Periodisation involves organising the training
plan into phases or cycles

To facilitate optimum development, coaches and players must allocate weeks, months, or even years to specific fitness objectives and recovery phases. The rugby year may be termed as a macrocycle and can be broken down into distinct phases known as mesocycles. The content and objectives vary considerably during these phases, as illustrated in the table.

The distinct phases titled 'off-season' and 'pre-season' are used to distinguish between active rest and a period of heavy training volume.

Aim for a 4-6 week active recovery following the end of the season

Once you are suitably recovered it is time to focus on the pre-season developmental phase where significant improvements in rugby fitness must be achieved.

Fitness development must be 'personalised' during these phases and not simply follow the standard objectives

During the season, players must still aim for improvements in areas of total rugby fitness, but at a volume of workload less than that experienced during the pre-season and without compromising recovery for optimum playing performance.

In-season fitness objectives must not be termed 'maintenance'

Micro-cycles

Distinct phases are also vital during the playing season

Microcycles are weekly or monthly phases within a mesocycle and consider factors such as the quality of the opposition and breaks between matches when deciding upon content such as power or conditioning development or recovery periods.

A competitive playing period must be followed by a light phase to allow for mental and physical recuperation

Providing players with a periodic 'free' or 'light' week between games is often more beneficial to performance than working on skills, fitness and team tactics.

Tapering the week ensures recovery and 'freshness' for the next game. At a professional level, players should be allocated at least one complete rest day during the week with a reduction in workload towards the end of the week. Over a period of several weeks, coaches should skilfully manipulate training loads and content to include variety, fun and demanding sessions.

With the onset of professionalism came the 'more is better' principle, resulting in more competitive fixtures and high workload training regimes.

In our experience, players struggled to cope with this sudden increase which led to a higher level of chronic injuries and player fatigue. More recently governing bodies have taken steps to reduce the number of games an elite player competes in per season while coaches are recognising that quality more than quantity is conducive to intense and dynamic rugby.