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Rugby · Position guide

How a full-back should train

Powerful, durable and fit for 80 minutes of collisions.

The short answer

A full-back should build collision strength and power, and practise tackling and breakdown work. The drills that matter most are territory & touch-finding, kick and chase. 2 of them need nobody but you.

⚡ Prioritise physically

  • Collision strength
  • Power
  • Power endurance

🎯 Sharpen technically

  • Tackling
  • Breakdown work
  • Handling

Key exercises

Barbell back squat

The foundational lower-body strength lift — carries over to every sport.

Power clean

Trains rate of force development — raw explosive power.

Tackle technique

Safe, dominant tackling technique — the core rugby skill.

Hill sprints

Low-impact way to build sprint power and drive mechanics.

Technical drills for a full-back

2 of these need nobody but you.

Territory & touch-finding

KickingOn your own

Setup: A pitch with touchlines, several balls.

  1. 1. Kick to find touch from varying positions and angles.
  2. 2. Alternate spiral and end-over-end.
  3. 3. Call your target before each kick and score yourself.

Volume: 4 × 10 kicks

Coaching point: Ball drop is everything — hold it out and let it fall, don't throw it down.

Make it harder: Kick under fatigue, or with a chaser closing you down.

Kick and chase

KickingOn your own

Setup: Open pitch, a few balls.

  1. 1. Put up a contestable kick — height over distance.
  2. 2. Chase hard and compete for it at the top of your jump.
  3. 3. Land safely, on your feet, ball secured.

Volume: 8 kick-and-chases

Coaching point: Hang time buys your chasers metres. A flat kick is just giving them the ball.

Make it harder: Add a competitor jumping against you.

Get a program built around you

PocketAthlete builds your program from your sport, your position and how recovered you actually are that morning — then adapts it as you log sessions.

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