within a reasonable distance from the major venues.

Whether you travel to the World Cup in the UK or France, or just watch it on the box, it promises to be a fantastic tournament, and you never know the bookies just might have it all wrong.