Wrestling for rugby

A games based, constraints led approach to the post collision in rugby tackling.

Wrestling for rugby is a coach and player guide to one of the most important and yet poorly trained aspects of the tackle- the post collision.

Devised by international rugby strength coach, coach educator and grappler, Keir Wenham-Flatt, Wrestling for rugby is a crash course in everything that rugby athletes and coaches need to know about how to bring ball carriers to the ground in the all important post-collision, after the initial hit, when the ball carrier starts to fight back.

The games based, constraints led approach in Wrestling for rugby is a more fun way for athletes to develop the skill of tackling in a faster, sticker fashion that is more robust to the dynamic and unpredictable demands of the sport.

Wrestling for rugby contains over 90 minutes of video education, exercise demonstrations, and sample training templates that combine both theory and practice with an intimate understanding of the game.

Buy Wrestling for rugby risk free today. If you don't think it's worth every penny you've paid, you're entitled a full refund in the first 72 hours after purchase, no questions asked.

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You need a Plan B

In an ideal world, the first contact we make with the ball carrier when tackling is the contact that takes him to the ground. But we don't live in the ideal world. The ball carrier gets a vote too, and he is going to fight back every step of the way. Your ability as a tackler is directly related to your ability to nullify and respond to that fight back.

Most coaches and players have a strong grasp of defensive organisation, positioning and hitting. We know how to maintain space and come up in the line. We know how to assign defenders, how to track, and how to get in front of defenders. And we generally have a good idea of how to hit- same foot, same shoulder, head out of the way, explode into contact....

Then it falls apart. If that first collision is not timed or positioned well enough to take the ball carrier to the ground in one fell swoop, we run out of ideas. When the ball carrier fights back, if your response is "Just leg drive and lift up one of his legs", you have a big hole in your tackling skillset.

Wrestling for rugby is your blueprint to filling that hole.

We can't master something we haven't trained for

It shouldn't be surprising that we suck at the post collision. In rugby, we hardly ever train for it in a deliberate fashion. And it's understandable why we don't.

Rugby is inherently risky, and the tackle represents the single biggest cause of injuries in the game. We also have to contend with the risk that guys might roll and ankle or strain their knee if they wrestle. By limiting the exposure to both, we limit that risk and maintain health and availability.

We also tend to neglect the post collision in favour of the collision itself, and the tracking and positioning aspects of the tackle. After all, if we nail these aspects of the tackle, we won't need to wrestle or worry about the post collision.

Lastly, I think we need to be honest: we avoid training wrestling and the post collision because we don't know what we are doing. Most rugby wrestling programs consist of a few randomly selected drills stolen from the internet without rhyme or reason. The rest of the time, it's much more comfortable to stick to 1v1 tag, bag hits, and pre-planned drills tackling off our knees.

Is it any wonder that we suck at the post collision in rugby? We simply can't expect to be masters of what we don't train. And the reasons why we don't train it are, honestly, BS.

The way that we manage risk in the game is by preparing for and intelligently exposing ourselves to progressively higher levels of risk in training.

Yes, perfect tackles occasionally do happen in matches, but they are the tiny minority of tackles. Most of the time, you're going to have to wrestle the ball carrier to the ground in the post-collision, so train accordingly.

Finally, if we're uncomfortable with wrestling or how to train the post collision in rugby, that's a strong sign that this is where we need to focus in training. Let's think purposefully about how to integrate wrestling into tackle training, rather than just haphazardly throw drills together.

Wrestling for rugby

Wrestling for rugby is a guide that combines theory, practice and an intimate knowledge of rugby into one simple framework that coaches and players can use to become more dominant in the post collision, manage their risk of unnecessary injury, and develop more robust, adaptable skills in intense game environments.

This detailed guide begins with a discussion of the constraints and theory underpinning the use of wrestling in rugby:

Defining the tackle and the laws pertaining to the tackle
The biomechanics of stability
Dynamic systems learning theory
Attractors and fluctuators in motor control
The OODA loop in decision making
The use of feedback/knowledge of results in implicit learning

The next section of the guide focusses on the practical value of wrestling in relation to effective tackling:

Wrestling vs rugby injury epidemiology
Weight placement and balance
The agency of the opposition
Commonalities of effective takedowns
Key phases in effective takedowns and tackling

In the final section, we combine theory and practice into a format that works with the constraints of rugby and rugby tackling including:

Wrestling drill classification
Video walkthroughs
Sample session structure
Guideline loading parameters and progressions
Sample training week recommendations

Who is this course for and who is it NOT for?

This will be useful for anyone involved in rugby union- players and coaches, male and female, athletes of all ages (though youth players be supervised).

Individuals from rugby league or American football will still benefit, though there are some differences that will have to be factored into programming, namely the ruck and hand fighting/shedding blocks respectively. Anyone from these sports is invited to purchase the guide and try it out. If you feel it is not a good fit for you or your sport, you are entitled to a 72 hour money back guarantee.

Lastly, this course is designed with healthy athletes in mind. Injured or return to play athletes will likely need more regression and a more targeted approach than this course covers.

Who are you and why should I listen to you?

The TLDR is this: I've been involved in rugby for 30 years, professional coaching for 20 years, and grappling for 10 years.

I've worked at the highest levels of professional rugby union, the NRL and Division 1 college football as a strength coach. I understand the demands and constraints of working in a rugby environment.

I've spent several thousand hours training on the mats, learning from elite level coaches, and studying the best grapplers in the world. I understand wrestling and takedowns.

I've got two performance degrees and ran and sold a successful coach education website. I understand motor learning and how athletes acquire skills.

I'm biased, but I think I'm fairly well positioned to combine all the necessary elements required to successfully integrate wrestling and rugby together into a format that works.

The materials in this course have been developed and refined over the course of years, in the real world, with elite athletes from rugby union, rugby league and American football.

After you sign up

After signing up, you'll receive immediate access to the course.

Once you've registered for the site and set up a login for yourself, you are welcome to consume the materials at whatever pace is comfortable for you. You'll receive indefinite access so there is no rush.

Materials are presented in video lecture format, with supporting diagrams and notes. Sample sessions and weekly formats can be downloaded in PDF format and accidentally forwarded to your friends for free.

If at any point you have a question about any of the materials, simply reach out via email and we'll get right back to you.

"Okay, I'm in. How much?"

Wrestling for rugby is priced at $99. And all the information contained in it can probably be found in books, articles, and videos online for free....

BUT by the time you've spent days sifting through it all, a few weeks trying to organise it into something coherent, and you've gone through months of tweaks and revisions trying to make it work in rugby, you'll wish you just paid $99 to skip that part and just get to the results!

Wrestling for rugby saves you that time and gives you a proven framework that you can put to use in your training ASAP, and continue to use for the rest of your career.

Try Wrestling for rugby risk free

If you're still on the fence and you're not sure if Wrestling for rugby is right for you, try the course risk free. If at any time in the first 72 hours after signing up, you don't think the course is worth every penny you paid, simply get in touch with us and we'll refund 100% of every penny you paid, no questions asked.

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Includes risk free 72 hour guarantee