Gym will fix it for Wycombe juniors

8:50am Saturday 5th July 2008

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HIGH Wycombe Rugby Club are learning from the New Zealand rugby team.

The All Blacks have been doing judo conditioning work for years, and now Wycombe hope to use the same techniques to make their players better and safer on the pitch.

Almost 40 11-14-year-olds have been spending their Sunday's at Wycombe Judo Club this summer, as a handful of black belts pass on the martial arts skills relevant to rugby.

Wycombe Judo Club committee member Nigel Muldowney, who has two sons at the rugby club, said: "It's great for teaching them how to fall and how to recover from a fall.

"It builds core strength, space awareness for when you're in rucks and mauls and how to turn people over.

"It's been a great success so far, and now we'd like to offer the sessions to all age-groups."

Wycombe Rugby Club juniors coach Glenn Gavin said: "We've had judo coaches and rugby coaches working side by side with the kids to teach them the contact skills needed for our match.

"We've been working on technique of big-impact tackles. but we're working on ten-inch judo cushions so it doesn't matter if the guys make a mistake.

"By practicing it here in a safe environment means they'll be better prepared to tackle properly when they're on the field."

The Judo Club has hosted three sessions to date and have plans for more in September.

A two-day event incorporating rugby and judo is in the pipeline, while Wycombe RFC are also discussing age-group sessions.

Gavin said: "We're considering all sorts of things.

"The sessions were very popular with the players and their parents, and we've been inundated with requests to run something similar again."