Broncos and battles: Edinburgh Rugby’s pre-season grind

• 26 Jul 2024
• Features

Edinburgh Rugby’s pre-season has kicked off with a bang, as the squad were put through their paces with a gruelling bronco running test on day one.

The test, designed to assess the players’ aerobic fitness, is just the beginning of a demanding training regime aimed at preparing the team for the upcoming season.

Head of Strength and Conditioning, Mark Robertson, explained that the bronco test is a crucial tool for gauging the players’ fitness levels after their off-season training plans.

“We’ve given the players targets for body weight, fat mass, and aerobic capacity, and the bronco test helps us see where they’re at,” he said.

“The bronco is really to see where they are in terms of their aerobic fitness, because they’ve been given a four-week training plan to do prior to coming in, and they’ve got targets to come back with in terms of a bodyweight target, a skinfold target, which is their fat mass, and an aerobic target.

“Obviously, if they come back in pretty average shape, they’ll be given a little bit more extras to do.”

Ben Muncaster powers through Monday’s bronco test.

Robertson is keen to foster a highly competitive environment within the squad, and the training regime reflects this approach.

“We’ll have mini-team challenges to build that competition, both as individuals and groups,” he explained. “It’s about creating a winning mentality to push players to their maximum potential.”

The pre-season schedule is designed to be more intense than last year’s – given the shorter time-fame – with a greater focus on match-day simulations.

“This year is a lot easier in terms of planning a pre-season,” Robertson admitted. “Last year we had to be pretty creative to keep it fresh for the players as it was so long.

“And you also had a lot more time to build them up to what our typical match week is.

“So, what we did differently this year was the four weeks prior to them coming in, we were a little more aggressive with running loads so that we could get to a typical match week by week three of pre-season.

“And then when they come back in that second block, we can actually go a little bit above to give them worst case scenarios.

“It’s different because we’ll start 15v15 stuff on week three of pre-season. Whereas last year, we didn’t start it until the end of block two. So, it’s a lot different in that way.

“The coaches are involved right from week one. So, that’s the thing. For me, pre-season is about keeping it as specific to rugby as possible.

“So, the players get more of an opportunity to work on their individual position-specific skills. Within the conditioned games, it’s rugby themes that we’re trying to push over the course of the season.

Darcy Graham is back training with a smile

Each week’s training will culminate in a series of challenging tests, including gym-based competitions, outdoor challenges on Arthur’s Seat, and even an Olympic-themed week.

“My main thing is I just want the boys to compete as much as possible,” Robertson said.

“On week one, we’ll just be in the gym and I’ll have multiple different stations where they’re trying to accumulate as many points as possible.

“Week two, we’ll go to Arthur’s Seat and we’ll have a bit of fun with the army where they’ve got to carry some pretty unreasonable objects.

“And then, week three, my plan is to go a little bit more of an Olympic theme.

“Whether it’s a skills challenge, a physical challenge or a team challenge, we want the boys to have to think about how they can win with the different strengths that they’ve got within their team.”

Developing a winning mentality is also a key focus for Robertson and his team.

“I think you can develop winners,” he said. “Some people have got it naturally, like Greig Laidlaw at the club. For me, he was probably one of the guys I’ve seen with the biggest desire to just win and compete.

“Greig was never the fastest or most powerful, or even the most skilful player, but he found a way to win. And he had that real belief that he could win. So we want to try and develop that within the squad too.”

With a gruelling pre-season schedule and a strong emphasis on competition, Edinburgh Rugby are already laying the foundations for the start of the new campaign.